starting a Fish-Only-Mangrove tank

[redfisher1139]

My reef tank contains a small patch of about 7 mangroves, and all of my fish love to be in the roots of them a lot, so I was thinking of starting a Fish-Only-Mangrove tank. I know it's not a natural habitat for most fish sold out there, but the ones I have in my reef seem to enjoy them better than the live rock caves in the reef. So, my question is, will the mangroves and sand with just a few smaller pieces of "decorative" live rock maintain the bacteria balance needed to support the tank?

 

[Henry405]

I think it would probably be the same as a Fish-only tank then. Maybe use some filter pads to provide areas for bacterial growth. I'm not sure how FO works haha

 

[redfisher1139]

Yeah, I plan on doing that. Plus, I am going to wait 6-12 months to add fish, as I am going to try and spike the nitrates and phosphates to boost the mangrove initial growth.

 

[thincat]

How do you plan to boost the nitrates with no nitrogen source?

 

[redfisher1139]

After cycling I intend to continue feeding the tank with a small amount of flake and performing maintenance as needed.

 

[thincat]

Sounds good, I had Mangroves for a few years. Just make sure that the roots don't find a way into the edges of your tank and cause a leak.