where to get fuge plants

john is a realy good guy

i use mangrooves in my tank and i like them alot the only thing is that you need alot of them for you to have a noticisable affect i have about 50 on my 40 gallon tank

 

There is some debate about them "getting exhausted" versus them crashing due to "caretaker neglect".
In either case I keep a small DSB in the refugium because it is very effective at controling excess nitrates along with my mangroves (floating in styrofoam like yours, not planted in the DSB) and Chateo, Garlicia, and some Ulva. My Fuge can be isolated from the rest of the system with the turn of a ball valve if there is ever an issue with the DSB (backup plans never hurt )

 

Where does this information come from?
I only have 6 in my fuge on the 90 and feel they made a significant contribution once they sprouted. At the time I only had those and a fist sized ball of chateo and saw my nitrates fall from a 25-30 down to 5 in a week or so.

 

I agree. I have 5 in a 10g sump/fuge hooked into my 38g tank. When you first start with them they don't do much, but as they grow into little bushes they get very good at what they do.

 

Thanks again for the info. it's very appreciated! I assume you just clip the mangroves back every so often so they don't grow to high? With the addition to a fuge is a UV sterilizer absolutely necessary? I also have my sump set up a different way than most. Some might think it is a stupid setup but I'm going to try it out anyways.... I have my 70gal. long under my 90 gal. DT in a custom built stand. In the 70gal. sump I have a 30 gal. tank just sitting in one half. The 30 contains my skimmer/return pump so if anything goes wrong in the fuge I can just lower the water level a few gal. preventing the water in the 70 from overflowing into the 30gal. Here is a pic of my setup as is..... getting supplies to start the rest of the sump today. The clown in the pics is the ONLY thing to survive the transition from the 70 (now sump) to the 90 on top. I am slowly but surely getting everything up and running to the point it was before changing tanks (after it grew for 2+ years). This tank has been up for about 2 months now and I think it is time to start adding more fish and starting a fuge. Not to mention the DESPERATE need for cleanup critters that it is lacking. The stand also has to be completed with the front doors/canopy. After it is complete my canister/electrical will all be hidden comfortably under the DT with the canister running in the "other side" of my sump. Any suggestions on my current setup?