Mangroves Work Miracles

[1UCKY]

I currently have a 180 FOWLR tank running for about a year now. For the past few months I've been having a huge problem with my nitrates! They never went below 80PPM no matter how many water changes I did. Also note, I don't feed my fish everyday. I did some reading and learned that bio balls are a nitrate factory, so I went ahead and removed them from my wet dry a hand-full each week until they were all out. I placed some live rocks in there instead along with some cheto; I also placed light above the sump. I did my testing last week only to find that the nitrates were still high. I had given up until I read an article online about Mangroves and how they work in reducing nitrates. I went ahead and purchased 25 of them and placed them in my sump on Friday. I just did the testing for nitrates and was shocked to see 0 nitrates in my water:biggrin: :fish: .

 

[lfsmarineguy]

Mangroves require a certain degree of maintenance of their own in order to keep them healthy and alive. Several sprayings of fresh water a day to help them purge salt from their leaves, MH lighting, very deep mud substrate, etc. If they do survive they get HUGE.

 

[frank arriaga]

How Do Trim Them Went They Out Grow Your Tank

 

[1UCKY]

Mangroves do not need Metal Halides to survive; you'll basically burn them. I currently have mine under a 40 watt bulb, which for some aquarist is the norm. You can always trim them as well if they start to out-grow the sump (takes a few months though), i.e. trim the roots (careful not to trim the seed off, lol and trim the leaves off and leave just one attached to the plant.

 

[crox99]

I also have no nitrates and I use a dozen of mangroves under a 110w bulb.

 

[charliethetuna88]

i want some mangrooves any for sale

 

[crox99]

I can get you some.

 

[PalmTree]

What kind of substrate do you have to plant them in? Refugium mud?

 

[SIReefer]

Hey Charlie the Tuna - Nice Pit in your avitar. He looks hungry.

 

[1UCKY]

The mangroves are situated in a sump with some cheto....