| There might be a few lagoonal species like goniopora or elegance that might benefit from higher nutrients.
However, in my book we don't have the ability to overskim the typical reef tank. They are enclosed systems and don't have the ability to do what is done in the ocean....namely have currents that remove the waste products from the reef. Corals need very few nutrients to obtain their required nitrogen and they are intolerant of liquid forms of it (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) and other dissolved organic compounds. Obviously they need additional nutrients but they have the ability to extract dissolved bio-available N from the water at low ambient levels, and also they capture and consume microscopic prey (zooplankton not phytoplankton) as well as bacteria and particles of edible detritus that come into contact with their mucus layer.
Knowing that they are intolerant of DOC's and liquid forms of Nitrogen indicates to me that we cannot overskim with our current technology. |