Well, I've been planning a possible setup now since last winter. It may or may not reach reality in the near future, but I thought I would throw up my plans for you all to look over. The budget for this setup will be next to nothing, which is how I got the inspiration for the idea--making those items I have work for me. The plan originally started simple, then turned into a much more complicated system of tidal simulations twice a day...then back to the originally simple setup.
The tank will center around a mangrove habitat (e.g. not just a couple propogules crammed between a couple pieces of LR in the refugium). The actual tank used will be an AGA 30 gal (36x12x17) and be open top. It will be placed right in front of a large east-facing window (the entire tank right up against the window) and will utilize nearly 100% natural light. The only artificial light will probably come from something like a 13W AZoo clip-on or something for viewing in the evening and at night. I set the tank up with some sand and water back in January just to see what kind of light it would get. When the sun comes up and hits the tank, the intensity is nearly blinding as it reflects off the sandbed. Around 11 am-12 pm the sun goes past the roofline and the tank receives some pretty steady indirect light for the rest of the day.
Water flow will consist of either a Duetto internal filter and/or another powerhead. Substrate will primarily be sediment (a.k.a. muck) collected from eelgrass beds over in Puget Sound. This will have a lot of the nutrients that the groves prefer. I will have several inches of this, and then maybe some white sand on top for aesthetics and light reflection to make the most out of the intense hours of sunlight. LR will be kept to a minimum, at most just a couple small pieces, maybe providing some sort of shelter or substrate relief in the tank...but mostly to promote biodiversity, then maybe taken out. I would like to get some good stuff from Tampa Bay or something, but can't justify the cost for the miniscule amount that I would need, but it has some great life on it that I would like to have in the tank (if any of you have a few small pieces of this stuff, maybe we can work something out).
As for the mangroves themselves, I will have 2-3 individual plants in there. I have done much research and internal debating about this. My initial concerns came from Anthony Calfo and his statements that the roots would definitely put pressure on the silicone seals of an aquarium and most likely become an area of concern in the 2-5 year window of the setup. However, I recently discussed this with someone else who does a lot of work in Florida, and they don't see that as much of a concern at all. So I'm going to take a gamble and see what happens. My main goal is to encourage as many possible prop roots as I can. I have read about various ways to do this (styrofoam, tape/stick, etc.) but have been told that bright light does the trick down in Florida, so I'll be going that route as well. As for other plants, I would also like to try some Widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) in the tank as well to see how it does. I really want this tank crawling with life. I want sponges, tunicates(if they can find enough food), molluscs (same story as the tunicates), microfauna, algaes, snails, etc. all over the place and growing on the roots.
You can probably tell I'm leaning toward a Keys/Caribbean themed tank. Truth be told, I'm a biotopic aquarist and I can't handle mish-moshed community style tanks. It's nothing personal...just how I am. Things need to be from their respective environments and geographic locations for me to be content. One of my biggest voids right now in this tank is the "showcase" organism. This could very well determine how specific I become with the tank (e.g. Indo-Pacific or Caribbean). I'm having a difficult time finding a fish that would do well in such a tank. There's the obligatory Banggai,but I would rather try something different. There are a few species of cardinals found in the mangroves, but I don't think they are very common in the hobby. I'm sure someone here is thinking of mudskippers, but I really don't want those as well. A dragonet would do well. Many juvenile fish use mangroves as a nursery until they reach adulthood and head into open water, but these adult fish are pretty huge...far too large for a 30 gal tank. However, my plan is probably not going to replicate your typical inshore mangrove habitat, but something probably more along the lines of an overwash mangal or dwarf mangrove island, which are found in more open water and may be more likely to have other fish species taking cover in them. If you have any ideas, let me know.
With the natural sunlight, I'm curious as to how well corals and other similar inverts would do. I may try this down the road as well.
That's about all I can think of for now. I just thought I would share what I've been working on and get any feedback you may have. Thanks!
The tank will center around a mangrove habitat (e.g. not just a couple propogules crammed between a couple pieces of LR in the refugium). The actual tank used will be an AGA 30 gal (36x12x17) and be open top. It will be placed right in front of a large east-facing window (the entire tank right up against the window) and will utilize nearly 100% natural light. The only artificial light will probably come from something like a 13W AZoo clip-on or something for viewing in the evening and at night. I set the tank up with some sand and water back in January just to see what kind of light it would get. When the sun comes up and hits the tank, the intensity is nearly blinding as it reflects off the sandbed. Around 11 am-12 pm the sun goes past the roofline and the tank receives some pretty steady indirect light for the rest of the day.
Water flow will consist of either a Duetto internal filter and/or another powerhead. Substrate will primarily be sediment (a.k.a. muck) collected from eelgrass beds over in Puget Sound. This will have a lot of the nutrients that the groves prefer. I will have several inches of this, and then maybe some white sand on top for aesthetics and light reflection to make the most out of the intense hours of sunlight. LR will be kept to a minimum, at most just a couple small pieces, maybe providing some sort of shelter or substrate relief in the tank...but mostly to promote biodiversity, then maybe taken out. I would like to get some good stuff from Tampa Bay or something, but can't justify the cost for the miniscule amount that I would need, but it has some great life on it that I would like to have in the tank (if any of you have a few small pieces of this stuff, maybe we can work something out).
As for the mangroves themselves, I will have 2-3 individual plants in there. I have done much research and internal debating about this. My initial concerns came from Anthony Calfo and his statements that the roots would definitely put pressure on the silicone seals of an aquarium and most likely become an area of concern in the 2-5 year window of the setup. However, I recently discussed this with someone else who does a lot of work in Florida, and they don't see that as much of a concern at all. So I'm going to take a gamble and see what happens. My main goal is to encourage as many possible prop roots as I can. I have read about various ways to do this (styrofoam, tape/stick, etc.) but have been told that bright light does the trick down in Florida, so I'll be going that route as well. As for other plants, I would also like to try some Widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) in the tank as well to see how it does. I really want this tank crawling with life. I want sponges, tunicates(if they can find enough food), molluscs (same story as the tunicates), microfauna, algaes, snails, etc. all over the place and growing on the roots.
You can probably tell I'm leaning toward a Keys/Caribbean themed tank. Truth be told, I'm a biotopic aquarist and I can't handle mish-moshed community style tanks. It's nothing personal...just how I am. Things need to be from their respective environments and geographic locations for me to be content. One of my biggest voids right now in this tank is the "showcase" organism. This could very well determine how specific I become with the tank (e.g. Indo-Pacific or Caribbean). I'm having a difficult time finding a fish that would do well in such a tank. There's the obligatory Banggai,but I would rather try something different. There are a few species of cardinals found in the mangroves, but I don't think they are very common in the hobby. I'm sure someone here is thinking of mudskippers, but I really don't want those as well. A dragonet would do well. Many juvenile fish use mangroves as a nursery until they reach adulthood and head into open water, but these adult fish are pretty huge...far too large for a 30 gal tank. However, my plan is probably not going to replicate your typical inshore mangrove habitat, but something probably more along the lines of an overwash mangal or dwarf mangrove island, which are found in more open water and may be more likely to have other fish species taking cover in them. If you have any ideas, let me know.
With the natural sunlight, I'm curious as to how well corals and other similar inverts would do. I may try this down the road as well.
That's about all I can think of for now. I just thought I would share what I've been working on and get any feedback you may have. Thanks!
)
