hahnmeister
In Memoriam
"Live rock doesnt eliminate waste hahnmeister the bacteria on the rock breaks nutrients down so they can be exported either through skimming or water changes." -IsThisNameTaken?
Well, of course its not the rock itself, I know that! The bacteria on the rocks surface break down the ammonia and nitrites into nitrates...sure. But I think you have your facts wrong.
Protein skimming removes proteins...not nitrates or phosphates. Once organics are broken down into these chemicals, they are beyond being removed by the skimmer. A skimmer is a way to extract hard organics before anything gets to them or breaks them down. This is why people with a high bioload use skimmers...to eliminate hard proteins and chemicals before they enter the nitrogen cycle.
The bacteria in the rock's deeper pores eats nitrates...so yes, as far as you are concerned, it does 'eliminate waste' DSBs also eliminate nitrates. Other alternatives are mangroves, algae scrubbers, or the corals and clams we keep (clams, shrooms, xenia, and others make great nitrate reducers). Water changes arent the only way to remove waste.
The bottom line is that it is usual for a reef to contain its own mini nitrogen cycle (including anaerobic processing), where nitrate removal (the final product of all aerobic processes is nitrate and phosphate) is done inside the tank. That is the whole point of live rock actually, otherwise we would all just use wet-dry filters and fluidizede sand beds still. Thats freshwater technology though.
"In reference to your tank levelling out... your tanks stability comes from the maturity of your live rock. If your replacing water with virtually identical water your rock wont know the difference... nothing will die off.. and water params will remain stable."
-IsThisNameTaken?
The problem is that unless we are using natural seawater, the water we are adding is impossible to have match the water that it is replacing. Salt mixes are unstable, and often contain many heavy metals that remain in the water for a while until some organism, filter, etc removes them. Add this to what may already be in your tapwater (even after an RO you can still have organics, phosphates, and a small amount of other solids that come through). What I am getting at is that fresh mixed saltwater, even if you let it sit for a bit before using, contains chemicals that need to be removed, and the only way to do it is by running it in the reef for a while.
While I do agree that the LR does add some maturity to a system, that is in regards to the phosphate cycle that a tank goes through, and sometimes a nitrate spike. But after the LR cycles, it removes nitrates, and other chemicals such as ammonia, nitrite, and phosphates.
Well, of course its not the rock itself, I know that! The bacteria on the rocks surface break down the ammonia and nitrites into nitrates...sure. But I think you have your facts wrong.
Protein skimming removes proteins...not nitrates or phosphates. Once organics are broken down into these chemicals, they are beyond being removed by the skimmer. A skimmer is a way to extract hard organics before anything gets to them or breaks them down. This is why people with a high bioload use skimmers...to eliminate hard proteins and chemicals before they enter the nitrogen cycle.
The bacteria in the rock's deeper pores eats nitrates...so yes, as far as you are concerned, it does 'eliminate waste' DSBs also eliminate nitrates. Other alternatives are mangroves, algae scrubbers, or the corals and clams we keep (clams, shrooms, xenia, and others make great nitrate reducers). Water changes arent the only way to remove waste.
The bottom line is that it is usual for a reef to contain its own mini nitrogen cycle (including anaerobic processing), where nitrate removal (the final product of all aerobic processes is nitrate and phosphate) is done inside the tank. That is the whole point of live rock actually, otherwise we would all just use wet-dry filters and fluidizede sand beds still. Thats freshwater technology though.
"In reference to your tank levelling out... your tanks stability comes from the maturity of your live rock. If your replacing water with virtually identical water your rock wont know the difference... nothing will die off.. and water params will remain stable."
-IsThisNameTaken?
The problem is that unless we are using natural seawater, the water we are adding is impossible to have match the water that it is replacing. Salt mixes are unstable, and often contain many heavy metals that remain in the water for a while until some organism, filter, etc removes them. Add this to what may already be in your tapwater (even after an RO you can still have organics, phosphates, and a small amount of other solids that come through). What I am getting at is that fresh mixed saltwater, even if you let it sit for a bit before using, contains chemicals that need to be removed, and the only way to do it is by running it in the reef for a while.
While I do agree that the LR does add some maturity to a system, that is in regards to the phosphate cycle that a tank goes through, and sometimes a nitrate spike. But after the LR cycles, it removes nitrates, and other chemicals such as ammonia, nitrite, and phosphates.
