Mangrove sump filtration

[PatM]

I wonder if anyone has any experience in using mangroves to filter a reef tank. I built a 15 gallon sump and an overflow and I am probably a couple weeks away from getting the whole thing running. I just wonder how well this will work, I'm gonna put a 5" sand bed in the sump and maybe grow some macro algaes too, but I am most interested in growing a plant that will complement my living room as well as filter my tank. My system is going to sit next to my tank and look more like a planter box and a second display. I wonder though, since mangroves are trees, if I will need to prune this like a bonsai to keep it in check? That might be cool anyhow.

 

[MadManMac]

I started using mangroves about 3 months ago and within the last two weeks my water has become very stable and Nitrates have dropped. They only pruning you have to do is to take the leaves off of the stems when they grow out of the water. You never want to take off all the leaves, one whould always stay. If you take off the leaves they will not grow too tall, but the roots will spread quickly across your snad bed out of sight and make for a really solid foundation. I like mine and think they have done wonders for my water in a very shrt period of time.

 

[PatM]

That nitrate reduction is what I'm really hoping for, I'm doing weekly changes just to keep em' down even with a 3" sand bed in my main tank. I'ts getting tedious, I'm kind of hoping to get down to monthly changes like my f/w tanks. Though I would not mind if the mangroves get tall, I am a plant fanatic as well and wouldn't mind a tall plant in the living room, will it get large if I let it....say a couple feet? They are trees right?

 

[salt.watcher]

yea the mangroves are trees and will reach several feet high. I have a friend who uses them and they perform excellent. His protein skimmer doesn't even collect anymore, at first we thought the skimmer was bad and he put a spare on and same results. He's convinced me to put some in my sump. If you haven't ordered them yet i strongly suggest buying them with roots already. If you buy them as pods they may take several months to sprout as they go dormant.

 

[flatzboy]

I would also test for magnesium twice a week because thats what mangroves live off and will rob you system of it within a month so you should look into dosing magnesium and get a good acurate test kit, I recomend sailfert test kits.

 

[PatM]

Ah, thank you. The magnesium is something I didn't even think about and don't dose or test regularly. I best look into it, I haven't ordered yet because moving has slowed my project, but I hope to get back to finishing my sump asap. The constant water changes are killing me!

 

[Cafe Jeff]

Would it be possible to post a pic of the setup.
It sounds enormously intriguing. Jeff

 

[PatM]

Yeah, love too. Uh....how do you post pics again? I'll try and get the time to post em' in my gallery, I know how to do that.

 

[Cafe Jeff]

Please do.
Once they're in the gallery, do let us know! Jeff

 

[PatM]

I got em up now. Really not much to it yet. A homemade overflow and a three chamber sump made out of a 20 gallon tall. I am still coming up with the details, I think I want to paint all sections of the sump except the main in blue. The main chamber holds about 15 gallons and I think will be a fascinating addition to my living room, I just want to block out the return pump and filtration junk from the naked eye so it doesn't become an eyesore in my living room. I have an old wrought iron stand that I'm refinishing, and it will stretch out in front of a window in my living room to catch some natural sunlight for a good portion of the day. The stand is for a 30 long, so it leaves me a little room to put some houseplants on it too. Should be cool! I am, however, looking to buy a house in the next couple of months, so I'm considering curbing any new set-ups until after the move, it's so hard to resist though.