Shallow Mangrove Lagoon - Custom Build - Indian River Lagoon Biome
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MrWheelock
Valuable Member
To me it looks like a baby aptasia/ glass anenome
MrWheelock
Valuable Member
No problem
BoomCorals
2500 Club Member
Beautiful design and execution. Looking forward to see how you fill it with critters.
I started a mangrove/macro algae tank years ago for something different and it’s grown into tank I like to watch just as much as my main sps display!
I started a mangrove/macro algae tank years ago for something different and it’s grown into tank I like to watch just as much as my main sps display!
Have been having pretty good luck with this set up so far! The sea grasses and macros I added about a month ago are all doing very well. Starting to see some good growth on them. The mollies have grown a lot. I really like them as livestock in this set up, it looks very natural. I’ve tried to find other fish for this tank but really can’t find anything I like. I may just add a few more mollies. I got a very small masked goby but he spends most of his time in the macros.
I recently added a few gorgonia to the set up and they have really set the tank off!
I also added two sea squirts (tunicates). I’ve always been fascinated by these and I’m excited to see how they do.
The mangrove is thriving under that kessil. I have not yet added the second but may now that I have more photosynthetics on the other side of the tank.
I recently added a few gorgonia to the set up and they have really set the tank off!
I also added two sea squirts (tunicates). I’ve always been fascinated by these and I’m excited to see how they do.
The mangrove is thriving under that kessil. I have not yet added the second but may now that I have more photosynthetics on the other side of the tank.
The tank has been running really well lately. I added a large strawberry sponge about a month ago. It was in less than perfect shape when I got it but it was a good price. I can’t tell if it’s getting better or worse.
One of the gorgonians I added died almost immediately, the second seems to be on a very slow decline and the third has visibly grown. I’ve not got these figured out quite yet.
The saltwater mollies I had in the tank met unfortunate ends. One snuck through the overflow and got caught in the drain, the other jumped ship during a water change.
I have added 3 small porkfish, a small parrot, and a mystery grunt to the tank. All wild caught from the keys.
The macros do really well in this tank. I had more of the red macros but they are hard to keep down and kept getting sucked into the power head.
The mangrove couldn’t be happier and neither can I.
One of the gorgonians I added died almost immediately, the second seems to be on a very slow decline and the third has visibly grown. I’ve not got these figured out quite yet.
The saltwater mollies I had in the tank met unfortunate ends. One snuck through the overflow and got caught in the drain, the other jumped ship during a water change.
I have added 3 small porkfish, a small parrot, and a mystery grunt to the tank. All wild caught from the keys.
The macros do really well in this tank. I had more of the red macros but they are hard to keep down and kept getting sucked into the power head.
The mangrove couldn’t be happier and neither can I.
The tank has been running really well lately. I added a large strawberry sponge about a month ago. It was in less than perfect shape when I got it but it was a good price. I can’t tell if it’s getting better or worse.
One of the gorgonians I added died almost immediately, the second seems to be on a very slow decline and the third has visibly grown. I’ve not got these figured out quite yet.
The saltwater mollies I had in the tank met unfortunate ends. One snuck through the overflow and got caught in the drain, the other jumped ship during a water change.
I have added 3 small porkfish, a small parrot, and a mystery grunt to the tank. All wild caught from the keys.
The macros do really well in this tank. I had more of the red macros but they are hard to keep down and kept getting sucked into the power head.
The mangrove couldn’t be happier and neither can I.
how are the tunicates? Also, what kind of gorgonians were they? Not all of them will do well in a tank like that.
Did some more research.
Gorgonians live in all kinds of reef zones, but different species of gorgonians live in different reef zones.*
Macroalgae and mangroves live in the shallow lagoon zone of a certain kind of reef habitat. These areas have fairly low flow, high light, and soft sand substrate. Gorgonians that live here, on occasional rock patches, include
Briareum asbestinum (a very common in the hobby Pacific morph is called green star polyps, Atlantic morph https://www.kpaquatics.com/product/corky-sea-finger/) and Plexaura homomalla (black sea rod https://www.kpaquatics.com/product/black-sea-rod/).
Note that these Gorgonians will need a decent amount of light, possibly more than they'd get from your current setup.
ref: ROBERT A. KINZIE, THE ZONATION OF WEST INDIAN GORGONIANS, Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, Discovery Bay, Jamaica, W. I. PDF previoulsy available online, can't find it quickly right now
This is also good:
Aquarium Invertebrates: Caribbean Gorgonians: Beauty in Motion
I have been fortunate to live just a few minutes from where I can observe these lovely creatures in their natural setting, and they have always been among my favorite types of corals for a reef aquarium display.
www.advancedaquarist.com
ETA: reread the thread: I remember now that a lot of your specimens were obtained locally. Maybe the gorgonians were locally collected in a seagrass bed too? If so, maybe your problem was insufficnent light? Plexaura sometimes has shipping problems, but if it survives the first two weeks it'll be OK. It might also need some supplemental feeding.
Anyway, glad to see the turtle grass is growing well. I'll look at the thread in detail, but if it's not in there, I'd ask: do you have any other seagrass beside turtle grass? how deep is your sandbed?
* For info on reef zones, see:
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@VR28man thanks for the feedback! I actually got these gorgonians from KP Aquatics who you left links to so they are from the keys although it is deeper, higher flow water. I also got the tunicates from them. The tunicates seem very happy and they are super interesting to watch. I feed pytho feast and oyster feast for the tunicates and sponge.
As for light, those Kessils really pack a lunch but I think I only have the intensity up about half way. I can try increasing to see what happens. The macros grow really well at the current settings.
@dbraun15 As for what other stock to put in the tank, I’m really not sure what I want. I’m pretty happy with it how it is so I think I’ll just keep looking around and hope I know it when I see it. I do like the look of the rock anemones but have never kept them. Do you have any experience with them.
As for light, those Kessils really pack a lunch but I think I only have the intensity up about half way. I can try increasing to see what happens. The macros grow really well at the current settings.
@dbraun15 As for what other stock to put in the tank, I’m really not sure what I want. I’m pretty happy with it how it is so I think I’ll just keep looking around and hope I know it when I see it. I do like the look of the rock anemones but have never kept them. Do you have any experience with them.
dbraun15
Well-Known Member
Yes, rock nems are pretty easy to keep. They tend not to wander and usually stay put. There are a ton of different colors and the stay relatively small(about 3-4” in diameter. Also, if you havre a few of them and feed often, spawning can happen. Would think they would fit well in your setup.
this is a beautiful tank- amazing job
ive been planning to do a 'mangrove volcano island' in my 50g lowboy coral grow out tank, but have a number of projects going, and no corals big enough to warrent fragginh and grow out.
but seeing this thread just pushed me over into buying some red mangroves.
awesome work man!
@Victoria M - whats the deal keeping this to yourself? i thought you were supposed to tell me about cool builds like this!
Victoria M
5000 Club Member
I thought I did actually. But no? Sorry! Lol
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Hey, thanks! I’m glad you like it. I probably need to do a bigger update but the tank is doing well after a struggle with a hair algae bloom that started in early January.
It was a really busy time for me at work as well and I just didn’t have time to fight the problem properly. I did a lot of water changes and manual removal but adding GFO is I think what finally solved it. There are small bits here and there but mostly gone.
I’ll get some pics soon but I’m down to my masked goby, some snails, blue and red leg hermits and two emerald crabs. I was bummed but the hair algae seemed to have gotten to the tunicates. Plus with the reduction of nutrients I was putting into the tank they just couldn’t make it. Those were my favorite part of the tank outside of the mang.
The plant is doing fantastic. I was dosing iron and manganese for a while and that seemed to make a big difference but I stopped when I got serious about getting rid of the hair algae. Don’t know if there is a correlation.
Anyway, tank is doing well now. In fact been noticing some pods living in the caulerpa in the display. That had me feeling good. Going to start thinking about adding some more fish.
I am moving to a new house locally but decided to move my tank to my office since I am actually at work more than I am home. I took the opportunity to change a few things about how this tank was set up at the same time.
Moving the tank was pretty tricky as the mangrove has gotten pretty tall. I thought about putting the whole thing in my utility trailer but was worried about it bouncing around. I ultimately found a cardboard box that just fit around the plant and put the tank in the back of my truck. This seemed to work well. I live on a barrier island and it made the trip over the causeway to my shop without an issue. The mang has dropped a few leaves since it moved (maybe 10?) but overall hasn't drooped or seemed stressed. I think it's pretty happy. Still dosing iron and manganese.
I built a new stand for the tank as the rolling stand turned out to be a pain in the butt. I really liked how it looked but it made maintenance a pain and that just meant I didn't do things as often as I should. The new stand still has a cool look, but it is accessible from the front. I will be the first to admit it is WAY better. I also built the stand quite a bit larger that the tank. It's pretty luxurious to have so much space now.
I fabricated a sump liner to protect the drywall and polished concrete floors from the saltwater. This I just made from scrap HDPE I had at my shop. I thought about just welding up a whole new sump out of this material but I didn't have time to get it designed and built in time for the move. I may do this a bit later. For now, the old sump is just inside this liner. It actually works pretty nicely.
I'm also trying out a cool new piece of hardware for controlling the tank. I think it's called a "power strip"? I got pretty fed up with the Apex to be honest. I had a number of hardware problems with the Apex and while neptune support was very responsive and helpful, it just dawned on me that having an unreliable piece of tech as a single point of failure for my tank was a bit silly. With that being said, this tank also does not require much special care so maybe it was just overkill for what I got out of it. This power strip is plugged into a quad WiFi controllable, GFCI, outlet, with built in timer. This also allows me to plug in and monitor my return pump and program my lights. I also added a strip of flexible LED lights inside the stand. Maybe the best $12 upgrade you can make on your set up.
I got sort of sick of having to always "mow the lawn" (trim the caulerpa) so I'm going to run this tank without it for a while. I like that it sort of looks like a sand flat now. I may add some turtle grass over time but I like this natural look. I'm still keeping wild caught brackish mollies. I have the salinity a bit low so this tank is I guess technically brackish now. I also have a few mosquitto fish and a local wild caught goby.
I just need to run that power wire through the wall and this set up will be about done. It should be ridiculously low maintenance which is ideal for me right now as work has been crazy.
Here is one last shot which is my view at the end of the day as I leave the office.
Moving the tank was pretty tricky as the mangrove has gotten pretty tall. I thought about putting the whole thing in my utility trailer but was worried about it bouncing around. I ultimately found a cardboard box that just fit around the plant and put the tank in the back of my truck. This seemed to work well. I live on a barrier island and it made the trip over the causeway to my shop without an issue. The mang has dropped a few leaves since it moved (maybe 10?) but overall hasn't drooped or seemed stressed. I think it's pretty happy. Still dosing iron and manganese.
I built a new stand for the tank as the rolling stand turned out to be a pain in the butt. I really liked how it looked but it made maintenance a pain and that just meant I didn't do things as often as I should. The new stand still has a cool look, but it is accessible from the front. I will be the first to admit it is WAY better. I also built the stand quite a bit larger that the tank. It's pretty luxurious to have so much space now.
I fabricated a sump liner to protect the drywall and polished concrete floors from the saltwater. This I just made from scrap HDPE I had at my shop. I thought about just welding up a whole new sump out of this material but I didn't have time to get it designed and built in time for the move. I may do this a bit later. For now, the old sump is just inside this liner. It actually works pretty nicely.
I got sort of sick of having to always "mow the lawn" (trim the caulerpa) so I'm going to run this tank without it for a while. I like that it sort of looks like a sand flat now. I may add some turtle grass over time but I like this natural look. I'm still keeping wild caught brackish mollies. I have the salinity a bit low so this tank is I guess technically brackish now. I also have a few mosquitto fish and a local wild caught goby.
I just need to run that power wire through the wall and this set up will be about done. It should be ridiculously low maintenance which is ideal for me right now as work has been crazy.
Here is one last shot which is my view at the end of the day as I leave the office.
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I am moving to a new house locally but decided to move my tank to my office since I am actually at work more than I am home. I took the opportunity to change a few things about how this tank was set up at the same time.
Moving the tank was pretty tricky as the mangrove has gotten pretty tall. I thought about putting the whole thing in my utility trailer but was worried about it bouncing around. I ultimately found a cardboard box that just fit around the plant and put the tank in the back of my truck. This seemed to work well. I live on a barrier island and it made the trip over the causeway to my shop without an issue. The mang has dropped a few leaves since it moved (maybe 10?) but overall hasn't drooped or seemed stressed. I think it's pretty happy. Still dosing iron and manganese.
I built a new stand for the tank as the rolling stand turned out to be a pain in the butt. I really liked how it looked but it made maintenance a pain and that just meant I didn't do things as often as I should. The new stand still has a cool look, but it is accessible from the front. I will be the first to admit it is WAY better. I also built the stand quite a bit larger that the tank. It's pretty luxurious to have so much space now.
I fabricated a sump liner to protect the drywall and polished concrete floors from the saltwater. This I just made from scrap HDPE I had at my shop. I thought about just welding up a whole new sump out of this material but I didn't have time to get it designed and built in time for the move. I may do this a bit later. For now, the old sump is just inside this liner. It actually works pretty nicely.
I'm also trying out a cool new piece of hardware for controlling the tank. I think it's called a "power strip"? I got pretty fed up with the Apex to be honest. I had a number of hardware problems with the Apex and while neptune support was very responsive and helpful, it just dawned on me that having an unreliable piece of tech as a single point of failure for my tank was a bit silly. With that being said, this tank also does not require much special care so maybe it was just overkill for what I got out of it. This power strip is plugged into a quad WiFi controllable, GFCI, outlet, with built in timer. This also allows me to plug in and monitor my return pump and program my lights. I also added a strip of flexible LED lights inside the stand. Maybe the best $12 upgrade you can make on your set up.
I got sort of sick of having to always "mow the lawn" (trim the caulerpa) so I'm going to run this tank without it for a while. I like that it sort of looks like a sand flat now. I may add some turtle grass over time but I like this natural look. I'm still keeping wild caught brackish mollies. I have the salinity a bit low so this tank is I guess technically brackish now. I also have a few mosquitto fish and a local wild caught goby.
I just need to run that power wire through the wall and this set up will be about done. It should be ridiculously low maintenance which is ideal for me right now as work has been crazy.
beautiful
Eric R.
Well-Known Member
@pelican, how's the mangrove tank doing? It looks beautiful so far! Also, how'd things work out with the experiment with floating the propogules and prop root formation?
I'm wanting to start growing out some mangroves to have a similar looking tank to yours in a few years, and am trying to decide how best to do so to get nice prop roots as well as a good canopy. I live in Vermont, so growing them outside year round is impossible. I'll probably start some in freshwater, though I'm considering floating some and rooting some in soil, and documenting how they do over time. I'm also considering getting some taller established plants with some roots and leaves, though hopefully they will be straighter than they ones you showed in your pictures.
I'm wanting to start growing out some mangroves to have a similar looking tank to yours in a few years, and am trying to decide how best to do so to get nice prop roots as well as a good canopy. I live in Vermont, so growing them outside year round is impossible. I'll probably start some in freshwater, though I'm considering floating some and rooting some in soil, and documenting how they do over time. I'm also considering getting some taller established plants with some roots and leaves, though hopefully they will be straighter than they ones you showed in your pictures.
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