Do Mangroves Actually do anything?

[Hurley675]

I was wondering if Mangroves actually did anything to the water to help it like Caulerpa?

[SurferStevo]

They do. But you have to have A LOT of them. Then you can watch your magnesuim level drop.

[skylsdale]

Some recommend at least 1 mangrove per gallon of water to notice any sort of nutrient uptake, but he problem is that in full strength seawater they grow extremely slow because they have to extract salt from the water so they can drink the fresh stuff. In reef tanks they are more for show.

As far as the mangnesium comment...Randy Holmes Farley has actually done some testing and found little to no evidence to back up the theory that mangroves suck your tank dry of Mg.

[SurferStevo]

As far as the mangnesium comment...Randy Holmes Farley has actually done some testing and found little to no evidence to back up the theory that mangroves suck your tank dry of Mg. I was just going by what I read in a Mangrove Handbook written by Julian Sprung.

[SPC]

I agree with the others, mangroves are just for show and should not be considered for serious nutrient up take.
Steve

[Scleractinian]

They elicit the "Why is a tree growing out of your aquarium?" remark from new visitors.

That initial response is often followed by the "What are all of these wierd plants in there... like that purple one or the ones that are pulsing?"

:)