So its all bacteria

[Will]

so we dose it daily to consume the organincs in the water and the skimmer removes the ladden stuff, does this mean the theory is we re dose as the skimmer removes all the bacteria that we add ?
if not the ozone wouldnt be a good idea would it :o

[jimdon IOM]

only newish to this ULNS stuff but I think its a bit more involved than that. far as I know the skimmer pulls out the shed bacteria that form long chains similar to proteins, we redose to keep the populations at max levels, your right about the ozone though its not recomended with this sytem as you'd be nukeing what you just added , well a good proportion of it anyway.
I'm sure someone with more in depth knowledge will give you a more detailed answer, and apologies in case I got it wrong.
Jim

[Paul]

what are 'shed' bacteria?

[jimdon IOM]

oh sorry the chains of bacteria that are dislodged along with the mulm when the stones are shaken or pumped . As the bacterial populations from continued dosing reach saturation level they will also shed excess populations into the water column to migrate populations to additional areas.

[Will]

oh sorry the chains of bacteria that are dislodged along with the mulm when the stones are shaken or pumped . As the bacterial populations from continued dosing reach saturation level they will also shed excess populations into the water column to migrate populations to additional areas.


yes but runing ozone wouldnt affect them at all, only the free floating ones surely

[pavlo]

I thought the free floating ones were the food source for the corals

[jimdon IOM]

Pavlo -yes, agreed but as i understand it those that don't get eaten get skimmed off and act as additional nutrient export.
Jimmyjayz - yes again agreed but as pavlo says they are a part of the food source so would you want to kill em off?
I'm no expert with ozone so don't know how much of an effect it would have, but do know its very strong, I guess its all a balancing act and as each system is different its what works for your particular set up.
Jim

[Will]

I thought the free floating ones were the food source for the corals


yes they are but i was under the impresion thats was after you sluff them of yourself, wont the skimmer remove them anyway ? so a feed ofr ozone into the skimmer for a short period of time before the addition of the bacteria daily shouldnt do any harm ?

[jimdon IOM]

Not expert enough to answer that with any certainty, sorry. I do follow your thinking though, maybe one of the guys thats been doing it longer than me will chip in and assist.
Jim