mangrove plants and skimmers

i have read and have also been told that mangroves plants can completely replace the need for a protein skimmer.
protein skimmers are so $$$$ and i like live plants, that would be a very attractive option for me if it's true. anyone have any experience with this?

 

Mangroves grow very slowly. If you want to remove Nitrates, DOC, and DOM with mangroves, you will have to have a LOT of them....otherwise they are a waste as far as nutrient export is concerned. They also require you to add Magnesium on a regular basis. It is EXTREMELY important that you use a damp towel with freshwater and rub down all of the leaves at least weekly. It is equally important that no leaves are ever allowed to drop into your sump or fuge as it will release all of the nutrients it had absorbed right back into the tank.

I gotta admit, I think it would look cool. I don't do it because I can think of many ways to more efficiently remove nutrients and a skimmer would be on the top of that list followed by granular activate Carbon.

If you decide to do this, please post pics. I also want you to read how to properly care for mangroves (link requires Adobe Acrobat). http://www.twolittlefishies.com/images/mangrove_manual.pdf

 

that was an excellent article! i had read quite a bit on the internet but nothing nearly as useful as that article. i hadn't been sure even how the mangrove fits in the aquarium but the pictures in the article were worth a thousand words. also, no online info source mentioned anything about magnesium!

i won't be doing this any time soon but someday, when i get a bigger tank, i will almost certainly convert my 10-gallon into a refugium of some kind. i am very tempted to try the mangrove thing. if it happens any time soon i will be sure to update you here!

thanks again.

 

bpayh - nice avatar! have an answer ..... gourmet for eels!

 

thx
it's one of my own fishies, you can see the tank in the link in my sig
it's really big though, isn't it? i'm completely ignorant when it comes to editing photos.

 

I just mist my leaves every so often, it's just fine for them, not much salt builds up. The higher the salinity, the slower the growth. Slower growth, less water processed. Less water processed, less salt exported. Less salt export, less build up.

If you do normal water changes, a few mangroves won't deplete much mag. They also don't effect the water parameters in any other fashion positive or negative, except they tend to make the water a little greener/browner.

 

Mangroves aren't a substitute for a protein skimmer, sorry. Nor are fuges IMO.

 

[quote author=Gresham link=board=Protein;num=1097277130;start=0#6 date=10/09/04 at 22:04:29]Mangroves aren't a substitute for a protein skimmer, sorry.  Nor are fuges IMO.[/quote]

Agreed. UV replicates the strong UV at the surface of the water. Protien skimmers replicate a LOT more. I don't understand why everyone wants to get rid of one. Besides keeping water at 35 ppt, I cannot think of a more usefull tool at helping to replicate the oligotrophic conditions of a reef.

 

[quote author=inwall75 link=board=Protein;num=1097277130;start=0#7 date=10/12/04 at 15:11:37]

Agreed.  UV replicates the strong UV at the surface of the water.  Protien skimmers replicate a LOT more.  I don't understand why everyone wants to get rid of one.  Besides keeping water at 35 ppt, I cannot think of a more usefull tool at helping to replicate the oligotrophic conditions of a reef.[/quote]

The operation of neither UV filters or protein skimmers replicate anything that is found in nature, maybe you could explain an bit further as I am confused or maybe I have misunderstood

John

 

Gotta admit though the mangroves are cool though. Just something differnet than you see every day. The only person I know that has had them and kept them with success was my buddy Rick who runs one of our sponsors here at www.coraldynamics.com I have always wanted to give them a shot I just have never had the space and such to do it properly