growing red mangroves in sump

[jkburton1s]

i have been wanting to grow mangroves in my sump is there any special thing for this. i have calurpa and chaeto in my sump so i leave the light on 24 7 . i assume the mangroves need a photo period , correct.

[Varga]

IME mangroves do not grow well under 24/7 lighting period. you have to spray their leaves with RO water all the time, bury their roots in the substrate and watch them flourish. mine als like to be very close to the light, almost touching

[jkburton1s]

so being that i have calurpa grass and chaeto in the sump with 24/7 lighting it wouldnt be a good idea. my tank in my room is a 40 breeder on the sump could i just take all the chaeto and calurpa out and put say 20 red mangroves in its place and have a filter that would do just as good as calurpa???? i would like to have the diversity of a mangrove under my tank. i also like the way they look and think it just brings me closer to the love of my life, the ocean.

[BigJay]

Why do you have to spray the leaves ,I thought mangroves can uptake all the water they need through the roots being the only root system that can seperate the salt? I've never grown mangroves but I am very interested in doing a mangrove or two in my new tank. Appreciate the info.

[Varga]

Hi Jay, you have to spray the leaves to wash off the salt creep which develops very fast and is visible

I got mine off ebay very cheap and they acclimated very fast. you want to make sure the person you buy from has not been growing them in fresh water in which case they take months to acclimate.

[BigJay]

gotcha. thx!

[yungreefer2410]

is that some xenia growing down there?

[Varga]

yup I dunno how it landed there

[jkburton1s]

so putting them as an only filtration is out of the question????

[Frankie]

It takes about 25 per gallon to make a difference in nutrient up take. Great work Varga. They are growing fast for you. Not only do you need to freshwater spray them for the salt though. They also need to drink from this. I gave up on my little spray bottle and went large. Its' much easier. When i grew them in NY i used a pressure sprayer like you use to wash walls with when taking down wall paper.
I might be pulling mine off line soon. I have a feeling zeovit is not going to allow them the proper nutrients they were getting before. I might set up a clown breeding tank for my Amphiprion akindynos and use them in the refugium.

[jkburton1s]

so that is a no go for them only other wise they will be for looks

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by Frankie

It takes about 25 per gallon to make a difference in nutrient up take. Great work Varga. They are growing fast for you. Not only do you need to freshwater spray them for the salt though. They also need to drink from this. I gave up on my little spray bottle and went large. Its' much easier. When i grew them in NY i used a pressure sprayer like you use to wash walls with when taking down wall paper.
I might be pulling mine off line soon. I have a feeling zeovit is not going to allow them the proper nutrients they were getting before. I might set up a clown breeding tank for my Amphiprion akindynos and use them in the refugium.

Frank what are your thoughts on integrating the ATO output into a "Spray-bar" or "Spray-Nozzle" so that water is showered onto them a few times a day?

[yungreefer2410]

so how long would you run the lights on them?

[Frankie]

It's a great idea Allen but you would not be able to use kalk then.

[BigAl07]

I've not gotten THAT far yet Frank. Maybe if you're running CALC in your Top-Off you (and it's an ATO) you could simply set up another reservoir and plug the second pump into the same "outlet" as the primary ATO so that it's controlled by the same float switches? This way you wouldn't have to worry about another float system.