Green hair algae and cyno in reef tank

[Rabald]

Hi all,

I run a 33 gallon /125liter reef tank without a skimmer and only with a refugium in the sump. I have Cyno and green hair algae in the display tank. Do I increase the lighting time of the refugium so my cheato can outcompete the green hair algae? My nutrients values are already low of the tank and i don't want dino's.
Cyno is present, but I would say not excessivly.

Waterparameter at the moment are
Phosphate: 0,027
Nitrate: not detectable
calcium: 400
KH:7
Ph:7

Thank you in advance.

 

[Timfish]

I would raise you're phosphate, you might have enough organic and particulate phosphorus but we can't easily test for either and 0,027 is at the threshold identified by researchers for aquarium corals. FWIW 0,03 mg/l minimum threshold level identified by Southampton University in England. Since they determined it by looking at phosphorus deficiency in corals maintained in aquaria for up to around a decade seems like a definitive lower number until we can quantify particulate and dissolved organic P used by corals. Upwelling can expose to corals to 0,3 mg/l so that seems like a fine number for an upper limit for an aquarium. However, Dunn, et al showed increased growth with moderate levels of 0,5 mg/l.

I've been running skimmerless for decades and the two things I do to deal with nuisance algae is manual removal with water changes (5% - 10% weekly max) and using herbivores, especially urchins. (The idea comes largely from Martin Moe's research but it was gratifying to see this basic technique being used to restore wild reefs.)

 

[Rabald]

So if I understand you correctly, I should let it creep to 0,05mg/l? In my case I would have to lower the lighting time on my refugium?

How big are your aquariums? Never had a urchin, do you recommend a specie?

 

[DDenny]

Are you sure the pH is correct that is really low. I had problems in my tank until I got my PO4 to 0.08- 0.1 and NO3 to 10-15ppm. I have a 25g AIO with a refugium bask with chaeto and typically my nutrients are pretty spot on every time. I adjust the refugium light lenght if nutrients get low to 8-9 hours at night or if they go higher I increase it to 11-12 hours at night. Havent found that happy middle ground yet. Sometimes I do have to dose a little phosphorus .4-.5ml of seachem phosphorus to help keep it in check. I also have a ton of CUC in a 25g tank.

Edit. I have 6 astrea snails, 8 florida cerith snails, not sure how many dwarft cerith (they reproduce like crazy) and 3 Nassarius snails. Thinking of adding a conch for the sandbed as well and few more larger cerith snails. I feed a little heavy as well. pellets on an auto feed three times a day and frozen in the evening. Corals get a little coral frenzy twice a week.

 

[Timfish]

Feeding more is the best way to increase PO4. Corals preferred form of nitrogen is the ammonia and urea excreted by fish and fish poop has carbonate crystals that are essential parts of the carbonate cycle in reefs. I wouldn't change any lighting schedules myself.

I prefer shortspine urchins like the Tuxedo or Royal or caribean pink or green shortspine but the diadem long spine are a good, if painful to handle, option. DOn't get pencil urchins as they don't seem to care what they munch on.

Here's a thread and videos of some of my skimmerless systems:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/skimmerless-since-1997.643685/page-3#post-12604128

90 Gallon Mixed Reef

500 gallon

220 Rimless 450 view

 

[Rabald]

Feeding more is the best way to increase PO4. Corals preferred form of nitrogen is the ammonia and urea excreted by fish and fish poop has carbonate crystals that are essential parts of the carbonate cycle in reefs. I wouldn't change any lighting schedules myself.

I prefer shortspine urchins like the Tuxedo or Royal or caribean pink or green shortspine but the diadem long spine are a good, if painful to handle, option. DOn't get pencil urchins as they don't seem to care what they munch on.

Here's a thread and videos of some of my skimmerless systems:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/skimmerless-since-1997.643685/page-3#post-12604128

90 Gallon Mixed Reef

500 gallon

220 Rimless 450 view

Thanks! I will check it out!

 

[Rabald]

Are you sure the pH is correct that is really low. I had problems in my tank until I got my PO4 to 0.08- 0.1 and NO3 to 10-15ppm. I have a 25g AIO with a refugium bask with chaeto and typically my nutrients are pretty spot on every time. I adjust the refugium light lenght if nutrients get low to 8-9 hours at night or if they go higher I increase it to 11-12 hours at night. Havent found that happy middle ground yet. Sometimes I do have to dose a little phosphorus .4-.5ml of seachem phosphorus to help keep it in check. I also have a ton of CUC in a 25g tank.

Edit. I have 6 astrea snails, 8 florida cerith snails, not sure how many dwarft cerith (they reproduce like crazy) and 3 Nassarius snails. Thinking of adding a conch for the sandbed as well and few more larger cerith snails. I feed a little heavy as well. pellets on an auto feed three times a day and frozen in the evening. Corals get a little coral frenzy twice a week.

That's is a big CUC. Mine might be to small, 1 astrea snail, cleaner shrimp, 3 nassarius snails. After reading the feedback, I think I will invest in some more snails and a urchin.

 

[Rabald]

Feeding more is the best way to increase PO4. Corals preferred form of nitrogen is the ammonia and urea excreted by fish and fish poop has carbonate crystals that are essential parts of the carbonate cycle in reefs. I wouldn't change any lighting schedules myself.

I prefer shortspine urchins like the Tuxedo or Royal or caribean pink or green shortspine but the diadem long spine are a good, if painful to handle, option. DOn't get pencil urchins as they don't seem to care what they munch on.

Here's a thread and videos of some of my skimmerless systems:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/skimmerless-since-1997.643685/page-3#post-12604128

90 Gallon Mixed Reef

500 gallon

220 Rimless 450 view

These are your reef tanks? Beautiful! And these don't have any skimmers or other high end equipment?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Do you have any powerheads in the tank besides the return? Algae and cyano love low flow area's.

 

[Rabald]

Do you have any powerheads in the tank besides the return? Algae and cyano love low flow area's.

Yes a small one, but I have a lot of rock. Cyano is mostly present on the parts where the flow is low. At the moment I made a habit of vacuuming it frequently. We just keep an eye on it.

 

[Paul B]

I have Cyno and green hair algae in the display tank. Do I increase the lighting time of the refugium

I also have it. It ebbs and flows to a whim I know nothing about. But I also know it will disappear for awhile, maybe years, then come back. It is found on all healthy reefs in the sea. I just find it interesting and healthful.
But thats just me.

 

[Timfish]

These are your reef tanks? Beautiful! And these don't have any skimmers or other high end equipment?

Yup, no fancy equipment. I like sumps or cryptic refugiums for the added surface area for gas exchange and for sponges that don't want light. Lighting on the Hidden Reef was custom designed by me and only uses Cree blue, royal blue, 6500K and 5000K leds.

 

[GARRIGA]

Peroxide helped me reduce both although still need flow to fully combat cyano. Algae turned white making manual removal easier. In the end. Elbow grease solves just about everything.

I've also used carbon dosing to resolve both and perhaps a combination of those plus CUC and last those elbows best approach. Nature solves it with grazers.

 

[Timfish]

Do you have any powerheads in the tank besides the return? Algae and cyano love low flow area's.

Circulation is as follows:

Build thread system - 1 return pump 900 gph, 2 air pumps
90 gallon system - 1 return pump 900 gph, 1 air pump
500 gallon System - 2 return pumps 5000 gph, 2 tunze powerheads
220 Hidden Reef - 2 return pumps 500 gph

 

[GARRIGA]

Yup, no fancy equipment. I like sumps or cryptic refugiums for the added surface area for gas exchange and for sponges that don't want light. Lighting on the Hidden Reef was custom designed by me and only uses Cree blue, royal blue, 6500K and 5000K leds.

Getting intrigued with cryptic zone and sponges. Are they worth the real estate that would have gone to possibly a larger refugium? Still not up to speed on exactly what sponges provide that algae themselves fail to solve and algae remove co2 which in my home is a premium advantage I'm not sacrificing unless the cryptic benefits outweigh that by solving something else naturally. Goal is being as natural as possible and why sponges getting my attention.

 

[Timfish]

Getting intrigued with cryptic zone and sponges. Are they worth the real estate that would have gone to possibly a larger refugium? Still not up to speed on exactly what sponges provide that algae themselves fail to solve and algae remove co2 which in my home is a premium advantage I'm not sacrificing unless the cryptic benefits outweigh that by solving something else naturally. Goal is being as natural as possible and why sponges getting my attention.

Here's a huge data bomb.

Short answer is corals and algae are at war with each other over space and nutrients. Even the algae simbionts can cause problems for corals when corals loose control over their growth. Sponges are key players moderating the roles DOC plays.

Algae re dumping DOCs into the water that promote excessive growth of heterotrophic microbes resulting in anoxic conditions in coral microbiomes. The heterotrophic microbes use the increased availability of the labile DOC to utilize the refractory DOC, typically about 2/3rds of the DOC on a reef, but this process results in lowered oxygen levels. It needs to be noted coral DOC, in excess, also causes problems. Algae DOC also promotes pathogenic shifts in coral microbiomes.

Sponges remove labile DOC 1000X faster than the bacterioplankton in the water. Sponges are essential recyclers and critical for reef ecosystems. Unfortunately, they process DOC from algae differentially from coral DOC. This can create feedback loops reinforcing algae dominance.

Here's "some" links, enjoy:

Feldman's work at Penn State:

Total Organic Carbon Pt 1

Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and the Reef Aquarium: an Initial Survey, Part I

Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Ken and Kelly report on their work on Total Organic Carbon and how it relates to the reef aquarium.

reefs.com

Total Organic Carbon Pt 2

Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and the Reef Aquarium: an Initial Survey, Part II

Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Ken and Kelly continue to report on their work on Total Organic Carbon and how it relates to the reef aquarium.

reefs.com

Protein Skimmer Performance, Pt 1

The Development of a Method for the Quantitative Evaluation of Protein Skimmer Performance

Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Protein skimmers have become indispensable for many aquarists who strive to maintain the high water quality necessary to keep stony corals.

reefs.com

Protein Skimmer Performance, Pt 2

Further Studies on Protein Skimmer Performance

Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Many factors contribute to the 'value' of a skimmer to an aquarist, including quality of construction, size, footprint, noise level, ease of cleaning, energy efficiency of the pump, and of course, the ability...

reefs.com

Elemental Analysis of Skimmate

Elemental Analysis of Skimmate: What Does a Protein Skimmer Actually Remove from Aquarium Water?

Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. The chemical/elemental composition of skimmate generated by an H&S 200-1260 skimmer on a 175-gallon reef tank over the course of several days or a week had some surprises.

reefs.com

Bacterial Counts in Reef Aquarium Water

Bacterial Counts in Reef Aquarium Water: Baseline Values and Modulation by Carbon Dosing, Protein Skimming, and Granular Activated Carbon Filtration

What are the bacteria populations in the water column of reef tanks, and how does that value compare with bacterial counts in authentic reef water? Does carbon dosing indeed increase water column bacteria populations (i.e., is growth carbon limited)? Does mechanical filtration (protein skimming...

reefs.com

Rohwer's book and some video links:

"Coral Reefs in the Microbial Seas " This video compliments Rohwer's book of the same title (Paper back is ~$20, Kindle is ~$10), both deal with the conflicting roles of the different types of DOC (carbon dosing) in reef ecosystems and how it can alter coral microbiomes. While there is overlap bewteen his book and the video both have information not covered by the other and together give a broader view of the complex relationships found in reef ecosystems

Changing Seas - Mysterious Microbes

Microbial view of Coral Decline

Nitrogen cycling in hte coral holobiont

BActeria and Sponges

Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)

Optical Feedback Loop in Colorful Coral Bleaching

DNA Sequencing and the Reef Tank Microbiome

Richard Ross What's up with phosphate"

DDAM stuff:

Indirect effects of algae on coral: algae‐mediated, microbe‐induced coral mortality

Error - Cookies Turned Off

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Influence of coral and algal exudates on microbially mediated reef metabolism.
Coral DOC improves oxygen (autotrophy), algae DOC reduces oxygen (heterotrophy).

Influence of coral and algal exudates on microbially mediated reef metabolism

Benthic primary producers in tropical reef ecosystems can alter biogeochemical cycling and microbial processes in the surrounding seawater. In order to quantify these influences, we measured rates of photosynthesis, respiration, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) exudate release by the dominant...

peerj.com

Role of elevated organic carbon levels and microbial activity in coral mortality

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2006/314/m314p119.pdf

Effects of Coral Reef Benthic Primary Producers on Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Activity
Algae releases significantly more DOC into the water than coral.

Effects of Coral Reef Benthic Primary Producers on Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Activity

Benthic primary producers in marine ecosystems may significantly alter biogeochemical cycling and microbial processes in their surrounding environment. To examine these interactions, we studied dissolved organic matter release by dominant benthic taxa and subsequent microbial remineralization in...

journals.plos.org

Pathologies and mortality rates caused by organic carbon and nutrient stressors in three Caribbean coral species.
DOC caused coral death but not high nitrates, phosphates or ammonium.

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps2005/294/m294p173.pdf

Visualization of oxygen distribution patterns caused by coral and algae

Visualization of oxygen distribution patterns caused by coral and algae

Planar optodes were used to visualize oxygen distribution patterns associated with a coral reef associated green algae (Chaetomorpha sp.) and a hermatypic coral (Favia sp.) separately, as standalone organisms, and placed in close proximity mimicking coral-algal interactions. Oxygen patterns were...

peerj.com

Biological oxygen demand optode analysis of coral reef-associated microbial communities exposed to algal exudates
Exposure to exudates derived from turf algae stimulated higher oxygen drawdown by the coral-associated bacteria.

Biological oxygen demand optode analysis of coral reef-associated microbial communities exposed to algal exudates

Algae-derived dissolved organic matter has been hypothesized to induce mortality of reef building corals. One proposed killing mechanism is a zone of hypoxia created by rapidly growing microbes. To investigate this hypothesis, biological oxygen demand ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Microbial ecology: Algae feed a shift on coral reefs

Microbial ecology: Algae feed a shift on coral reefs - Nature Microbiology

Human pressures on coral reefs are giving macroalgae a competitive advantage over reef-building corals. These algae support larger, and potentially pathogenic, microbial populations that are metabolically primed for less-efficient, yet faster, carbohydrate remineralization, perpetuating a...

www.nature.com

Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages.

Coral and macroalgal exudates vary in neutral sugar composition and differentially enrich reef bacterioplankton lineages - PubMed

Increasing algal cover on tropical reefs worldwide may be maintained through feedbacks whereby algae outcompete coral by altering microbial activity. We hypothesized that algae and coral release compositionally distinct exudates that differentially alter bacterioplankton growth and community...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Sugar enrichment provides evidence for a role of nitrogen fixation in coral bleaching

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onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Elevated ammonium delays the impairment of the coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis during labile carbon pollution
(here's an argument for maintaining heavy fish loads if you're carbon dosing)

Elevated ammonium delays the impairment of the coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis during labile carbon pollution

Labile dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a major pollutant in coastal marine environments affected by anthropogenic impacts, and may significantly con…

www.sciencedirect.com

Excess labile carbon promotes the expression of virulence factors in coral reef bacterioplankton

Excess labile carbon promotes the expression of virulence factors in coral reef bacterioplankton - The ISME Journal

Coastal pollution and algal cover are increasing on many coral reefs, resulting in higher dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. High DOC concentrations strongly affect microbial activity in reef waters and select for copiotrophic, often potentially virulent microbial populations. High...

www.nature.com

Unseen players shape benthic competition on coral reefs.

Unseen players shape benthic competition on coral reefs - PubMed

Recent work has shown that hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic matter (OM) from algae disrupts the function of the coral holobiont and promotes the invasion of opportunistic pathogens, leading to coral morbidity and mortality. Here we refer to these dynamics as the (3)DAM [dissolved organic...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Allelochemicals Produced by Brown Macroalgae of the Lobophora Genus Are Active against Coral Larvae and Associated Bacteria, Supporting Pathogenic Shifts to Vibrio Dominance.

Allelochemicals Produced by Brown Macroalgae of the Lobophora Genus Are Active against Coral Larvae and Associated Bacteria, Supporting Pathogenic Shifts to Vibrio Dominance - PubMed

Diverse microbial communities associate with coral tissues and mucus, providing important protective and nutritional services, but once disturbed, the microbial equilibrium may shift from a beneficial state to one that is detrimental or pathogenic. Macroalgae (e.g., seaweeds) can physically and...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Macroalgae decrease growth and alter microbial community structure of the reef-building coral, Porites astreoides.

Macroalgae decrease growth and alter microbial community structure of the reef-building coral, Porites astreoides - PubMed

With the continued and unprecedented decline of coral reefs worldwide, evaluating the factors that contribute to coral demise is of critical importance. As coral cover declines, macroalgae are becoming more common on tropical reefs. Interactions between these macroalgae and corals may alter the...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Macroalgal extracts induce bacterial assemblage shifts and sublethal tissue stress in Caribbean corals.

Macroalgal extracts induce bacterial assemblage shifts and sublethal tissue stress in Caribbean corals - PubMed

Benthic macroalgae can be abundant on present-day coral reefs, especially where rates of herbivory are low and/or dissolved nutrients are high. This study investigated the impact of macroalgal extracts on both coral-associated bacterial assemblages and sublethal stress response of corals. Crude...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Biophysical and physiological processes causing oxygen loss from coral reefs.

https://elifesciences.org/articles/49114.pdf

Global microbialization of coral reefs
DDAM Proven

Global microbialization of coral reefs - Nature Microbiology

Analysis of 60 sites in three ocean basins suggests that overgrowth of fleshy algae on coral reefs supports higher microbial abundances dominated by copiotrophic, potentially pathogenic bacteria via the provision of dissolved inorganic carbon.

www.nature.com

Coral Reef Microorganisms in a Changing Climate, Fig 3

Coral Reef Microorganisms in a Changing Climate

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet, yet they have suffered tremendous losses due to anthropogenic disturbances and are predicted to be one of the most adversely affected habitats under future climate change ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Ecosystem Microbiology of Coral Reefs: Linking Genomic, Metabolomic, and Biogeochemical Dynamics from Animal Symbioses to Reefscape Processes

https://msystems.asm.org/content/msys/3/2/e00162-17.full.pdf

Sponge stuff:
Element cycling on tropical coral reefs.
This is Jasper de Geoij's ground breaking research on reef sponge finding some species process labile DOC 1000X faster than bacterioplankton. (The introduction is in Dutch but the content is in English.)

https://www.rug.nl/research/portal/files/14555035/13completethesis.pdf

Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle

Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle

Marine sponges are ubiquitous colonizers of shallow, clear-water environments in the oceans (1, 2). Sponges have emerged as significant mediators of biogeochemical fluxes in coastal zones by virtue of respiring organic matter and facilitating both the consumption and release of nutrients (3, 4)...

www.pnas.org

Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges

Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges

Coral reefs are highly productive ecosystems that raise a conundrum called “Darwin’s paradox”: How can high production flourish in low-nutrient conditions? We show here that in three abundant Caribbean sponges, the granules that have been commonly observed in sponge tissue for decades are...

www.pnas.org

Differential recycling of coral and algal dissolved organic matter via the sponge loop.
Sponges treat DOC from algae differently than DOC from corals

Error - Cookies Turned Off

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

A Vicious Circle? Altered Carbon and Nutrient Cycling May Explain the Low Resilience of Caribbean Coral Reefs

A Vicious Circle? Altered Carbon and Nutrient Cycling May Explain the Low Resilience of Caribbean Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are economically important ecosystems that have suffered unprecedented losses of corals in the recent past. Why have Caribbean reefs in particu

academic.oup.com

Surviving in a Marine Desert The Sponge Loop Retains Resources Within Coral Reefs
Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen are quickly processed by sponges and released back into the reef food web in hours as carbon and nitrogen rich detritus.

(PDF) 2013 deGoeij Science Sponge loop

PDF | On Jun 23, 2015, Jasper M de Goeij and others published 2013 deGoeij Science Sponge loop | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)

Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)

Coral-excavating sponges are the most important bioeroders on Caribbean reefs and increase in abundance throughout the region. This increase is commonly attributed to a concomitant increase in food availability due to eutrophication and pollution. We ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Role of Marine Sponges in Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles of COral Reefs and Nearshore Environments.

The role of marine sponges in carbon and nitrogen cycles of coral reef and nearshore environments - ProQuest

Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.

search.proquest.com

Here's an interesting paper on aurabiomes:
Aura-biomes are present in the water layer above coral reef benthic macro-organisms

Aura-biomes are present in the water layer above coral reef benthic macro-organisms - PubMed

As coral reef habitats decline worldwide, some reefs are transitioning from coral- to algal-dominated benthos with the exact cause for this shift remaining elusive. Increases in the abundance of microbes in the water column has been correlated with an increase in coral disease and reduction in...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Phosphorus and Nitrogen Stuff:

Ammonium Uptake by Symbiotic and Aposymbiotic Reef Corals

Ammonium Uptake by Symbiotic and Aposymbiotic Reef Corals: Ingenta Connect

www.ingentaconnect.com

Amino acids a source of nitrogen for corals

Uptake of dissolved free amino acids by the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

SUMMARY. This study was designed to assess the importance of dissolved free amino acids (DFAA) as a nitrogen source for the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata. For this purpose, experiments were performed using 15N-enriched DFAAs, and %15N enrichment was measured both in animal tissue and...

journals.biologists.com

Urea a source of nitrogen for corals

Urea uptake by the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

Urea can be one of the major sources of nitrogen for phytoplankton, but little is known about its importance for corals. Experiments were therefore de…

www.sciencedirect.com

Diazotrpophs a source of nitrogen for corals

Diazotrophs: a non-negligible source of nitrogen for the tropical coral Stylophora pistillata - PubMed

Corals are mixotrophs: they are able to fix inorganic carbon through the activity of their symbiotic dinoflagellates and to gain nitrogen from predation on plankton and uptake of dissolved organic and inorganic nutrients. They also live in close association with diverse diazotrophic communities...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Context Dependant Effects of Nutrient Loading on the Coral-Algal Mutualism

Context-dependent effects of nutrient loading on the coral-algal mutualism | Request PDF

Request PDF | Context-dependent effects of nutrient loading on the coral-algal mutualism | Human-mediated increases in nutrient availability alter patterns of primary production, impact species diversity, and threaten ecosystem function.... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on...

www.researchgate.net

An experimental mesocosm for long-term studies of reef corals | Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom | Cambridge Core

An experimental mesocosm for long-term studies of reef corals - Volume 92 Issue 4

www.cambridge.org

An Experimental Mesocosm for Longterm Studies of Reef Corals

Phosphate Deficiency:
Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching:

Nutrient enrichment can increase the susceptibility of reef corals to bleaching - Nature Climate Change

Increased dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations in sea water have been linked to a reduction of the temperature threshold at which corals bleach, however, the mechanism underlying this change is not known. This phenomenon is now explained in terms of increased phosphatase activities...

www.nature.com

Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont:

Frontiers | Ultrastructural Biomarkers in Symbiotic Algae Reflect the Availability of Dissolved Inorganic Nutrients and Particulate Food to the Reef Coral Holobiont

Reef building corals associated with symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) can access environmental nutrients from different sources, most significantly via the up...

www.frontiersin.org

Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates

Phosphate deficiency promotes coral bleaching and is reflected by the ultrastructure of symbiotic dinoflagellates

Enrichment of reef environments with dissolved inorganic nutrients is considered a major threat to the survival of corals living in symbiosis with din…

www.sciencedirect.com

Effects of phosphate on growth and skeletal density in the scleractinian coral Acropora muricata: A controlled experimental approach

Effects of phosphate on growth and skeletal density in the scleractinian coral Acropora muricata: A controlled experimental approach

Phosphate contamination can negatively affect corals, modifying growth rates, skeletal density, reproduction, mortality, and zooxanthellae. We determi…

www.sciencedirect.com

High phosphate uptake requirements of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

High phosphate uptake requirements of the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata

SUMMARYSeveral untested aspects of the regulation of inorganic nutrient uptake were examined using nutrient depletion experiments with the symbiotic coral Stylophora pistillata. The total inhibition of phosphate uptake in artificial seawater lacking sodium indicates the involvement of a...

jeb.biologists.org

Phosphorus metabolism of reef organisms with algal symbionts

https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ecm.1217?casa_token=ziDzrEEJ8g0AAAAA%3AHnfuGTIntMdqOtx2ij-lnoTh7qVg8VBhYFz98e60zfBEvx5IcIVGhmlpUYmzIJuqUNVm0sG8_0vth6lq

 

[GARRIGA]

That's a lot to comprehend and process and did find some of this in other posts you've made. After reading much of that it still wasn't clear to me if it's worth the real estate but I'm going to try with a HOB and some live reef rubble containing sponges. Try sourcing it locally or grab some from Reef Farmers. Might also find some in the Florida Keys. Still negotiating our laws as to what exactly can be taken. Rocks I know off limits but not bottles encrusted with life my understanding. Not knowing which sponges can be exposed to air then I'll just be careful collecting and see how this all tests out. Wouldn't mind some photosynthetic types in the main and perhaps mixed in with the macroalgae.

Fair to assume sponges regenerate therefore could I just grab a chunk and drop it on top of some rubble and expect it would eventually attach? Assuming legal to do. Our FWC don't mess around.

 

[TiltedReef]

Hi all,

I run a 33 gallon /125liter reef tank without a skimmer and only with a refugium in the sump. I have Cyno and green hair algae in the display tank. Do I increase the lighting time of the refugium so my cheato can outcompete the green hair algae? My nutrients values are already low of the tank and i don't want dino's.
Cyno is present, but I would say not excessivly.

Waterparameter at the moment are
Phosphate: 0,027
Nitrate: not detectable
calcium: 400
KH:7
Ph:7

Thank you in advance.

Blue Life's Flux Rx and Red Cyano RX works wonders. I recently dosed everyday for a week and wiped it all out.

Do 1 week of only Flux for GHA and Bryopsis
Then do 1 week of only Red Cyano RX

Make sure u have a crew of algae eaters to eat the dying algae before it messes with your parameters. My Royal Urchin and Caribbean Blue Hermits went to town when the forest of GHA and Bryopsis i had started dying off and left the tank spotless.

And suck up the cyano with a baster and remove from tank or blow it off rock work/sand bed to get sucked up by a skimmer once it starts browning in color from the supplement.

OH and bathe any powerheads, wavemakers, and pump outlets in 70% peroxide for 10 min and rinse then return to the tank. Especially if they are coated in cyano, these things will continue to spread the cyano around the tank if not dealt with.

 

[Paul B]

Here's "some" links, enjoy:

I think you should have added 2 or 3 more links. I didn't quite get the concept

 

[surfman221]

I would raise you're phosphate, you might have enough organic and particulate phosphorus but we can't easily test for either and 0,027 is at the threshold identified by researchers for aquarium corals. FWIW 0,03 mg/l minimum threshold level identified by Southampton University in England. Since they determined it by looking at phosphorus deficiency in corals maintained in aquaria for up to around a decade seems like a definitive lower number until we can quantify particulate and dissolved organic P used by corals. Upwelling can expose to corals to 0,3 mg/l so that seems like a fine number for an upper limit for an aquarium. However, Dunn, et al showed increased growth with moderate levels of 0,5 mg/l.

I've been running skimmerless for decades and the two things I do to deal with nuisance algae is manual removal with water changes (5% - 10% weekly max) and using herbivores, especially urchins. (The idea comes largely from Martin Moe's research but it was gratifying to see this basic technique being used to restore wild reefs.)

What type of sea urchin do you recommend, I had tuxedo urchin and it basically destroyed my tank, it does remove GHA but also everything else he scraped the live rocks bare including coraline algae, picks up stuff along the way and carried it on his back.