Nutrient Cycle

[SantaMonica Verified Sponsor]

Nutrient Cycle

 

[BeanAnimal]

Ignoring the steps in between and the predominant players like bacteria, direct uptake, feeding input, etc., what evidence do you have that a typical reef aquarium produces enough phytoplankton to drive that cycle to a degree that matters?

And what evidence do you have that the “pods” in that aquarium are sustained primarily (or to any meaningful degree) by suspended phytoplankton rather than attached algae, biofilms and detritus?

 

[SantaMonica Verified Sponsor]

The idea is to get the natural concepts across, because most reefers have never heard of primary production.

A tank has very little phyto of course, so the idea is to understand the cycle on reefs so that the concepts can be pursued in a tank, as much or as little as desired.

Because of the low amount of tank phyto, pods probably do live mostly on attached algae, biofilms and detritus. But understanding that they will consume phyto if available, and understanding that it's the primary driver above reefs, is the idea.