Fw Mangrove Tank

[saltynay]

I have now moved back to Singapore after a while away and thinking of how I would like to get back in to aquascaping this time. I am thinking of going more down the riparium or palaudarium route and have my plants growing out from my tank. This project will be low tech and budget as I am now going to be a student again so have a limited budget, with all the partying I am socially compelled to do.

I am thinking of purchasing an approximate 30x30x30 (cm) acrylic cube tank (25 Litres) second hand and placing it on the corner of my desk (near a window with a light coloured picture nearby to reflect indirect light). I will suspend a single red mangrove tree on a support above the sand/gravel substrate (I like a 20% medium gravel 80% fine sand mix) in the centre of the tank.

The tank will be rotated every 2 weeks (to prevent the mangrove from growing crooked) and the tree raised with the water levels every time the roots reach the substrate until sufficient root length and width is met (approximately 1.5 months). The water will be freshwater, I am unsure on this point as I don't want to purchase a salinity meter but I know mangroves will normally need to be acclimatised to adapt to freshwater (depends on my supplier). Once the root structure of the tree has grown I will glue some small clumps of Christmas tree moss and maybe some crypts sparingly to the roots and add a little green below the water line.

Fauna: This tank will be unfiltered so fauna will have to be carefully chosen for low bioload and minimal disturbance to aquatic plants. I am thinking a colony of A grade CRS (Crystal reds) or CBS (Crystal blacks)with some kuhli loaches. If I get a 40-50L then perhaps temporarily home a small; clown, bristlenose or zebra plec but that is unlikely to occur.

Flow:
I am very tempted to actually cut two holes in either side of the tank and provide a very small adjustable external pump (65gl/hr pump limited at a low flow setting) to give water movement around the roots and through the tank. Inlet and outlet would be covered by mesh and womens tights to prevent the stock being sucked through.

 

[ian]

not exactly what you're describing, but have you seen Toms thread in the planted section?

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/350140-toms-bucket-o-mud/

love this style of tank, and they seem to be coming more 'fashionable' in the hobby at the moment.

Remember to start a journal

 

[saltynay]

not exactly what you're describing, but have you seen Toms thread in the planted section?

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/350140-toms-bucket-o-mud/

love this style of tank, and they seem to be coming more 'fashionable' in the hobby at the moment.

Remember to start a journal

Would be good if any of the pics worked from imageshack though . I will start a journal once I get that far. My aquatic life has always been 2 extremes: filtered through diy filtration to the max and modified excessively or natural and wholesome. This tank will hopefully be natural and wholesome which is why the current is a questionable item.

 

[ian]

All you have to do is look at the Diana Walstad method, there is loads on the net about it. Tom ^^in that thread has emulated her way to some extreme. You can grow plants without any flow/current. As long as the light is really low, the substrate will provide the CO2 in the water, with there being no current it won't be driven off as quickly. Most of Wastads methods don't use a filter, as the plants will utilise the nasties.

have a read of this...

http/theaquariumwiki.com/Walstad_method

Light is key though IMO, once you start upping light, the plants need more CO2, macros and micros, this is where the current then becomes an issue and there need to be good delivery to the plants. Without good delivery the plants then become lacking.

 

[saltynay]

I will be using indirect lighting from a window reflected in a picture and the room lighting therefore light levels aren't really under my control. I am in singapore as well so I will get a pretty reliable 12 hours of daylight depending on when I get out of bed and open my curtains of course .

Thanks for the reading material

 

[ian]

Fast growing stem plants like Hygrophila Polysperma and some Egeria are really a must to begin with. If the plants are healthy and using the nutrients then algae with have no chance. Once you get the balance you then need to add more slow growers like Anubias/java fern.

It will be very interesting to see how you get on.

 

[saltynay]

That won't go with my plan for the red mangrove though which is going to be the feature point and provide a structure plants can then bind to and grow from the idea being maximum surface area at the bottom with a complex root structure to provide hiding holes. The greenery is simply added to promote micro-fauna growth and provide the young shrimp with hidey holes. I am now thinking of adding some endler males or indonesian floating frogs for surface entertainment but their predation on the shrimplets would be a concern.

 

[saltynay]

No other input

 

[saltynay]

Are you guys lost in the concept?