The surface area for bacteria and m

The surface area for bacteria and microalgae in live rock or on other surfaces isinsignificant compared to the area in a sand bed four or more inches in depth. Thecardinal rule of animal husbandry is that you have to feed animals, and many reefanimals need to eat a lot. My article in the February 2001 Aquarium Fish Magazine(online version available: here ) about the composition of many foods and additives canbe used to calculate just how much of the various nutrients you add to your system. Asan average the dried foods that I tested had about one half of their weight as protein,which in turn means they have a very large amount of phosphate in them. And, if thatwas not enough, once the food has been eaten and processed by the animals, theyurinate out protein byproducts as ammonia. Simply feeding your fish or corals thenecessary food they need to live may boost ammonia and phosphate concentrationsseveral hundred to several thousand times what is normally found in reef water. But, ifyou have a deep sand bed, a process that is nothing short of miraculous occurs. Thebacteria and algae living in the sediments take up the nutrients so fast and sothoroughly, that hobbyist test kits typically may not measure any of the nutrients at alleven immediately after feeding.