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11/19/2008, 04:50 PM
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#1 |
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Premium Member
 Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: East Orlando, near UCF
Posts: 19
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Nutrient Export?
One thing I've always heard is to prune your macro algae for nutrient export. Is this necessary or is it just to make room for more growth? Will it release nutrients back into the water if it's not pruned?
Jason |
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11/19/2008, 05:37 PM
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#2 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,171
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I find if I leave it, it gets large, but then dies off, apparently after nutrients are used up. Less algae = less required nutrients, so trimming some off may prevent die off. If it does die off, it will certainly release all sorts of stuff back into the aquarium, so I'd prefer that doesn't happen.
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Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but just to comprehend those things which are there. ~Richard Feynman |
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11/19/2008, 06:22 PM
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#3 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Waxhaw, NC USA
Posts: 2,139
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m2434 is correct that allowing it to grow and die back defeats the purpose of physically removing the organic material/nutrients from the system. Pruning does just that - nutrients are stored in the macro, and are thus removed from the water column when you trim and remove some of the macro.
m2434 - nice to see another star geek!
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"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." - Thomas Jefferson Current Tank Info: 29 gal. reef/assist with 75 gal. at the school |
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