Hello!
I was wondering how sure the algae issues are directly a result of PO4/NO3 levels in tanks.
I've seen way too many tanks that have high levels of both PO4 and NO3, yet no nuisance algae in them. Poor coral colors, yes, but no algae. I've seen people (all my LFS for exmaple) dumping in loads and loads of mixed frozen foods in their systems, and not a single strain of algae can be seen in their tanks - even though their nitrates and phosphates are both admitted to be sky-high.
That said, I've also seen a lot of tanks with close to zero levels of NO3 & PO4, really nursed and babied, yet with algae issues. I understand that the current fashion dictates to say that the algae are sucking up the nutrients from the water column & that is why the test won't show it, but is this really the case? Do our algae really feed on NO3 & PO4 (and light) only? Or can it be something else, yet to be discovered? Thinking of a combination of bacteria or something else present in one tank and not in the other or such?
Cheers
I was wondering how sure the algae issues are directly a result of PO4/NO3 levels in tanks.
I've seen way too many tanks that have high levels of both PO4 and NO3, yet no nuisance algae in them. Poor coral colors, yes, but no algae. I've seen people (all my LFS for exmaple) dumping in loads and loads of mixed frozen foods in their systems, and not a single strain of algae can be seen in their tanks - even though their nitrates and phosphates are both admitted to be sky-high.
That said, I've also seen a lot of tanks with close to zero levels of NO3 & PO4, really nursed and babied, yet with algae issues. I understand that the current fashion dictates to say that the algae are sucking up the nutrients from the water column & that is why the test won't show it, but is this really the case? Do our algae really feed on NO3 & PO4 (and light) only? Or can it be something else, yet to be discovered? Thinking of a combination of bacteria or something else present in one tank and not in the other or such?
Cheers
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