Quote:
Originally Posted by Slick Fork
You noted as well, and I would take it to be commonly accepted wisdom that LPS, Softies, Clams, etc. will thrive on "dirty" water that is under skimmed, while SPS prefers "cleaner" water. Yet they can all live together in the ocean.
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That's true obviously, but the fact is that LPS/softies tend to come from different biotopes within the ocean than SPS do. SPS generally exist at the reef crest - constant high flow back and forth with the currents. There's no time for any nutrients to hang around so the understanding is SPS would prefer "cleaner" water. In contrast, most LPS/softies come from calmer (some would even say relatively stagnant) waters such as lagoon environments. Such environments are far more nutrient rich, therefore, so the theory goes, such corals like "dirtier" water.