MANGROVES!

cnseekatz · Jul 31, 2016

I've been growing a handful of red mangroves in my refugium for a while now, with the intention of starting a new, dedicated mangrove reef tank.

I have a 12.5 gallon shallow tank (18x18x9) I'd like to use, and the main goal is to train the mangroves to develop the large, thick aerial root system that makes the plants so cool. Think something like this... only a bit smaller

:

I've already begun training their roots in my sump, and this is what they're looking like so far. I know I've got a ways to go, but it's a start:

My main questions revolve around the tank setup itself. I plan to find a method to raise the seedlings up above the water line to continue encouraging the roots to grow and thicken above the water. I have an AI Sol I will suspend above the tank to keep the plants well lit.

The rest of the setup is up in the air. I don't plan on keeping any livestock right away, so I don't know what equipment I'll need at the start. I assume I'll need a heater to maintain a certain tropical water temperature. I also assume I'll need at least a small powerhead to keep water circulating. I'm not sure if slow water movement is best, or if I should shoot for a more rigorous flow. Do I need a filter or skimmer if there are no fish? I can do water changes to keep things fresh, but do the plants care about filtered water? I would think they'd like a little extra junk in the water. Do they need supplements in the water? I know the salt mixes provide basic elements, and since there's no corals sucking them up, will they be okay without?

The plan is to eventually convert this to a shoreline/lagoonal reef biotope, so I don't mind putting systems in place to support that setup, but I'm mostly curious about the needs of the plants alone. Basically, can I just fill the tank with water, toss in the seedlings, add light and watch them grow?

Reefing Madness · Aug 2, 2016

Salty1962 · Aug 3, 2016

Following

cnseekatz · Aug 3, 2016

Well, not much feedback from R2R, but I talked to some folks who grow mangroves and got some pretty pragmatic information. Basically they said that as long as the roots stay wet, and you keep the leaves illuminated with bright light, the rest is pretty superfluous. I was told that flow and temperature really don't make much difference, as long as you avoid extremes. I have a spare circulation pump, and small heater laying around, so I'll use those to maintain basic reef tank conditions, but I'm not going to worry about too much or too little nutrients in the water (for now).

cnseekatz · Aug 3, 2016

cnseekatz · Aug 3, 2016

I glue some fiberglass rods into the holes in some dry rock. I had to drill the holes out a bit to allow the rods to fit snug, and secured them with gel superglue. This will give my seedlings a strong, stable support, and will give me the ability to raise them up further as the roots grow longer.

cnseekatz · Aug 3, 2016

I moved my seedlings over. I was a little surprised how long some of the roots had already grown in my sump. They've got a little hair algae on the roots, and I even saw a couple of aiptasia growing in there too. I assume those will both die off with no source of nutrients to feed on.

My plan is to keep the roots from penetrating into the rock or sand, so as they get close, I'll raise them up on the rods, until the sections exposed to the air harden up and achieve the shape and size I'm looking for.

dbraun15 · Aug 18, 2016

Looks great...I planted a few mangroves in pots about 3 weeks ago. How long did it take before you had and sprouting of leaves? I haven't seen anything yet and have an idea similar to your in the future.

JohnnyTabasco · Aug 22, 2016

This is awesome!
I'm growing a single mangrove in my display tank. Mostly because I like the look of the part above the water.
Are you planning on removing the sticks then they root into the sand?

USMC 4 LIFE · Aug 26, 2016

Really cool. What benefits do they bring? Are they difficult to maintain?

JackDE · Sep 1, 2016

I have five mangroves in my display tank. I added them 4 weeks ago and they are growing well........I think.
I like the way they look and I read they will help with phosphates and nitrates some.

cnseekatz · Sep 13, 2016

dbraun15 said:
Looks great...I planted a few mangroves in pots about 3 weeks ago. How long did it take before you had and sprouting of leaves? I haven't seen anything yet and have an idea similar to your in the future.

I think it really depends on your set up, especially the amount of light they're given. Under a weaker light, they took a while to sprout (a couple months), but since the move, I bumped up the intensity, and they seem to be enjoying it!

JohnnyTabasco said:
This is awesome!
I'm growing a single mangrove in my display tank. Mostly because I like the look of the part above the water.
Are you planning on removing the sticks then they root into the sand?

Eventually, when the roots are more developed, and can support the plant well above the water line, I'll remove the supports and have that cool prop root structure I'm going for.

USMC 4 LIFE said:
Really cool. What benefits do they bring? Are they difficult to maintain?

JackDE said:
I have five mangroves in my display tank. I added them 4 weeks ago and they are growing well........I think.
I like the way they look and I read they will help with phosphates and nitrates some.

Thanks guys. Honestly, I don't think you're going to see a ton of nutrient export from mangroves, unless you have a ton, or a few really big, mature plants. Pound for pound, you're better off with macro-algae if you're looking for nutrient export. Chaeto is the best as far as I'm concerned. The intention here was to create a unique and visually different base for a neat future beach/bomie tank.

cnseekatz · Sep 13, 2016

Here are a few updates. As expected, growth is slow, but steady. I lost one seedling, but the rest seem really happy. The roots are growing pretty slowly as well, and I suspect that's because they're suspended in water, and not buried in any substrate.

Circumstances in my reef tank dictated that this mangrove tank become a mangrove/peppermint shrimp tank. I had a couple shrimp that started eating my corals, so they got banished to the very barren mangrove tank. They seem to be doing well in there, despite the fact that there is nothing else in there, and that daytime temperatures often get into the mid 80s! I feed them daily, and they've both molted twice in a very short amount of time. I think that while feeding the shrimp actually caused this tank to cycle, the increased nutrients in the water might actually help increase the growth rate of the mangroves. I have nothing to back that up, except a fairly reasonable guess!

Stay tuned!

cnseekatz · Sep 13, 2016

cnseekatz · Sep 13, 2016

Here's one of the taller propagules that's sprouting some secondary and tertiary leaves before the first set even grew out.

Acameron2 · Sep 13, 2016

cnseekatz said:
I've been growing a handful of red mangroves in my refugium for a while now, with the intention of starting a new, dedicated mangrove reef tank.

I have a 12.5 gallon shallow tank (18x18x9) I'd like to use, and the main goal is to train the mangroves to develop the large, thick aerial root system that makes the plants so cool. Think something like this... only a bit smaller :

I've already begun training their roots in my sump, and this is what they're looking like so far. I know I've got a ways to go, but it's a start:

My main questions revolve around the tank setup itself. I plan to find a method to raise the seedlings up above the water line to continue encouraging the roots to grow and thicken above the water. I have an AI Sol I will suspend above the tank to keep the plants well lit.

The rest of the setup is up in the air. I don't plan on keeping any livestock right away, so I don't know what equipment I'll need at the start. I assume I'll need a heater to maintain a certain tropical water temperature. I also assume I'll need at least a small powerhead to keep water circulating. I'm not sure if slow water movement is best, or if I should shoot for a more rigorous flow. Do I need a filter or skimmer if there are no fish? I can do water changes to keep things fresh, but do the plants care about filtered water? I would think they'd like a little extra junk in the water. Do they need supplements in the water? I know the salt mixes provide basic elements, and since there's no corals sucking them up, will they be okay without?

The plan is to eventually convert this to a shoreline/lagoonal reef biotope, so I don't mind putting systems in place to support that setup, but I'm mostly curious about the needs of the plants alone. Basically, can I just fill the tank with water, toss in the seedlings, add light and watch them grow?

Ever since I've had my mangroves I've had to dose more magnesium. And before mangroves I never had to dose mag at all. Might be something to keep an eye on for continued growth.

cnseekatz · Sep 13, 2016

Acameron2 said:
Ever since I've had my mangroves I've had to dose more magnesium. And before mangroves I never had to dose mag at all. Might be something to keep an eye on for continued growth.

Yeah, that's a commonly discussed phenomenon. I think the consensus though, is that the amount of Mg that mangroves use to process the salt is pretty negligible in a reef tank... especially one that doses Mg.

Acameron2 · Sep 14, 2016

cnseekatz said:
Yeah, that's a commonly discussed phenomenon. I think the consensus though, is that the amount of Mg that mangroves use to process the salt is pretty negligible in a reef tank... especially one that doses Mg.

Could just be my tank on the mag deal. I also spray down mine with RO water a couple times a week. And fish poop I would imagine helps also kind of fertilizing them.