Thanks to @Express Reef for aiding in getting a bit more braincell activity going with your question whether I have considered mixing liquid carbon dosing with orca cubes.
my initial response was no.. as the cubes work so well....
Mixing methodologies...
Holobiont microbiota in the mucosal layer are not always the corals friends and readily avail Organic C can tip the balance in favour of the vibrio sp heading the top of the list of suspects as a cause of RTN....
blah, blah, blah.
But some time after replying, the thought struck me as to why he would ask the question.... We do not need any further nutrient reduction.... Solid C substrates are doing what 10 years ago a plethora of water changes struggled to achieve....
So why would i want to consider it....
Simple... Its not just about N and P in excess as algal nutrients, or in micro quantities as coral nutrients....
We often forget that organic carbon is essential to the coral for meeting its energy budget....... Well met = effective respiration and calcification.
The process as we know it, is one of very tight nutrient cycling between host and simbiont.......:
As a biproduct of host (coral) respiration, CO2 and water are available to the simbiont (zooxanthellae living witin the tissue). The zooxanthellae use these biproducts during photosynthesis... In turn producing O2, some lipids and sugars for the host...As mentioned, a tight little nutrient cycle.
Wait a second... Sugars for the host...
Sugar.. Sugar = Organic C!!!
But we knew that...
my initial response was no.. as the cubes work so well....
Mixing methodologies...
Holobiont microbiota in the mucosal layer are not always the corals friends and readily avail Organic C can tip the balance in favour of the vibrio sp heading the top of the list of suspects as a cause of RTN....
blah, blah, blah.
But some time after replying, the thought struck me as to why he would ask the question.... We do not need any further nutrient reduction.... Solid C substrates are doing what 10 years ago a plethora of water changes struggled to achieve....
So why would i want to consider it....
Simple... Its not just about N and P in excess as algal nutrients, or in micro quantities as coral nutrients....
We often forget that organic carbon is essential to the coral for meeting its energy budget....... Well met = effective respiration and calcification.
The process as we know it, is one of very tight nutrient cycling between host and simbiont.......:
As a biproduct of host (coral) respiration, CO2 and water are available to the simbiont (zooxanthellae living witin the tissue). The zooxanthellae use these biproducts during photosynthesis... In turn producing O2, some lipids and sugars for the host...As mentioned, a tight little nutrient cycle.
Wait a second... Sugars for the host...
Sugar.. Sugar = Organic C!!!
But we knew that...
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