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[Dale]

A comment over on R.C. sparked my interest and I thought it might make for a good discussion here.

A lot of times reef keepers advocate the aggressive removal of nutrients from the water column - to prevent nitrate spikes and nuisance algae blooms. This is generally true for SPS set ups but what about those soft coral / general filter feeder oriented reefs?

I know that with my own tank, I am regularly dosing the water column with various combinations of mysis, cyclopeeze, rotifers and phytoplankton in order to feed various polyps, GSP's, mushrooms, coco worms and feather dusters, pipe organs, toadstools etc... only to turn around and attempt to skim it all back out some hours later! So far, my experience has been a fairly constant elevation in nitrate levels with very modest nuisance algae - kept in check by hermits snails and a lawn mower blenny worth his weight in gold. For nutrient conversion/export I combine skimming, carbon, P.W.C.'s, various macro algae crops and a R.D.S.B. (the jury's still out on that one though).

What experiences have other soft coral / general filter feeder oriented reef keepers had? What are your feeding strategies and how do you cope with your tanks accumulated nutrient load? Is this just salt water bulimia in disguise and/or should one simply chuck in the towel and go for the anorexic hard coral look???

Inquiring minds want to know.
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juggalos

[christyf5]

Well currently I am going for the anorexic hard coral look. Quite frankly I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. While I did enjoy the mixed reef I had before (mostly LPS, a couple of softies and some SPS) I found it difficult to deal with the chemical warfare and I had to decide where I wanted to go with the tank (the softies just weren't happy even running carbon 24/7) and eventually chose SPS mostly based on availability at the time. I never really saw any "must have" softies or LPS when I was at the stores. Granted I am in the sticks here and the LFS at the time made for a day trip.

I've always had an affinity for growing algae, an underwater green thumb if you will (lord knows I can kill any terrestrial plant just by looking at it ). So the thought of feeding my reef all sorts of nutrients for the benefit of my corals would be a difficult road for me. However with the removal of my reluctance to spend money on equipment in this hobby (spending money on decent equipment the first time actually saves you money down the road, plus new toys are fun! ). I think I might have been able to make a success of it and might put this to the test in my new nano that I'm slowly putting together.

[TheReefGeek]

Dale, I can tell you from experience that soft corals grow much better in the presence of higher nutrients.

When my tank crashed last october, I lost all my fish but 1, all my LPS & SPS corals, but all my softies grew like weeds.

Now that my tank is healthy again and the nutrients are less plentifull, my softies have almost stopped growing, even my xenia is no longer spreading.

[Bartman]

Originally Posted by Dale

A comment over on R.C. sparked my interest and I thought it might make for a good discussion here.

I'd be interested in info on this too. Is there a thread on RC now?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I separated my tanks into LPS & softies so that I could maintain higher nutrient levels for my softies & better water quality for my LPS. Seems to work well for me.

[Chad]

My soft corals in my SPS barebottom have ceased to grow. Surely a testament to the effect of lacking nutrients.

[Rikko]

Back in the day when I worked in my first pet store, the fish "wiz" at the time didn't believe in water changes.. As a result, the solitary saltwater display tank had nitrates around 900ppm (I measured this after she had left, and had to dilute the water with tapwater to get a reading with the test kit).. Let me tell you, the mushrooms in there grew like stink.
I'd say they reproduced in a couple of months what mine at home have in 2 years - and my water is far from pristine...

The only thing I don't dig about a high nutrient tank is having to deal with nuisance algae.

[TheReefGeek]

The way to have a high nutrient tank that is algae-free is to run a refugium and grow the algae there, use a variety of macro algaes that are fast growing and they will out-compete algae in the display tank for the nutrients.

I use chaeto, bubble, halimeda, and there is a bit of hair in there. All the algae in my tank is gone, and if there are any patches my foxface and tang clean it up in no time. I feed them with algae from the fuge actually, because there is so little algae in my display.

[Dale]

Ahhh, nuisance algae.

Probably the one thing I look for the most in my tank. I am currently working on a theory that, like FW, higher forms of flora and fauna will out compete the simpler forms of algae for nutrients but, that is probably just wishful thinking . My LMB really is my hero! (hey, Rory slipped his post in before me!)

I don't know if there is a thread about this on R.C. per se. The topic came up in a loopy thread debating the benefits of macro algae refugiums vs A.T.S.'s. In all the hubbub about 0 nitrate levels one poster chipped in that the inhabitants of his tank would be dead if that were the case - It got me laughing, and thinking.

Sometimes we speak in generalities with regards to "what is the best" yet so much of our hobby is based on specific circumstances dependent on livestock choices. Low nutrient load, high nutrient load, compact fluorescents, T-5's, halides etc...
I used to feel a little sheepish about my nutrient load (nitrates 20 - 40) around all the 0 nitrate talk until I understood the nature of my tank a little better - thus this thread. Hopefully others will also benefit and some folks can share their nutrient dosing/removal techniques.
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marijuana test

[Ruth]

Originally Posted by TheReefGeek

All the algae in my tank is gone, and if there are any patches my foxface and tang clean it up in no time. I feed them with algae from the fuge actually, because there is so little algae in my display.

Then where are the pictures you keep saying you will post when your algae is gone - looks like it is!