Hello reefing family. I am unable to wrap my head around how a refugium or algae scrubber "out-competes" other algae. Let me explain.
For ease of understanding let's make complex life simpler. Algae needs 3 things to grow carbon, phosphate, and nitrate. To assist with the nusances algae in my tank I add a refugium and run it 16 hours a day. In doing this the refugium is a great competitor for nutrients in the aquarium. But I try to keep a balance in my aquarium, I have decided I need a certain level of nutrients in the water. As I notice decreases in phosphate and nitrate I dose them back to the desired level.
Since none of these amounts are hitting zero and starving out other algae how then is my refugium or algae scrubber out-competing anything? I have been racking my brain for days. What am I missing?
For ease of understanding let's make complex life simpler. Algae needs 3 things to grow carbon, phosphate, and nitrate. To assist with the nusances algae in my tank I add a refugium and run it 16 hours a day. In doing this the refugium is a great competitor for nutrients in the aquarium. But I try to keep a balance in my aquarium, I have decided I need a certain level of nutrients in the water. As I notice decreases in phosphate and nitrate I dose them back to the desired level.
Since none of these amounts are hitting zero and starving out other algae how then is my refugium or algae scrubber out-competing anything? I have been racking my brain for days. What am I missing?