bio load

[rusty]

Heres a question, if you put to many fish in a tank you might have to big of a bio load so that you will get algee blooms right. Now can you have to many corals in a tank? do they affect your bio load?

[Tangman]

Yes, too many fish ,corals,inverts will all afect your bio load . But has nothing to do will a algae bloom. Algae bloom is just a cycle that all new tanks go through

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by rusty

Now can you have to many corals in a tank? do they affect your bio load?

I am not sure, personally I have never had this experienced as far as it causing an algae bloom. Sense corals adsorb nutrients from the water column I believe they act more like plants and do not contribute to the bio load. but at the same time if you are one of those that feed there corals then you are adding to it there. now there are other things that corals will release, as in toxins to prevent growth of other species ect.. but that isn't really a bio load issue.

SO more than a couple times I have seen a tank go from empty to packed full of coral with no ill effect whats so ever.

Steve

[sumpfinfishe]

Of course!

Corals shed mucus and expell waste and such so you need to have enough live rock and a really good skimmer to keep it all balanced.
My LPS corals for example are fed small chunks of mysis which they will expell the waste or uneaten food a day or two later. Another example is my SPS corals are fed phytoplankton which only a small amount is taken in by these corals so a good skimmer and monthly water changes are required to keep my water parameters optimal.

Also too many corals in a confined space may cause some chemical warfare, so adequate space is needed for them to flourish and grow,
if not-some weaker corals will eventually loose the battle and die.

[rusty]

Yes, too many fish ,corals,inverts will all afect your bio load . But has nothing to do will a algae bloom. Algae bloom is just a cycle that all new tanks go through

_________________
Can an algee bloom not come if you add to many fish or corals after your tank has been running for more than a year

[danny zubot]

I think shrooms shouldn't really be used as an example in this case. They are very close if not in the same family as anemones which can contribute greatly to the bio load of a tank. I agree that most other corals don't contribute very much, in comparison to fish and crustaceans anyway. I think the trick (though I still haven't mastered it) to preventing algae blooms is to not make sudden changing in the tank that will overwhelm the delicate process of nutrient export. Adding too much to quickly and the nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria can't keep up resulting in NH4 spikes and blooms.

[Tangman]

NH4 / Ammonia will not start/cause an algae bloom
A bloom in a mature / over a year old tank is most usually caused by over feeding ,lack of water changes and using tap water that has phosphates and nitrates in it

[Richer]

NH4 and Ammonia can cause algae blooms, as would phosphates and nitrates. Ammonia, phosphates, nitrates, etc. can all be used by algae as a food source. Give a plant tank a small ammonia spike, sit back and watch your tank turn green with algae within a couple of days. Though it is a freshwater system, I'd suspect that the principle is simliar in SW systems.

-Rich

[rusty]

So if over loading your tank with coral can cause a NH4 / ammonia spike are there different types of corals that do this more

[mr_alberta]

I would assume corals that actually need to be fed (i.e. SunCorals) would produce more waste then corals the get the majority of their energy from sunlight (i.e. Acropora). That's just a guess though...