Florida Dry rock for SW aquariums

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How deep of a sandbed do you have? How much room do you need for them? 6/7 in one of those small chambers in your sump?
Yes, I have the seed pods with 2-4 leaves on each plant in one section of my "very thin" sump. I do not have them in sand or mud because I don't want them taking root in my tank. Matter of fact I give each one a turn at least once a week to prevent this from happening. The leaves are super green so I know that they are sucking out loads of nitrates. I do believe that as a nitrate remover mangroves are to slow and that cheato is better.

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Tunes...I live in Orlando..so not to far from the cocoa beach guy! WE should all maybe meet us or something and go rock gathering or something haha!

Lol, i have been looking for frag traders to do with. I have not yet gone to the saly side but i am getting there.

Yes, I have the seed pods with 2-4 leaves on each plant in one section of my "very thin" sump. I do not have them in sand or mud because I don't want them taking root in my tank. Matter of fact I give each one a turn at least once a week to prevent this from happening. The leaves are super green so I know that they are sucking out loads of nitrates. I do believe that as a nitrate remover mangroves are to slow and that cheato is better.

I plan on dueing this as well and i plan on using chaeto at the same time.
 
"I plan on dueing this as well and i plan on using chaeto at the same time." I do both also. I keep turning my mangove around because I read somewhere that the roots can compromise the seams of an AQ. So best not to take any chances. My nitrate level has been 0 so I must be doing something right....Thin sump and all...Hahaha
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I figure the more of a biological filters you have the better tank health you will have, that is why i support plants so much in FW tanks.
 
I've had my mangrove in my sump since jan. 08 and to tell you the truth I believe that my DSB is the reason that my nitrates have been at (0). When it finally kicked in it blew my mind. The sandbed was bubbling up as if it was a can of soda that I just opened. Bubbles where everywhere. It was so funny because my Hermit crab would dislodge the nitrogen bubbles and it would get trapped in it's shell and the crab would start to float around the tank like a person with a parachute. Soooo funny
 
DSB=Deep sandbed. It allows for anaerobic(without air)bacteria to grow and consume the NO3 changing it to nitrogen which bubbles out of the sand and into the air.
PS: I forgot. I have a 65g with a 24g sump that is part of the tank and is the back portion of the unit. It was designed to Prevent overflows.
Capt ahab always teases me about my thin sump.....:0
 
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I got it in my tank. Came from the keys and it was jam packed with critters. great base rock.
 
If the "critters' were still alive and the rock did not dry up completely, then the bacteria would also be alive and therefore it would be LR not base rock.
 
It takes a few weeks before you start to see the nitrogen bubbling out of the sandbed.
Below is a picture of the nitrogen bubbling out of the sand. Those streaks of white are some of the bubbles. Also look at all the bubbles in the sandbed.
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So, I got to thinking about the mangroves and decided to go to the local island mangrove forest (because I can) and pick up some pods w roots. So what kind of light source should I use? while I was there I got some of that mud because it seems so rich. thinking about putting it in my sump or growing the mangroves in it but I cant put it in the tank so not sure what to do with it. Any suggestions?
 
They do well bare root. That is how I have them and they have been in there for more than 18 months. Once a month I turn them so as not to let a root work it's way into a seam of the AQ.
 
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