WTB sponges and mangrove plants

i would like to buy any sponges or mangrove plants that anyone has available around the des moines area

 

I ordered these mangroves off ebay and they are already sprouting new leaves, DEFINITELY worth the money. Other sites they are over $10 per propagule. I have a hole bunch of branching sponges growing on a rock in my tank, but my tank's in Cedar Falls, so sorry. If you're ever in the area you can stop by and get some...
http://cgi.ebay.com/21-RED-MANGROVE...286.c0.m14

 

I think that's where my brother and I got ours from last year. They're still going strong.

 

While mangroves look pretty cool, I have read somewhere that it would take far more than you can fit in a sump or fuge to really perform as they do in the wild, so it's mostly for asethetics. Sponges seem to come on their own on live rock mostly. I've had many of the yellow variety and have some black ones on a rock too. From talking to Anthony Calfo at last years Fall Fest, the black is not a good one at all however it's attached to the rock and doesn't seem to cause any problems.

 

even a small amount of mangrove will help improve water quality and reduce the amount of work your skimmer has to do

 

I have to kindly disagree with this, as mangroves are the number one most efficient plant in the world. They are extremely good at removing dissolved minerals. I had algae problems in my tanks and problems with nitrates, I added 5 a while back and within a week there was incredible results. I can't even test for nitrates anymore and I definitely over feed my tank. I have about 10 or so in my reef tank and 7 or so in my seahorse tank, both are doing very well. Also, everyone I know who's added mangroves said they are by far worth the money, even the people who ordered the $15 ones off some online sites.

 

If you have had such great success with them then the information that I read was not correct! I'm glad that you found a natural way to help your tank as I'm all for finding natural ways of doing things rather than relying on chemicals.
Do you have yours planted? Possibly you could tell us more about where you got yours and how you have placed them, I'm really interested.
Also, do you have to spray yours with RO water to clean the salt spray off them? I heard this can be a problem.

 

Ok I will sell my mangroves $20 each!about 16 to 18 inches tall at least 8-10 leaves each. you have to cover them with a clear cover, like a terrarium. i use a airstone in my sump to create moisture in the terrarium and rodi rinse biweekly. only about the lower 4-5 inches are planted in the water. I have never seen a mangrove do well completely submerged! I do not allow salt water to contact the upper plant foliage. You must know that you always risk killing the plant when moving them! The roots are very fragile!!! Mine came from Hawaii on e bay

 

Sorry I didn't respond earlier. Mine are in my sump resting on top of some rubble rock. I spray them off about every other day or so. I've noticed when I spray them off quite often they seem to do better. I've also heard of people using the airstone to keep them moist, but it seemed like too much of a headache so I didn't bother.