How to handle mangrove in my 55-gallon FOWLR ?

[chshwong]

Hi there

I'm trying to use mangrove to reduce the nitrate in my 55-gallon FOWLR.
I finally found a source and got 6 today.

It's hanging up there without gravel with open top. It's a bit close to my actinic blue light, and should not be affected by my other 20 W bulb on the other side at the front.
There's no root yet, and here's a picture of how it looks like:
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/6140/mangrovef.jpg

Here a picture of my whole tank, not sure if it matters:
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/7469/img4674w.jpg

Now my question is really, do I need gravel while there are no roots?
Or is there anything wrong or things that i can do better with these mangrove?

Thanks!

 

[pokmijn]

they will grow roots people just like keeping it trimmed and what you can do better for those mangrove is make a refugium and place it in there thats what i did when i had my 55.

 

[Ziggy953]

Couple things to know about mangroves. They are very slow to remove nutrients from your water and you will need a lot of them to do the job. They do require dirt in the water to grow roots in, and you will need to mist the leaves with fresh water everyday to keep them happy. I grew mine by hanging them in my fuge until the roots hit the sand/dirt at the bottom. Eventually they rooted themselves and I didn't have to hang them. They do need the fresh water though. Mist the leaves at least once a day.

 

[melosu58]

Working with Mangroves

 

[thincat]

I had my mangrove for over a yr and tossed them out and replaced them with chaeto..much better nitrate remover.IMO

 

[Ziggy953]

I totally agree with you TC, I liked having the "tree" growing out of my fuge and actually had plans of doing a potted mangrove forest between my tanks that was plumbed into the system. They don't do much for nutrient export but if you are a plant lover they are nice to incorporate in your system.

 

[thincat]

Another note if you do intend the try the mangrove, you have to pluck the leaves off a few at a time to have any nutrient export.