Mangrove pods - any good?

[Goldwinger]

Not sure if this is the right forum, hope it is.

Can anyone let me know what they think of mangrove pods, if they have tried them. Do they help with filtration, or are they not worth bothering with?

Thinking of a small separate tank alongside the reef tank, just with a few pods, fed by a small powerhead from the main tank and overflow back to it. A separate circuit from the main filtration which is by sump with usual skimmer etc. I was thinking the pods when they have some growth on them might look quite attractive in their own right.

Would I need to stop using the skimmer and phos remover to allow enough nutrients to feed the pods?

[Frogfone]

mangrove pods are fairly slow growing so you need a lot of them to make any difference to the actual nutrient levels. Lovely decorative feature however but cannot be used as your primary filtration unless your prepared to have a very large sump or very few fish. woulkd act as an excellent haven for pods hoverver especially if gravity feed back to the tank.