Forget Redfield, Liebig is the Man!

[WildOne]

A ratio of NP importance, when most sources of N are not measured seems, imo, worthless.

We don't know enough to actually make full use of this, not even on land and I think agricultural land is better studied then the sea. It doesn't help that unless we also feed the coral in a similar way to the prey corals get in nature, matching the water parameter for themselves is meaningless.

Important doesn't mean immediately usefui. We may not understand it, but it still very likely has an effect. Extreme ratios may be outright problematic, even if just as a source of stress. We don't have the means to corroborate disease incidence and ratios in our tanks. Too many variables.

I think the ratios and ppms more talked about because they are easier to measure then an ecosystem. We don't know what bacteria, viruses and other things live in each of our tanks, and what that tiny community is like. At some point those ratios may become a very gross way of representing an ecosystem, somewhat similar to more mycelial or more bacterial soil. Don't ask me to identify the bacteria and mycelium species from the microscope. I still know to get more N for the corn and more C for the tomato.

Either way, the first point to check is Liebig's law: corals dying of hunger aren't gonna go far. They need food in one form or another. Understanding the ecosystem comes after. We may not know enough, but hopefully we will one day.

edit: something along those lines may be of some use:
file:///home/francoise/Desktop/s00338-022-02223-0.pdf

 

[sixty_reefer]

I’ve really enjoyed reading this article, thank you for all you do educating new and veteran reefers.

I feel that you need to write the second part of the ammonia article.
With the first one being the benefits of ammonia dosing the second one should be focused on managing ammonia levels on the first 6-12 months of a reef tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’ve really enjoyed reading this article, thank you for all you do educating new and veteran reefers.

I feel that you need to write the second part of the ammonia article.
With the first one being the benefits of ammonia dosing the second one should be focused on managing ammonia levels on the first 6-12 months of a reef tank.

Thanks!

What thoughts do you have about ammonia management in the first 6-12 months?