jessezm;104012 wrote: One of the differences between the world's reefs and our tanks to consider, though, is that despite the lack of nutrients in the ocean water near reefs, there is still a constant supply of food available to corals on the there, especially considering all those moonlit planktonic blooms. In the ocean, however, between the tides, wave action, beaches, and myriad micro organisms, and sheer volume, nutrients stay low despite the constant influx of food.
This is something we cannot replicate very well in our tanks due to the amount of food and filtration it would take. Instead, it seems we recreate one condition (either a lack of nutrients or a bunch of food) at the expense of the other. Either we have well fed corals whose growth/health is limited by poor water conditions, or potentially happy, but N-limited corals living in very "clean" conditions.
The pappone method tries to address this--I think--by making more food available to corals, as well as nutrients in the form of amino acids and immediately available levels of Ca, Mg, and Alk, while at the same time trying to mitigate the effects of such supplementation by encouraging the growth of bacteria to consume the extra nitrates/phosphates introduced by the heavy feeding. Heavy protein skimming then aids in removing these nutrient-fattened bacteria.
As with anything else we put in our tanks, constant vigilance is key to assessing the effects. I don't believe that the pappone feedings are creating a ticking time bomb, personally, but I base that one what I see happening in my tank. There are pretty basic indicators like algae growth which can tell you a lot about what's going on well in advance of the need to make major changes.
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