<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8313876#post8313876 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by blindskater02
well im up for the lecture so have out with it. i love learning about this stuff. and and far as helping reduce and get rid of this what would you reccomend?
I'm going to try and do this on my own, but if anyone better with a computer can find it, there is an old thread with Eric Borneman that treats this subject in much more authoritative detail.
(Note: just to make things simple, I'm going to assume uncured LR non-rock-washing/cooking or anything like that; also makes things more interesting).
When you first get your live rock, it's covered with and contains a great deal of dead/dying material. As this dies, the nutrients it releases provide the spark which ignites the succession(s) of bacteria, algae, and other things. At first, the levels of items such as ammonia/-ium are too high for any but the hardiest of life, which happens to be cellular life (bacteria and truly "micro" microalgae). This life is always the first to move in, due both to its rapid rate of reproduction and its inherent survivability.
As the microlife grows, it rapidly consumes the limited pool of nutrients (remember, the nutrients came from decay, so there is a fixed amount that can be released). This causes the microlife to die and release their bound nutrients. These nutrients then go on to fuel either another bloom of microalgae or higher-up (=visible) algae which has recovered from transit or been added to the tank. These algae in turn burn up the nutrient pool and die.
The cycle continues, each time moving up on the level of algae sophistication, finally reaching a pinnacle with very advanced algae such as coralline or what we call macroalgae (which is actually an illegitimate biological distinction). Assuming a balance between nutrient input and uptake, the coralline or other "pinnacle algae" will remain the dominant form. However, if something disrupts the coralline, then the cycle can repeat with another form of algae. This is one possible explanation of tanks which experience an algae bloom after a few years: the nutrient levels actually get so low that coralline populations collapse and feed other forms of algae. Of course, that's just a theoretical idea at this point.
Also, please note that this cycle assumes either no input of nutrients during this period (which can last up to a year) or a balance between input (feeding) and uptake (by microalgae, corals, fish, other organisms, or water changes).
So, as far as reducing algae, you can make sure that the uptake (especially with refugia) matches or (better) exceeds input (limiting feeding helps as well, but don't starve the tank). More herbivores also help, and this is actually the dynamic on the reef (algae grows on the reef faster than in our aquariums, but the herbivores make such short work of it we never notice). To me, that's more fun, but each aquarist has a different approach.
Well, that's the best I can do.
Reef Invertebrates has a very excellent section on the principles of algal succession, for anyone still interested.
). I would definitely not do anything dramatic.
