Sara I wish I could go back in time to bug my old professor even more than I did! I think he liked the fact I would always hang around to discuss ideas with him and ask questions, there is nothing better than having access to someone's expertise in real time. And he liked having someone who actually cared enough about biology to tinker with it outside of the school lab... its neat you are in the same boat.
I don't have any data to back up the idea of peak refugium oxygen production (lit either as 12/12 reverse photoperiod or as 24x7) coinciding with the dark cycle of the main display, but it just seems like it would be the case due to the increased liberation of carbon dioxide during the nightly phase of the main tank. I very well may be forgetting other important details, but the rates of photosynthesis in my mind are tied to a very critical limiting factor---carbon dioxide. In our reefs tanks we strive to drive it off with open tops and effective circulation, certainly this has some effect on the well-being of our macro plants.
In the planted tank philosophy, we slow things down and restrict surface agitation to conserve CO2, to give our show plants as much gro-gas as possible. It is the number one limiting factor in plant growth provided our tanks have the usual nutrients... thats why CO2 injectors are the hot ticket in making a vibrant planted tank display.
Also, it may not be a correct assumption to guage marine macro algae growth in the same terms of common aquatic plants. Be sure and ask him how the physiology compares between the two, if photosynthesis in general is limited by CO2 gas or if marines have developed other acquisition characters such as those found in biogenic decalcification
where carbon needs are met by splitting carbonate bonds to get the valuable C. This would seem likely, as the environment of marine plants is in no short supply of carbonate.
We need to also ask Dr. Shimek about this as well, Im gonna email him and hope for a reply. Either way, its fun to get to the bottom of this stuff and our tanks will be the ones who benefit in the end. Happy hunting@
I don't have any data to back up the idea of peak refugium oxygen production (lit either as 12/12 reverse photoperiod or as 24x7) coinciding with the dark cycle of the main display, but it just seems like it would be the case due to the increased liberation of carbon dioxide during the nightly phase of the main tank. I very well may be forgetting other important details, but the rates of photosynthesis in my mind are tied to a very critical limiting factor---carbon dioxide. In our reefs tanks we strive to drive it off with open tops and effective circulation, certainly this has some effect on the well-being of our macro plants.
In the planted tank philosophy, we slow things down and restrict surface agitation to conserve CO2, to give our show plants as much gro-gas as possible. It is the number one limiting factor in plant growth provided our tanks have the usual nutrients... thats why CO2 injectors are the hot ticket in making a vibrant planted tank display.
Also, it may not be a correct assumption to guage marine macro algae growth in the same terms of common aquatic plants. Be sure and ask him how the physiology compares between the two, if photosynthesis in general is limited by CO2 gas or if marines have developed other acquisition characters such as those found in biogenic decalcification
where carbon needs are met by splitting carbonate bonds to get the valuable C. This would seem likely, as the environment of marine plants is in no short supply of carbonate.
We need to also ask Dr. Shimek about this as well, Im gonna email him and hope for a reply. Either way, its fun to get to the bottom of this stuff and our tanks will be the ones who benefit in the end. Happy hunting@
I think that to a certain extent, CO2 is an important limiting growth factor. But I don't think it is the main one, as algal cells are always producing CO2. I guess my question is what that main limiting growth factor is. To what extent is light a limiting factor? I'm not talking no light at all...obviously that means no photosynthesis. Hmmm...interesting experimental design ideas flashing through my head. :lol: I think a lot of this has to do with competition for nutrients. How quickly can, say, my staghorn coral and its zooxanthellae adapt to changes in lighting? It has a patch of algae growing on one of its tips from the LFS tank...at what point of reduced lighting would the cyano out-compete the zooxanthellae, sucking up all the nutrients and overtaking the coral? Interesting. It'll be hard to figure out all my variables to keep them constant! Aah, I could go on and on. Any suggestions?