Mangrove Lagoon

[ShrimpBandit]

That is super cool. I have a basement sump that is essentially just housing live rock. I've never seen such success with mangroves before now you got me thinking a mangrove in my basement would be super cool. How deep is the sand bed for them and what kind of sand? Or is it mud?

I was just trying to persuade my husband to consider a basement sump. We've got to reinforce the floor for the new build, anyway (it's an old house, and he's a carpenter so the projects never end), but I wasn't sure about how much power we'd need in pumps to return water to the floor above. It sure would be nice to have the space for storage and the proximity to a utility sink. Care to share a bit about your setup?

 

[laverda]

I was just trying to persuade my husband to consider a basement sump. We've got to reinforce the floor for the new build, anyway (it's an old house, and he's a carpenter so the projects never end), but I wasn't sure about how much power we'd need in pumps to return water to the floor above. It sure would be nice to have the space for storage and the proximity to a utility sink. Care to share a bit about your setup?

My main tank is 300 gallons. I have an ATS built into my overflow feeding my skimmer by gravity and two filter socks. I plan to gravity feed my Mangrove Lagoon although I currently have a small pump feeding it. My sump is in my 36” tall stand and is 70 gallons if I remember correctly. My return pump is running at about 1200 GPH feeding back via a sea swirl with a random flow generator on the end. GPH. I have 4-5 large Tunze pumps in the tank for flow. I need to actually put some info on my build thread for my 300 gallon. Feel free to ask if you have any other questions.
You can see some of my tank starting at about 1:37 in this video. I was not expecting to be showing it off and it was my first time using zoom. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/scmas-zoom-meeting-july-17th.740275/#post-7728108

Your right it takes a fair bit of power/electricity to water up a floor and a half. Size your pump to provide about 5 times tank volume at what ever your head height comes out to. Keep flow restrictions to a minimum. That should provide enough flow for your skimmer. You can use that height to feed any accessories like reactors and such using the drain lines and save on other pumps. Of course you sump could be mounted a viewing level instead of the floor reducing head height some.

 

[User]

Nice mangroves. Great looking builds!

 

[Miguel Negron]

I like the setup, really different!

 

[laverda]

Nice mangroves. Great looking builds!

Thank you!

 

[laverda]

I like the setup, really different!

Thank you! I came out a bit different than I had intended, but I am very happy with the results.

 

[laverda]

Thought it was time for some updated photos as my mangroves are just now recovering from the move and having their growth stunted by being full up against the bottom of my tank and light.

With the grow light on.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Love it! I've been growing mangroves for about 5 years but I always have to swap them out before they get too tall for my sump. Yours are awesome!

 

[laverda]

Love it! I've been growing mangroves for about 5 years but I always have to swap them out before they get too tall for my sump. Yours are awesome!

Thanks. I never expected them c to grow so fast!

 

[awdowd1025]

Thanks. I never expected them c to grow so fast!

Do you know the name of the cylinder tank you have?

 

[laverda]

It was made by innovative marine.

 

[Lilmatty5dimes]

That’s awesome. Are they still growing strong? I’ve always had some mangroves in my tank. Not sure if only having 2-3 really make a big difference but I can grab 20 for nothing in about a half hour while fishing. Lol they were moved outside after I took my 120 down and no body bought my old 40 breeder. Lol

 

[laverda]

They are still growing with one about 3' above the water line now.

 

[laverda]

Photo as of today. Growth has been slower since moving them. I had 2 slightly smaller lights above them before and they were touching and growing on top of the lights. See my next post on another possible reason they have not been growing as much.
I read on R2R that some people trim them like bonsai trees. Will have to do some research on that. I may need to trim them a bit. I have only trimmed a little of the dead leaves off from being up against and on top of the light, where they did not have enough room to open up.

 

[laverda]

I had to replace the pump that came with the tank yesterday. It failed last week some time. It quit working sometime before. I assumed it was clogged. Because of my health I could not look at it for a few days. When I pulled it out by the hose I see sparks and steam coming off the wires. The insulation had completely broken down right at the pump. The pump was only in use for 7 month's! That is totally unacceptable on the part of Innovative Marine. I did not realize it was only 7 months old until writing this. I will contact IM to see what they have to say. I had new pump on hand, but this is a potentially life threatening issue.

 

[laverda]

Photos of failed pump. There is nothing in the pump chamber that could have eaten the insulation. No urchins in the tank either.

 

[Eric R.]

@laverda any updates? What ended up happening with the pump failure? Have you tried trimming at all yet?

 

[laverda]

@laverda any updates? What ended up happening with the pump failure? Have you tried trimming at all yet?

I had a different pump around I used. I have not trimmed them yet. The roots have grown a lot, but they have not grown much otherwise recently.

 

[Eric R.]

Based on the recommendation of others, I've been dosing some iron recently for mine to support growth. Supposedly too little iron can limit growth. They seem to be growing well.

 

[nanoreef718]

Really cool! What stand is that?