chippwalters Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone had an answer about this question I was pondering earlier today. If a piece of LR is completed covered in something like GSP, does it minimize the ability of the LR to provide good filtration? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I would think if it was 100% covered, yes ... but that would not really be possible. As long as some water can flow around the rock I would suspect it would harbor some beneficial bacteria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chippwalters Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 So, is it less effective because of the encrusting coral, or about the same? It seems to make sense that the more covered, the less filtration, because the water can't get into the small surfaces of the rock where the bacteria breed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I'm going to say it only changes how ammonia and nitrate is processed. Inverts with zooxanthallea will pull ammonia and nitrates out of the water so fewer bacteria are needed to break down ammonia. Both Nilsen & Fossa in Vol I of thier series "The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium" and Delbeek and Sprung in Vol I & III of thier series "The Reef Aquarium" have charts that show the nitrogen cycle in marine systems and it's a lot more complicated than the simple circle typically shown for nitrifacation. I haven't read any formal research done on nitification in aquariums and how much bacteria is needed but an article I read in the early 90's looked at how much ammonium chloride could be processed by bacteria in a 30 gallon tank with an internal wed/dry filter. The author was very familiar with the chemical equations and was able to show that after 6 weeks being forced fed ammonium chloride the bacteria bed was processing the equivalent of a pound of food a day. My own experiences using just an empty tank for quarintining is adequate for a surprising amount of fish. Throw in the surface area on sand and under rocks I'd say there's more than enough surface area for bacteria (how much bacteria are growing on the surface of the corals?). It might be more a question is there enough food for the bacteria or how does the bacteria population respond to competition for the ammonia from corals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 It would think that water could and would flow thru the coral membrane. I have removed much GSP. It has a thick encrusting mat. If what you are saying about coral being a barrier, I would expect to see indication of anerobic conditions at the rock surface. I have not seen this to be the case. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chippwalters Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 Thanks guys. Good points. Appreciate the tutelage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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