I hope that there is enough of a tie-in with the Mangrove theme and that this topic isn't too far afield. There are a lot of great sub-forums here already, but has a brackish tank area every been considered?
Brackish Mangrove Riparium
The days are getting shorter, so I'm starting to think about how to re-accommodate some of my plants that have been growing happily outdoors in semi-shade patio conditions. They all seem so happy in the natural light, fresh air and warmth and I always feel bad about moving them back indoors...
This tub has a couple of pots with White Mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) and a couple more with Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans). They are currently growing in regular freshwater, so they'll require some acclimation time for brackish conditions.
I have ideas for two new setups and one or both of these will be brackish water with estuary flora & fauna. Each of these will additionally build upon my other projects incorporating kinetic water motion and physics concepts:
1. 12-gallon bookshelf tank with water wave machine
2. 30-gallon breeder tank simulating estuary tidal water level changes with bell siphon and/or other mechanism
The first idea will be similar to my 7-gallon bookshelf tank. That setup doesn't really have enough water volume for livestock, but I can fit a few small fish into a half-full 12-gallon tank. I'll leave space above the 12-gallon and the trees can grow up several feet tall if they want to.
Years ago I built the mangrove setup below. Along with several Mangrove trees, it also grew Hala Tree (Pandanus tectorius) and Leather Fern (Acrostichum danaeifolium) and housed some pretty cool US-native estuary Killis and Poeceliids. If I set up the breeder tank for Mangroves it will be similar to this with the same footprint and approximate water volume, but with a little less real estate for plants because I will orient as a peninsula and leave the front end open.
I designed this style of riparium planter and it works pretty nice for holding plants nice and steady in shallow water—much easier to deal with in comparison with stacks of rocks or other solutions. Sand substrate covers the white base and growing plant roots and foliage shade and hide the other plastic parts pretty well...
I hope to have some more updates pretty soon. I have most of the stuff I need and just need to move stuff around in my fish room to make space.
Brackish Mangrove Riparium
The days are getting shorter, so I'm starting to think about how to re-accommodate some of my plants that have been growing happily outdoors in semi-shade patio conditions. They all seem so happy in the natural light, fresh air and warmth and I always feel bad about moving them back indoors...
This tub has a couple of pots with White Mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa) and a couple more with Black Mangrove (Avicennia germinans). They are currently growing in regular freshwater, so they'll require some acclimation time for brackish conditions.
I have ideas for two new setups and one or both of these will be brackish water with estuary flora & fauna. Each of these will additionally build upon my other projects incorporating kinetic water motion and physics concepts:
1. 12-gallon bookshelf tank with water wave machine
2. 30-gallon breeder tank simulating estuary tidal water level changes with bell siphon and/or other mechanism
The first idea will be similar to my 7-gallon bookshelf tank. That setup doesn't really have enough water volume for livestock, but I can fit a few small fish into a half-full 12-gallon tank. I'll leave space above the 12-gallon and the trees can grow up several feet tall if they want to.
Years ago I built the mangrove setup below. Along with several Mangrove trees, it also grew Hala Tree (Pandanus tectorius) and Leather Fern (Acrostichum danaeifolium) and housed some pretty cool US-native estuary Killis and Poeceliids. If I set up the breeder tank for Mangroves it will be similar to this with the same footprint and approximate water volume, but with a little less real estate for plants because I will orient as a peninsula and leave the front end open.
I designed this style of riparium planter and it works pretty nice for holding plants nice and steady in shallow water—much easier to deal with in comparison with stacks of rocks or other solutions. Sand substrate covers the white base and growing plant roots and foliage shade and hide the other plastic parts pretty well...
I hope to have some more updates pretty soon. I have most of the stuff I need and just need to move stuff around in my fish room to make space.
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