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#1
12/02/2007, 07:46 PM
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mangroves/protein skimmers
about 2mo ago I added 10 mangroves to my sump, they are alive!! the root system doing well ,however, protein skimming has ceased?? the skimmer is a small /simple built in type that was producing some coffee now and then ,it gets a good cleaning once a month , I also did a DIY nitrate scrubber about 2mo, prior to mangroves but still was getting coffee colored effluen. my ammo,nitrite,ate and phoshates are zero. tank size 65g., apprx 100 lbs lrock, few damsils ,clowns, y tang.(9fish aprrox 15'' total fish length) .tank is mostly about soft corals. Is it possible that the mangroves could affect the pskimming to that extent?
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#2
12/02/2007, 09:02 PM
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I was thinking about putting in some mangroves myself, never thought the results would be so dramatic!
Just out of interest how quickly after adding the mangroves did the skimmate stop? Does the water flow through the mangroves before or after the skimmer? It would be great if an expensive skimmer could be replaced with a natural alternative. Will tag along to see if someone smart replies! Rich.
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"Rulers weren't made to be broken" |
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#4
12/03/2007, 03:26 PM
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I guess it is possible (( I have no experience with mangroves )) but I wonder if you need to clear out the air line to your skimmer. Kind of guessing since I don't know what kind of skimmer you have. But, I know with mine I have to clean that part out about every other month.
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But Todd is right --- mhurley |
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#5
12/03/2007, 03:42 PM
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The air line to my skimmer needs to be cleaned out once a month as well. I don't have any experience with mangroves, but thought about adding a few.
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#6
12/03/2007, 03:49 PM
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TBH, mangroves are (as I read somewhere on nano-reef a while ago), mostly aesthetic. In nature, when they grow in massive forests of 100ft trees, they do a great job. When you have three little 15" mangroves, they won't create dramatic results. Yes, they will export nutrients. They do work, and are of no detriment to your system. But they won't take the place of a skimmer unless you have your tank plumbed to a greenhouse fuge full of mangroves (which would be like a second dt - I may have to hold onto that idea). I may be completely off base, but I read that a month or two ago on n-r and it stuck with me.
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#7
12/03/2007, 08:24 PM
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The mangroves were added in an effort to export the bad stuff. The DIY nitrate coil scrubber (24"X3" dia w/50' of 3/8 dia coiled poly ,surrounding bio balls)was an attempt to lower my nitrate levels. w/in 1 1/2 mos. the level started to drop substantially,however, Since I do not use RO/DI ,I knew Phos would be inherently a prob. and could be the reason the green stuff would not go away. Therefore, why not try a refuge w/ mangroves. This was done after a little research , that even suggested that the mangroves could be a biological RO/DI engine, and some of the listed results were impressive. So I held my breath, cut a hole into my clear file folder case ,and drilled a hole into my pump side of the wet/dry connected a 5/8 '' tube between at a slight angle, put a gravity drain between the pskimmer side of the w/dry to the bottom of the file folder(5/8'' flex tubing), floated 2 6'' strafoam plates w/5 mangroves in ea. w/in 2weeks my ammon,nitrite,ate and phos were 0 . and I won the battle (todate!) with the green stuff. The lighting is provided by a little 12'' under the counter flor. 65w. I will pay attention to the air input tube next cleaning, Also, my feeding routines did not change through this process. Unfortunately , because of my impatience, I can't say for sure if the DIY coil denitator was all that was needed.Maybe i should have given it a little more time before going bio. ?
I hear you about the greenhouse refuge , I'm just curious to see if anyone had a similiar experience. The skimmer will stay on!!! Thanks ! |
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#8
12/04/2007, 03:11 AM
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I have added 10 mangroves to a sump for my old 55g before, with an ok skimmer. The nitrate never went down. The thing to completely reduce nitrate was a new good skimmer.
I don't think mangroves were helping much. You are using tap water too? If your nitrate and phosphate testing are correct you have very grest success here. BTW mangroves will suck out bad things AND good things. |
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#9
12/04/2007, 06:34 AM
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Re: mangroves/protein skimmers
Quote:
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God will have Mercy Your SW tank WONT- Me Freedom Must occasionally be renewed with the blood of patriots-General Patton |
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