Advice of Mangroves

[MDBentley]

I've read about using Mangroves and have decided to give using them a go.

My tank is 150 gal with Nitrate at something slightly under 10ppm.

Today, I've floated 15 small Mangrove plants in my sump. Over the sump I've installed a single 18w Trinton tube. The tube has a reflector and is quite close to the plants.

I've used a local variety of Mangrove, avicennia marina, dug from a tidal estuary.

They're small plants with an average of 4 leaves with good root systems.

I wonder if I have sufficent light for optimal growth? During the "try and see if it works" stage I'm tring to avoid buying anything new. If I see positive results then I guess a low wattage HPS bulb would be best?

Should I dose some Iron from time to time? Would it be okay to use the same sort of Iron suppliment as used for freshwater tanks e.g. Seachem's product for plants?

How long should I expect to wait to see if the Mangroves are effective is reducing Nitrate?

Do I need more Mangroves (I can dig up as many as I need

)

 

[Reef55]

If you are worried about light, just buy some standard growbulbs. You should not need iron. The mangroves will take a few weeks to acclimate to salt water... you probably got them from brackish water. During this process expect the lower leaves to fall off and be replaced on the top by newer ones. They also might be "dusted" white with salt. Unless you have a very high bioload, 15 should do you well.

HTH

 

[gayfishman]

It is necesary to mist your plants. Mangroves displace salt through there leaf undersides. This cleans there pores so to speak. I suppose it is similar to them being cleaned by rain.