Red Mangrove

[nemo]

any one use Red Mangrove in there tank thinking about trying some in my sump :confused:

[Macca]

hope you are buying them from me :D

James

[Tangman]

Hi Nemo. I have 4 out of 10 that i bought last year, they are slow growing and some say are slow at taking nutrients out of the water. What did you want to know about them as i am sure James will answer you. Eric :)

[nemo]

just wonderd if they were a good thing to use and how many i would need for 100gal tank

[Paul P.]

About 8 months ago I put half a dozen in the sump (lit 24/7 with twin 55w Triplus pc lighting) of my 200g system just to see what the fuss was about and to be honest although they have grown quite a bit in that time how effective they have been is difficult to gauge as i`m also skimming 24/7, run a phos reactor and also have about 150kg of lr
but on the plus side ive seen nothing detrimental since adding them

more info HERE (http://www.athiel.com/lib10/mangrove9.htm)

[subz88]

They're a great talking point for your reef system. :D

I bought six off James back in april and they're all doing fine in a reverse lit sump as part of my 100G system, they've grown to about 18inches tall in that time. If you want them short and bushy you can keep pruning the growth tips (let the first growth tip split and form leaves before pruning) and they'll send out lateral shoots.

Generally people warn against using them with deep sand beds because their roots can disturb the action of the sand bed as they uptake nutrients, and push deeper into the sand as they grow. With a shallow sand bed this shouldn't be an issue.

Cheatomorpha is much faster growing and a better choice for uptaking nutrients quickly, but if you fancy something different, definitely get a few mangroves.

For more reading, have a look at http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/nitratecontrol/a/aa051398.htm

I use a 55W power compact tube on my sump, and the problem I have is the heat generated burns the leaves on the mangroves :( Natural daylight is probably best for them, followed by a low wattage growlight. You could also try and use a small computer fan to ensure the radiated heat from a light doesn't cause any grief.

Lastly, according to Albert Thiel: http://www.athiel.com/lib10/mangrove9.htm you should use one mangrove for every 10 to 15 gallons. Personally I'd say try six and see how they fare in your system. Then add a couple more a few months down the line as your bioload increases.

HTH :)

[nemo]

thanks for your help i think i might try CHAETOMORPHA, CHAETO then:D

[Kev]

Hi Nemo

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with these in the months ahead. It would be great if you could update this thread.

Kev