Refugium?

[babyduke]

I just purchased white mangrove seeds to plant and the instruction says to plant them in a refugium.

 

[mlawson]

Refugiums are usually used in Marine setups, occasionley on Brackish setups and never really on freshwater tanks. They are an area which is outside the tank where you keep things which can't be kept in the main camp but will live in the same water. In marine setups they are often used as filters with algae, in the main tank the algae might be eaten, refugiums sometimes contain fish and inverts. Mangroves are good filters, stripping tanks of Nitrates, plus they come from Brackish to marine waters so are ideal for marine and brackish tanks. Normally the mangroves are unsutable for the main tank as they grow tall and become mainly emersed from the water, so they are often put in the refugium. The guy you were talking too probably thought you wanted them for a marine setup, assuming it would go in a refugium. If you want to keep mangroves in a brackish tank then you will need a tall tank or a open top tank with plenty of light and sand for the roots to anchor. Sorry, my knoledge on Marine aquaria is very limited, ideally you should aske the marine experts on the saltwater forum.

Cheers,
Mike