Mangroves....

Hi everyone.

quick question.

I don't have a sump, but have read that mangroves do wonders in eating up nitrates so algae starves.

Is there anyway for me to add them to my tank? I was thinking of having some kinda nice Tupperware dish, with some properly drilled holes, so water could interchange between it and the main tank, putting some substrate it in, and hitching it inside my tank on the rim. That way they could take advantage of my current lighting, and have an interaction with the tank water directly, vs my having to add a sump.

I'm thinking somewhere along the lines of a 4inch by 6 inch dish.

Am I crazy?

 

What size tank are we talking about Brew?

 

you dont need a sump, just a fuge. there are a few easy ways to do that without a sump. buy at the store HOB Fuge. D.I.Y. HOB Fuge or just use HOB Filter as a Fuge.

 

I put my seed pods in my overflow box. once they root I use syrofoam and float them in my sump. you could probly just put them anywhere in the tank.

 

Your not crazy at all. FYI they don't really need substrate. I have one growing in my bare bottom sump.

 

You guys are awesome for replying so fast. I love this forum. lol.

My tank is a 25g. It looked a LOT bigger before I put the LR and fish in it. :-/. I already regret buying such a small tank, but I've decided to make the most of it and make it as much of a learning experience as I can before I move up to a bigger one.

I have a HOB filter rated for a 50g tank at this time. 1 Hydor Koralia 2 powerhead, theo hydor heater, and a coralife lunar aqualite. 1x65w and 1 65w actinic? Not entirely sure.

I just ordered an AquaC remora HOB skimmer, with the maxijet 1200. That should help me out a bit. The reviews are phenomenal.

I guess I hear fuge and sump, and thought that a fuge was part of a sump, and that it couldn't be independent. Now that I know differently, there may be another option, other than placing the mangroves in my actual tank..

I do have an old 6 gallon eclipse acrylic tank, that I used as a planted tetra tank many years ago. It would be an awesome size to fit under my current tank, or even have on a table at the side of my tank. ( I love the idea of having a tank and then having mangroves growing right next door for me to look at, rather than under the stand.).

Could I just somehow, drill an inlet and output hole in the 6g, and plant a few mangroves in there, and somehow plumb some piping from my display to and from the 6 gallon along side my tank, rather than beneath it?

EDIT: Oh, wait..... that would mean that I would have to install an overflow right? I don't want to have to do that... so, yeah, I guess I'll figure out a HOB or an Internal box for the groves.

 

some people take a hob filter box and remove some parts and grow cheato and mangroves in that.. assuming your main lights can get coverage to that area..

 

I've seen poeple float them in thier dt by poking holes in some styrafoam and sticking the mangroves through

 

I dont have a fuge/sump.. and just the other day I planted some mangroves.. I ripped out all the parts from the HOB filter added some sand and sunked it in the tank... i am yet to drill holes around it.. but it works.. they seem to be fine..

Look up this post (it has pictures):
http://www.3reef.com/forums/refugium/poor-mans-mangrove-plants-87140.html

 

that setup is a good idea because it will keep flow around the mangroves slower, they seem to do better in a low velocity environment.