natural feeding

[creepingdeath086]

ok, i have a 20 gallon tank, and i know i have read this before but isnt there a certain order or amounts of certain micro and macro plants and animals to create a natural system in the tank so that it can feed and support itself.? creating some sort of food chain and whatnot, has anyone done this?

[MikeS]

that's a very complex question.... :D

the nature of the exact biological processes that take place in our tanks is a topic that has been debated and puzzled over to this day by the top experts in the field...

I'll try to give you a very basic explanation of it as it pertains to the average reefkeeper...

In your tank...you have a "nitrogen cycle"....the bare bones of this is that organic materials are reduced by bacteria into ammonia, nitrite, then nitrate. The organics are supplied to the system by the introduction of food and the biological processes of fish, inverts, ect.

Free nutrients are utlilized by both micro and macro algaes...as well as other organisims...for growth. The main reason that most aquarium keepers introduce macroalgaes into the tank are to control excess nutrients and try to "outcompete" undesireable microalgae for said nutrients.

This is a very simplified explanation of the process. The actual biological process is very complex and dynamic, and in a constant state of change depending on aquarium conditions....

Mike