Mangrove info:

[skylsdale]

Much discussion has been had over mangroves, and many people have many of the same questions about their care and handling. Here is one of the best single sources of info I have found on them. Written by Anthony Calfo (I believe just a few months ago) I find it more in-depth and current than the popular Adobe pamphlet put out by Julian Sprung. Check it out:

http://wetwebmedia.com/mangrovetrees.htm

[Anthony Calfo]

thanks kindly, my friend... and at the risk of a completely shameless plug :p A certain un-named new book on Reef Invertebrates has almost 70 of 400 pages dedicated to refugiums, plants and algae including Mangroves plus 4 other true vascular plants :D

[skylsdale]

almost 70 of 400 pages dedicated to refugiums, plants and algae including Mangroves plus 4 other true vascular plants

Don't rub it in now, Anthony. I'm not sure when I'll be able to order a copy, so I have to keep the anticipation down to a minimum. I've been thinking a lot about starting up that mangrove system I e-mailed you about a few months ago over at WetWebMedia, but we'll see how things go. It's nice to hear that such topics are covered in your book. Keep up the good work!

[Anthony Calfo]

Heehee... OK, I'll behave :p

But please do ask away in the meantime... many questions, many answers to be shared... some of them are even factual ;)

kind regards,

Anthony

[skylsdale]

Alright, well there is one aspect to this system that I've been pondering for the last couple of days. If you'll remember, the tank is a standard 30 gal (36x12x17) and I planned on using 100% natural light via an east facing dining room window. This provides some pretty intense light in the morning and indirect light throughout the afternoon and evening. Plenty for mangroves, but tank inhabitants will have to be very carefully chosen. Although the light withing the tank is near blinding during the morning hours, I'm not sure if it provides enough light throughout the rest of the day for corals, etc. Just a couple inches of Pure Aragonite, a powerhead or two for circulation. The tank would be open top with the water level a few inches below the top. Minimal LR, hopefully hefty seeding from other tanks and established SB's (hope to get microfauna crawling all over the place, as well as sponges, etc.) This tank could be pretty nutrient rich, so I'll obviously have to use that as a benefit in choosing inhabitants.

Now, to the primary question. One of my main goals is to have the trademark roots on the mangroves. However, in our previous correspondence, you mentioned that the roots could easily bust the seems of a tank (and having experience pulling lilies out of a gravel laden pond bottom, I know their strength). So, the viable option would be to keep them in pots to prevent this. I would collect muck from some eelgrass beds over in Puget Sound to put them in, since I assume this would contain a nice amount of nutrient for them. Now with the mangroves planted in potes, would it still be possible to encourage some of the proproots above the water without getting into trouble, as long as many of them are still contained within the pot?

[Anthony Calfo]

For your potted mangroves... you could only/best cultivate prop roots by fluctuating the water level in the tank. This would mean that there could not be an overflow to a sump for the tank (easily). Instead... water would need to be pumped up (higher) to a reservoir with an undersized (but calculated) drain.

Thus, you would have a timer come on once or twice daily, pump several inches of water out of the tank which slowly drained back down.

It could be quite interesting. Very intertidal and potential for other interesting growths, algaes and organisms (limpets, snails, nerites, etc) not normally kept for fear of drowning.

Best regards,

Anthony

[skylsdale]

Thanks Anthony, I've thought about the intertidal aspect. What type of drain systesm would I be looking at for this sort of thing?

[Anthony Calfo]

Really as simple as you might guess.

Restrict the valve on a vessel that is large enough to hold the x inches that you want to pump out of the display all at once. But then, restrict the drain by the valve so that it streams/drips in slowly over say 6 hours.

Could be as simple as a 5 gallon bucket if 5 gallons holds enough water to drop your tank several inches. :)