DOC and macro

[Subsea]

Dissoloved organic carbon entails a soup of compounds that do many things. Some of the more obvious are terpins which yellow the water. However, the less obvious things are a shift in the type of bacteria that inhabite our marine tanks.

Ken Felderman has published numerous peer reviewed papers on nutrient processing in our reef tanks. One in particular addresses carbon dosing with some interesting results. I found the data on DOC removal in a mature reef tank to be interesting. Removal of DOC by protein skimming is at best 30% - 40% depending on skimmer, removal by GAC is 50-60%, removal by reef inhabitants is 75% effective. The tank inhabitants recycle DOC and grow. The other two processes are nutrient export.


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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Austin, Tx
Posts: 1,116
Bugs Rule
Quote:
Originally Posted by Timfish View Post
Bugs Rule! Fascinating how research is proving some of the observations and conclusions of aquarists like Paul B and Steve Tyree. Rohwer's "Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas" is an excellent place to start. The stuff done by Dr. Andreas Haas* showing the roles algae have in promoting heterotrophic (oxygen depleting) microbes and corals promote autotrophic (oxygen enriching) is a real eye opener on natural filtration in our systems.
De Deoij's** cryptic sponge research may be a bit off topic but proves Tyree's ideas on cryptic zones.

*http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23882445
**http://www.rug.nl/research/portal/fi...letethesis.pdf
Tim,
I thought your links were relevant enough to post again.


Considering that macro produces DOC, I have always used GAC to remove DOC. For me, dilution is not the solution to pollution. If it is in the tank, I would like it to feed something desirable. Yes, I would like my nutrient sink to be good stuff: pods, sponges, corals, macro and fish. I just did order both of Steve Tyree ebooks on cryptic sponges. My friend Timfish has many tanks set up for more than 20 years with numerous sponges. In some cases, he removes them from unlit refugiums and feeds his angel fish. In this case, he is sharing the wealth and helping a brother out. It is time for me to turn the lights off in my refugium and grow pods and sponges.