(I originally posted this in the mangrove thread, but maybe this will get more exposure)
What kind of growth rate do you typically see with mangroves?
I have 6 mangroves that I have planted in a small ‘lagoon’ tank in my classroom. In a month and a half, I have not seen any growth or even change in the plants.
Tank water is @ 1.024sg, and keep it at ~78F. While the tank itself has only been running for 2 months, it was made using sand and live rock from other seasoned tanks (complete with detritus, worms, etc). The tank is near south facing windows, and on sunny days, I would say the mangroves get about 2.5-3.5 hrs of direct sunlight, and another 5 hours of decent indirect light.
The system is sort of a modification of an under-gravel filter, designed that way solely to increase flow of nutrients over roots of mangroves and turtle grass. I will also be adding depth to the bed so that I can a) have some anaerobic NO3 reduction, and b)(hopefully) allow the CO2/carbonic acid to break down some of the aragonite and provide calcium and carbonate. Between the sand and the larger crushed coral pieces, I laid down a ~1.5” layer of Miracle Mud to provide iron.
The idea is that this lagoon system will serve as the sole filtration for a reef that I will connect to it. Once I add depth to the bed (using sand and detritus collected from H2O changes on other tanks), the water level will go up to the top of the tank.
The leaves feel soft (one leaf on one plant is a little bit tough feeling), but those mangroves have not budged an inch. The bio-mass of the system is low, but I’ve been pumping nutrients up in hopes of getting stuff going. The turtle grass is growing a little. Really not much in the way of algae growth. I’m sure the nutrient level is probably on the low side.
Thoughts?
What kind of growth rate do you typically see with mangroves?
I have 6 mangroves that I have planted in a small ‘lagoon’ tank in my classroom. In a month and a half, I have not seen any growth or even change in the plants.
Tank water is @ 1.024sg, and keep it at ~78F. While the tank itself has only been running for 2 months, it was made using sand and live rock from other seasoned tanks (complete with detritus, worms, etc). The tank is near south facing windows, and on sunny days, I would say the mangroves get about 2.5-3.5 hrs of direct sunlight, and another 5 hours of decent indirect light.
The system is sort of a modification of an under-gravel filter, designed that way solely to increase flow of nutrients over roots of mangroves and turtle grass. I will also be adding depth to the bed so that I can a) have some anaerobic NO3 reduction, and b)(hopefully) allow the CO2/carbonic acid to break down some of the aragonite and provide calcium and carbonate. Between the sand and the larger crushed coral pieces, I laid down a ~1.5” layer of Miracle Mud to provide iron.
The idea is that this lagoon system will serve as the sole filtration for a reef that I will connect to it. Once I add depth to the bed (using sand and detritus collected from H2O changes on other tanks), the water level will go up to the top of the tank.
The leaves feel soft (one leaf on one plant is a little bit tough feeling), but those mangroves have not budged an inch. The bio-mass of the system is low, but I’ve been pumping nutrients up in hopes of getting stuff going. The turtle grass is growing a little. Really not much in the way of algae growth. I’m sure the nutrient level is probably on the low side.
Thoughts?