mangrove plants and skimmers

Have to agree there

My plan ( one day ) is to have a 6-8 inch tray above my tank for a mangrove. Pump a small amount of water into the tray and let it naturally drain back into the tank. The whole ub=nit placed under a skylight

As a friend of mine would say

" It is but to dream "

John

 

I had a real nice mangrove tank for 3 years. It had 5, man I loved those guys. It was 6" deep, with an unplanned vapor lock surge that would bring the level to about 9", then the air pocket would give, and the water would slowly leave. I'm setting it back up in my office really soon. I have the pods growing in our sumps right now.

JohnO, you've seen the sea foam, it's sorta like a protein skimmer on a larger scale. Sun's UV beat down real hard, kinda like a UV sterilizer. Mind you, they're only similiar in outcome, not in the process. Come winter, we'll have sea foam blowing miles in land in a good storm.

 

one reason a person would want to 'get rid of' a protein skimmer is because they don't have one in the first place

i don't want to spend $$$ on a piece of equipment that i may not need to get. i read this on one site:

"Mangroves not only have the ability to absorb nitrates, but phosphates and other organics as well. In fact, they remove organics so well from the water that they act as a replacement for a protein skimmer. When using mangroves you will notice your protein skimmer working less and less all the time. The more the mangroves grow and mature, the more they absorb the excess organics in your water, and the skimmer has nothing to remove and becomes obsolete."
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/nitratecontrol/a/aa051398.htm

but over time i have learned to trust the about site less and less. i now see the site as the opinion of 1 or 2 people. knowledgable people, yes, but not to be taken as canon.

yesterday i was talking with a classmate that has been keeping reef aquariums for 8 years and he said that the mangroves replacing a protein skimmer is somewhat unrealistic--according to him, it would take a very long time to get a setup to the point where it would replace a protein skimmer. he strongly advocates the use of a protein skimmer. in fact, another of my knowledgable friends does too. they were both quick to point out that the protein skimmer also helps to aerate the tank (something that i have painfully learned about: http://www.3reef.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=ASAP;action=display;num=1097344820 .

it's still a nice idea, though. there's something quite attractive in going "all natural". i would definitely like to try it out sometime.

 

MMM, yah, you'll find that about site is an iffy way of getting info.

 

[quote author=Gresham link=board=Protein;num=1097277130;start=0#11 date=10/12/04 at 21:36:32]

JohnO, you've seen the sea foam, it's sorta like a protein skimmer on a larger scale.  Sun's UV beat down real hard, kinda like a UV sterilizer.  Mind you, they're only similiar in outcome, not in the process. Come winter, we'll have sea foam blowing miles in land in a good storm.[/quote]

Gresham,

Yes I know, in fact the very idea of foam fractionation came from the observation of sea foam, but sea foam in no way has anything by minute impact on the DOCS in the ocean, that was my point. That applies to the UV factor as well

Maybe I am just getting touchy about the overuse of the word replicate aye

John

 

[quote author=Gresham link=board=Protein;num=1097277130;start=0#13 date=10/12/04 at 23:28:59]MMM, yah, you'll find that about site is an iffy way of getting info.  [/quote]

DITTO

John

 

Yah, kinda Nah, I do see it your way actually, thats why I threw in sorta and kinda. Way too much other things are going on with the ocean that we'll never be able to replicate. We're just mimicking what we see. Not duplicating, replicating or anything, just mimicking, poorly at that

 

My fish just burped. Guess when he caught air, he took some in as well. My wrasses sure do like to fly. The can launch and land Deeper tank is need soooon.