Mangroves

[dylanjs]

Hi Reefers,
I am thinking of adding some mangroves to my display to go with the Florida/Caribbean theme.

Has anyone had bad experiences? Things to beware of? Reputable dealers?

Thanks,
Dylan

 

[reefman]

our mr member rarez sells them. cheapest price u will find.
how effective it is on nitrate reduction is debatable but most find it needs a great many to have any effect. however it does look nice in a reef. bare in mind the roots will grow out and may cause problems.

 

[dylanjs]

reefman, what kind of problems?

 

[reefman]

-roots attact detritis to stick to it
-stems n roots can slows down water flow
-roots will dig into rocks and/or sand(this may not b a problem unless u wanna move it) n maybe even under silicone

 

[1UCKY]

Mangroves work wonders is reducing Nitrates. Take it from me! I had a huge problem with my Nitrates in my 180 and added a few to the sump and in two days there were 0 Nitrates!

 

[charliethetuna88]

I Need To Get Like Ten

 

[nanchil]

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/sale-trade/24444-who-wants-mangroves-fragswap.html

I Need To Get Like Ten

 

[digitalreefer]

Mangroves are very nice looking plants.

That said... they are not the miracle cure for nutrients, and in fact do very little to reduce nutrients unless they are in large quantity. The root systems get huge very quickly... keep in mind that these are not houseplants, they are trees. They do prefer bright lighting and my population has declined upon moving them from my halides to my fuge light. I'm not trying to dissuade you, but the only reason mangroves should be in a home aquarium is for aesthetic value. Here's a photo of some real mangroves:

 

[BroRage]

need a lot of them...here you go bro... http://cgi.ebay.com/20-Mangrove-See...4QQihZ014QQcategoryZ20520QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[bronxer]

I bought three - I do not have mh lighting and with plain flourescents, 2 of them died. One was in my refugium under 16watt flourescent. It has grown, but not well. so I bought new lighting - compact flourescents and moved the mangrove up to the top.

that was two days ago. still waiting for any growth.

good luck with your mangroves. Hope your lighting is better than mine.

 

[BroRage]

heres some experience on my part...

when you do buy them make sure that the tips of the top are not black...if they are they are already dead...make sure the whole pod is nice and green... if not buy them with some leaves already growing on them... as for lighting to tell you the truth I already had a few that i gave away and sold to other people..the ones i kept i keep them the way i do in the pic and they have been doing fine for some months now...good luck on yours...

 

[RareZ]

As most of you have mentioned. Mangroves do well in large numbers. Unless you have a nano to deal with.

If you guys want any mangroves, I will be getting a bulk for the swap.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/sale-trade/24444-who-wants-mangroves.html

Just mention how many you want in that thread.

 

[SuRFeR BoY]

i was told that you have to dose magnesium to keep them healthy and that is one of the main things that they take out of your water. i think i even read this somewhere. i chose not to get any. they are nice plants though.. i think mainly ' foh show'

 

[melbourne]

I kept a bunch of mangroves under a 70w HQI setup. As mentioned before they tend to collect detritus in the roots, also they will drop leaves on occasion that will need to be cleaned up. I bought mine from an Ebay seller in Florida. I think they work best in a remote refugium type setup or in a dedicated part of your sump. In tank they don't look so great. I also started mine first in freshwater and acclimated them over a period of weeks to saltwater.

 

[ellebelle]

Mangroves have natural adaptations for saline habitats - no need to acclimate the to salt water by starting in fresh.

 

[melbourne]

The ones I bought off Ebay came with instructions about acclimate to SW due to them being collected in freshwater. I did it just to be safe.

 

[xxnonamexx]

how did u acclimate to SW? what is the best flourescent lighting to use?

 

[dylanjs]

I interested in them for aesthetics, not nutrient export. Whatever they take care nitrate-wise, is just a plus.

xxnonamexx, I've read a fair bit about mangroves now, and no one says anything about acclimation. They're plants after all.