D's 40 breeder desk project
- Thread starter D-Man
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Been three months since an update and a lot has happened to the tank. the tank is now cycled and has its first inhabitants. I recently finished stocking my CUC (40 blue legged hermits, brittle star, and 20 various snails), and added 20 red mangroves that might get moved to there own tank in the near future and a ball of cheato. I also have my 5 year old yellow watchman goby and two ocellaris clowns in the display. Here are a few pics of the system as of today ( sorry for the bad pics my camera sucks). The pics do the tank no justice, but bad pics are better than no pics 
Full tank shot:
Mangrove Roots:
Mangroves in hood:
Hood: (in the back left corner of the hood is a bathroom fan that cools the hood)
Full tank shot:
Mangrove Roots:
Mangroves in hood:
Hood: (in the back left corner of the hood is a bathroom fan that cools the hood)
Last edited:
Here are some recent shots of the stand and sump:
The tank on the left is for mixing new saltwater for water changes and above that is the RO/DI unit.
Refugium:
Four mangroves that I will be keeping in the tank the others will probably be moved to their own tank because of the high nitrate (dirty water) they need for noticeable growth which is what I want to avoid in the main system.
Here is how I cool the stand. It is a standard house fan that is fitted to the back of the stand so it blows air out of the stand. It does a really good job at cooling and the stand stays cool and dry.
Let me know what you think and if you have any recommendations or thoughts...
Thanks,
Devin
The tank on the left is for mixing new saltwater for water changes and above that is the RO/DI unit.
Refugium:
Four mangroves that I will be keeping in the tank the others will probably be moved to their own tank because of the high nitrate (dirty water) they need for noticeable growth which is what I want to avoid in the main system.
Here is how I cool the stand. It is a standard house fan that is fitted to the back of the stand so it blows air out of the stand. It does a really good job at cooling and the stand stays cool and dry.
Let me know what you think and if you have any recommendations or thoughts...
Thanks,
Devin
Krish
RF STAFF
Looks good man! Progressing nicely!
Decided to move all but 4 of the mangroves to the sump and I decided to try and achieve a mangrove reef lagoon type look here are some pics:
I just rubberbanded 2 bunches of the mangroves together and use bamboo skewers to hold the root system above the sand
I used the bamboo skewers to secure the four mangroves in the display as well
I just rubberbanded 2 bunches of the mangroves together and use bamboo skewers to hold the root system above the sand
I used the bamboo skewers to secure the four mangroves in the display as well
Slate
Well-known member
Cool setup!
Long time since an update...
Had a long battle with hair algae the past few months, mostly due to me traveling a lot and neglecting the tank. I finally got the hair algae under control and figured I would update the thread.
CHanges to the system:
-New vertex IN-80 skimmer
-separate mangrove filter
- only have two mangroves left in the display tank, which have the most developed and ornate roots
-new aquascape
-added a small school of red parrot fairy wrasses
-added a 2 inch derasa clam
- new 20,000k XM 150watt bulb
- partially covered the sump to reduce evap.
-started dosing kalkwasser again
Here are some updated pics (my crappy camera doesn't do the tank justice):
Had a long battle with hair algae the past few months, mostly due to me traveling a lot and neglecting the tank. I finally got the hair algae under control and figured I would update the thread.
CHanges to the system:
-New vertex IN-80 skimmer
-separate mangrove filter
- only have two mangroves left in the display tank, which have the most developed and ornate roots
-new aquascape
-added a small school of red parrot fairy wrasses
-added a 2 inch derasa clam
- new 20,000k XM 150watt bulb
- partially covered the sump to reduce evap.
-started dosing kalkwasser again
Here are some updated pics (my crappy camera doesn't do the tank justice):
TJL
copod
Very cool system, like the Mangroves sump setup as well. Have wanted to do something with Mangroves for a long time but never could figure a way to display them in the sump that looked good, so may do something similar to what you have done. Thanks for the idea.
Cheers, Todd
Cheers, Todd
Go for it!! its a really simple setup, I just cut the top off a 5 gallon water container, drilled it for an overflow, and plumbed it to the tank. I probably only have 20 gallons per hour flowing through it atm, which ideally should be around 60 gph, but ill work on finding the right size pump for that flow rate. You could do a mangrove setup similar to mine, but try to find a large acrylic vase and a cool looking light fixture to make it look a bit more attractive than mine.
The mangroves are really easy to take care of if you already have good water parameters. I just mist mine every morning to wash off the salt that builds up on the leaves, which is really the only special care they require.
The mangroves are really easy to take care of if you already have good water parameters. I just mist mine every morning to wash off the salt that builds up on the leaves, which is really the only special care they require.
chickenofthesea
Well-known member
I actually had my mangroves fully submerged in my display tank like they were growing out of the middle of a rock until I replaced that rock with a large center piece to switch my tank from fowler to reef and no longer had a place for them. They didn't grow at first but when I started adding Iodide supps. they shot up like crazy with leaves sprouting and all. I actually think they were greener than ones I have seen half submerged.
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Hmm interesting, because all the research I have done on red mangroves say that they are not supposed to be fully submerged. According to my research they are only supposed to be submerged up to where the green stem tapers down to the thinner red stem that leads to the bud.
noobaquariumust
Well-known member
Loving the tank setup, Glad to see that you got your MH over your new display how is the torch enjoying the MH? how is its growth?
how is the torch enjoying the MH? how is its growth?The torch is doing great in the few months I have had it it has Grown a new head and has enlarged quite a bit. I had a terrible hair algae outbreak a while back because I was vacationing for over a month and the tank was on auto pilot so the few corals I have havnt grown as much as they could but now that I am back they are doing great. I also just bought a small derasa clam and it is loving my tank.
Also I still have a bit of hair algae still growing in the tank that is proving very difficult to remove and I have been reading into sea hares, does anybody have any personal experience with them? I don't really want to get one unless it will help with algae.
Krish
RF STAFF
Tank is looking good! On the hair algae, never tried a sea hare, but I know a tang would make quick work of it, but the only problem is tank size. I did have a small yellow tang in a 38 gal once that did really well, but still a small tank for an active fish. Hair algae however does take a bit of time to go away. As the excess nutrient levels drop off more and more, it should eventually fade away.
I bought one a few months ago and it made short work of my hair algae, I removed it before all of the algae was quite gone, I didn't want it to starve, but some of the algae came back so I bought 2 small ones from the WPH group buy Todd setup.
I know Rob at Red C had a couple last time I stopped in.
