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SantaMonica
01-28-2012, 12:19 PM
"Detritus represents an enormous supply of energy for marine systems. The major sources of detritus are decaying plant and algal matter (that is not consumed by grazing herbivores), animal wastes, and bits and pieces of animal tissue. All of this material contains energy trapped in the organic compounds that compose them. As the detritus rains down through the water column, it serves as an important food source for pelagic bacteria and some zooplankton. When detritus settles to the bottom, it is consumed by animals, such a worms or clams, that in turn can channel the energy to larger animals when they are consumed. Although the formation of detritus represents an initial loss of energy to the organisms in the water column, the detritivores feeding on the detritus return the energy to food chains."

-- Introduction To Marine Biology, by Karleskint, Turner and Small, 3rd edition, page 34.

kotlec
01-29-2012, 09:05 AM
But what happens when there is too much of that " energy" ?
I found that N and P starts to climb at some stage.

SantaMonica
01-29-2012, 11:19 AM
That's what your scrubber is for :)

kotlec
01-29-2012, 12:03 PM
We need new sizing guides that depends on detritus production capabilities of our tanks :)

Floyd R Turbo
01-31-2012, 07:12 AM
Fantastic. I managed to build the system I currently run with enough sump flow such that detritus hardly settles at all. Yay me!

Ace25
01-31-2012, 08:56 AM
Same here, I put a Koralia 3 in each chamber in my sump... bottom stays perfectly clean.

Wopadobop
07-15-2012, 10:19 PM
Wait so detritus needs to fall for detritivores to eat and return it to the system.?

SantaMonica
07-16-2012, 07:20 AM
Yes, or it circulates and feeds corals.

Wopadobop
07-18-2012, 10:08 PM
so either way is good as long as it is being kept as docs in the system. gotcha.

SantaMonica
07-19-2012, 10:28 AM
DOC is dissolved, not particles. But the particles are broken down by pods, and floats around.

Garf
07-25-2012, 01:32 PM
This topic begs an obvious question;

Who uses mechanical filtration when using a scrubber ?

I'll answer my own question first. Never used mechanical filtration ( except skimmer - but that hardly ever worked properly )! And I don't even think its classified as mechanical filtration.

kerry
07-25-2012, 02:02 PM
I have not used a mech filter in many years.

tebo
07-27-2012, 11:02 AM
I have not used a mech filter in many years.

Me too

crashmushroom
07-29-2012, 07:29 AM
Never used mechanical my skimmer is offline about 12 months

Othello
07-30-2012, 06:34 AM
I guess this answers a question I raised in a post about my UAS (http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?1883-Othello-s-UAS-test)

so nay to the floss in the overflow and yay to the CUC and other "detrivores" in the sump along with a couple of strategically placed overheads to keep it all floating :D

fauxjargon
08-02-2012, 08:03 PM
We need new sizing guides that depends on detritus production capabilities of our tanks :)

Well, unless your livestock is dying, all the N and P added to the water ultimately comes from what you feed. The N and P spends time locked up in detritus before ultimately entering the water as inorganic compounds, which is when they become available to algae.

kerry
08-02-2012, 09:46 PM
Yep as stated. Poop dont matter, its the intake part.