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Unread 05/09/2015, 07:42 AM   #1044
karimwassef
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Dallas, TX
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There are two solutions, but they're mutually exclusive.

The natural solution is to move the ecosystem in a direction with competition (algae) and predators (zooplankton). This is the dirty tank method. It takes time and luck (until someone bottles the predators).

The second is the nuclear option - like Noah's flood: kill everything and biodiversity be damned! I don't have a tank for plankton- I have it for corals, inverts and fish. The UV may destroy the natural food chainbutI can supplement that until these invaders are eradicated. This is the clean tank method (strip nutrients and UV bomb the plankton).

I think both work and both can recover to a healthy ecosystem in the long term. I don't like the intentional growth of turf algae and haven't been able to find the right predators.

There may be a third option - heavy UV and overfeeding/underskimming. Let the algae grow faster but nuke the plankton too! Only the algae already in the rocks will survive since anything in the water column will be nuked.


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