I have been keeping a small seagrass tank for months now with the intention of
keeping it in the style of traditional freshwater planted tanks, veritably
creating a saltwater planted tank. Its still a very small and obscure part of
marine aquaria, but its got a little momentum at the moment. I had planned to
enter it either later this year when it looks settled and well-grown, or next
year when the tank is far and away mature.
I was just wondering if the AGA would reconsider its standing on the point of
exempting marine aquaria from submission. I very much agree with keeping reef
tanks out of the picture as they are rarely designed artistically enough to
meet this challenge. I also agree with keeping out most marine aquaria as a
rule. However, this seagrass tank, built and designed from the perspective of
a former freshwater planted keeper, might be a really interesting entry in the
showcase and might prompt a little extension of what we consider to be a
planted tank.
The tank is planted with only vascular plants at the moment, as I cannot find
many macroalgae's that fit into my biotope plans. Also, this tank was built in
the tradition that Steven Pituch started with his Texas watershed tank back in
the 2001 contest. The substrate, the inhabitants and all the plants were
collected out of the Indian River Lagoon system on the Space Coast of eastern
Florida. The intention was for it to be a true recreation of a seagrass
meadow, with some simple artistic enhancements. There are currently four
species of seagrass, grass shrimp (Palaemonetes vulgaris) and a small fighting
conch (Strombus sp.). Future inhabitants are to include either Hippocampus
erectus or Hippocampus zosterae, lined and dwarf seahorses, depending on what I
can find that is captive bred. These are the only elements of the tank that
will actually be purchased.
In my opinion the tank is approximating the seagrass biotope as found off of
the Florida Keys as best as can be had in a confined environment. The seagrass
do not have epiphyte covering their leaves which is the only major detractor I
can find at the moment for the authenticity of this setup.
So, please let me know your thoughts on considering a slight extension on the
brackish water category to include a full blown marine tank. I noticed that
several years ago one of the biotope entries was a mangrove tank, and this is
literally just a few feet off the beach from here to a seagrass tank. I, of
course, respect your decision if you ultimately decide to not extend the
category, but I would like to know if there is anything I can do to change your
mind over the next year or so. I had really hoped to share this tank through
the contest.
To see the evolution of the tanks (the first was a 10 gallon test tank
and NOT an aquascaped design, built mostly for propagation to fill a 20
gallon for aquascaping) please visit my website at
http://home.comcast.net/~slardizabal/home.html and go marine. The only
species not included in the test tank was Thalassia testudinum, turtle
grass, due to bed size requirements. It now appears in the aquascaped
twenty gallon - an update for this tank will be appearing soon.
Thank you very much for your time! I appreciate all the work that goes into
the AGA contest and have a lot of respect for all the work the entrants put
into their tanks each year and of course the judging committee of the AGA as
well as all the work that goes into creating and hosting the website. Its a
great inspiration to aquarists in many places.
Sincerely -
Sarah
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Sarah M. Lardizabal
Wildlife Conservation
Green Lab/DBI x4642 rm. 289
University of Delaware
(302) 690 - 7131
slardizabal@comcast.net