Mangroves

[plugger999]

Hello all,
I have a 20 gallon reef. Nearing it's one year anniversary in March!
I've had continuous issues with green hair algae. No matter what I do, I can't seem to get it to go away. With that said, I read something new. Mangroves.

I was thinking of maybe getting one and attaching it to a few pieces of rubble, and putting it in the corner of my tank.

I would buy this light for it: View attachment 8324

And opinions? Good idea? Bad idea?

Let me know. Thanks all


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[Eddie79]

I have about 7 mangroves in my tank and still had hair algae. I got a few turbo snails and 2 weeks later there was almost none. I may be wrong, but I don't think one mangrove will do much.

 

[RuNvS]

I agree with Eddie 1 mangrove likely wouldn't produce the results you are looking for, A few Mexican turbo snails will make short work of the hair algae. It would be interesting to understand why you have hair algae to begin with?

 

[Lil BamBam]

Where do you get your RO/DI water? Also have you tested NO3 and phosphate?

 

[Lil BamBam]

Also what type of lighting are you using? Cause a single mangrove or a small fuge won’t help..

 

[Joe5688]

Even if u used 50 mangroves the benefit from them would be minimal. I currently have I think a dozen in my sump and I did it just for looks lol. Also I had zero luck growing them with anything other than a coral compulsion fuge bulb.

 

[liven learn]

I think it's different from,one tank to another. I have 7 mangs in a 93 and some chateo and it took my trates from 5 to undetectable. I also have real ocean mud so that may make a difference also.

 

[Drdavis]

In a 20 gallon system it would really not make any sense to add any of them for nutrient control. If you like the look of them then I would suggest spending more than $20 on a more mature tree and look at it like adding a plant to your tank versus a way to control water chemistry. I have 50 in my sump and another 20 single stem with a few leaves in my DT. I like the look of the more mature ones and a couple of mine look like they will get there eventually.

 

[7Hogwarts]

Your Hair algae is likely the result of excess nutrients. Mangroves will help to reduce nutrients, but most likely not enough to make a substantial difference. As previously suggested, your nitrates and/or phosphates are elevated. Try reducing the amount of food you feed. I feed my tank maybe once a day. I often skip days so that the fish will graze. I do have pods in the system for them to eat as well.

Are you running GFO to reduce your phosphates? If not, that would help.

Water changes would also help to reduce excess nutrients. But again, is your water tap or has it been run thru an RODI system? Low TDS is important.

Lighting may be an issue too. To quickly reduce hair algae, keep the tank dark for a few days. The lack of light will inhibit the hair algae's ability to photosynthesize.

As the hair algae decomposes you really need to do a water change to reduce the free floating nutrients.

FWIW, I do 15 % water change every 2 weeks. Change out Carbon and GFO every 4 weeks. I also have a filter socks that get changed out every couple of days. I hope this helps.