Macroalgae substrate

[lnevo]

So here's the situation. I have an eshopps r-100 refugium sump. I currently have a critter cage with holes drilled filled with LR rubble. The cage takes up a lot of space and I was concerned about flow, so I have a bunch of gutter guard "pod condos" setup to move the rocks into.

Here comes the question...I just purchased the Caribbean Refugium Algae Pack (mangrove, red grape plant, halimedia, and a shaving brush) from reefs2go, and I think the plants may need a sand substrate, but maybe I can just nestle them into crevices between the rock condos...what is the best thing for these macros?

 

[james1990]

I have the same sump, I'm interested in the answer to this as well. Good luck.

Also, what lighting requirements do the macro plants require?

 

[bigdog1428]

Mangroves can grow in sand , but not neccasry, as long as roots are in water ,, u are fine. If any leaves falls in water , u MUST take out right away, that's where the mangroves stores all the bad nitrates and phosphates

 

[lnevo]

So are the rest of those macros good either floating or wedged in the rocks? Am i better off leaving it w/o sand?

 

[fireshark02]

You really don't need sand, the macro will just ball up but try to just stand up the mangroves. They really don't need much light. Just got water them with fresh r/o daily or bi daily

 

[james1990]

For what it's worth having a sand bed in a fuge is beneficial as well. My display is bare bottom so running a sand bed in the fuge gives another form of nutrient export and a place for little critters to grow.

 

[lnevo]

I've seen a lot of debate on the actual benefit of such a small volume of sand vs the nutrient trapping properties which was why i was asking. My original plan was to do sand but i was talked out of it...now that I have these plants..Im back to the question..

 

[lnevo]

So, I scrapped the pod-condos I made out of gutter guard... If anyone wants a few, I made 8... I may use some later when I have a mandarin to feed... but for now, I went with the aesthetic approach. I skipped the sand bed for now because I didn't want to regret putting it, I could always add later. So, anyway after an afternoon's worth of playing, here's what I got.

 

[MikeC]

Looks good

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

You should also be misting your mangroves with RODI or they will dry out...

Info on macros:
http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=102

 

[kenconnect]

What I did was take the hose from my auto top off and pointed it right of top of my mangroves .. Puff instinct sprayer daily and don't have to worry about them.. And got good results .

 

[lnevo]

Thats a good idea with the ATO, but not an option for me since I'm using a gravity fed ATO. Good article i need a better way mount them, since i turn my return off during feeding time. I have to find a good piece of styrofoam. Right now they float out and topple over sometimes..

How often should they be misted would you say? Daily, weekly, bi weekly?

 

[lnevo]

Mangroves mounted and sprayed down...