Lol, well you know that created more questions...
Everything I've read says to let diatoms run their course and once the silica is gone so to will they be. Are you saying you actively take measures to remove diatoms? Wouldn't it be better to let then use up the silica and then be done with them once and for all?
Softies, zoas, and some lps like water that is slightly "dirty". Doesn't that preclude the ability to run your tank so pristine as to be algae proof? Since algae is all about the nutrients and the light, and so are the corals I mentioned, doesn't it make it difficult to have one without the other?
I'm not versed in the treatment of dinos, but from memory I think increasing flow and cutting light deals with them. But since you need light for corals and I imagine it'll be hard to create perfect all encompassing flow, aren't reefers always at risk for dinos?
Thank you for your replies, I'm really learning a lot! Randy, thank you too, and everyone else who replies!
In answer to your question regarding softies, zoas and lps that like "dirty" water is sort of, well, just inaccurate. Nothing "likes" dirty water, but some species can tolerate it, which is why people say that they like dirty water. Keeping all of the above in a low nutrient system, i.e., a system that has been cleaned of detritus and preventatively maintained through cleaning, vacuuming sand bed routinely, etc., will be fine and the corals will be completely fine in clean water. Without getting into the need of the zooxanthellae needing *some* levels of nitrates, phosphates and dissolved organics, a "dirty" tank is just a neglected tank in my opinion. So in conclusion for that question, the corals listed do not "prefer" to have high nitrates and phosphates, they can just tolerate it better than other species of corals, such as SPS. Keep your tank and water column as clean as you can.
In answer to the question about a tank being so pristine as to be algae proof, that will never happen. The coral reefs around the world are comprised of ~70% algae, so algae is a natural part of a reef system, and as Brandon pointed out earlier, onset of algae growth in our tanks is a foregone conclusion. Algae is about nutrients and light, but they can survive on other sources of energy for growth; where you find healthy coral is where you will also find algae. Now that being said, I am a huge proponent in what Brandon talks about in terms of forced tank compliance, manual removal of algae, etc., and I follow those practices in my tank. Every day I'll get the turkey baster and blast my rockwork to get detritus in the water column to be removed through surface skimming to the sump. Also turkey blast the sand bed every couple days, and when I do a WC, vacuum the sand bed super well to remove detritus that will definitively cause algal growth.
There are some other threads on keeping the proper balance of nitrates in one's system for health of corals, but that's another topic altogether.
As
@Nano sapiens pointed out, algae will exist in your system no matter what you do for nutrient reduction, so that's not an option for keeping water clean enough to keep algae away. If you want to have an algae free system, you will have to manually remove it, prevent it, force your tank to comply, and as nano pointed out, find the balance you are willing to live with. I must admit that my corals always look the best when algae is trying to create a foothold in my tank, and sometimes I just leave things be for a while since my corals are doing well, I don't care what the actual levels of NO3 and PO4 are. I use biopellets so I know that the levels aren't too high, and then I just rip clean the algae when I've had enough of it. The balancing act between nutrient levels (NO3 and PO4 the measurable nutrients) and coral health is a new topic that is catching fire right now, and you are actually learning some cool stuff from Randy, Brandon and Nano Sapiens, but that would require an entirely new thread. A great resource for learning about nitrate dosing is
@twilliard , and I would recommend reading Todd's posts about it and asking him.
In conclusion to this enormously long [edited] personal post, my advice is to find the balance between planning your system to make prevention and removal of algae and other unwanted nasty growth easy on you. There is no such thing as corals that "like" a dirty system, only corals that possess a greater fault tolerance for lack of cleanliness.
I'm a huge believer in removal of algae as Brandon has outlined, and while you can still do, it, plan your aquascape around first, what you like and what's beautiful to you, and a very close second, a design that allows you to maneuver in your tank to clean it.
OK, enough typing, hope that no one fell asleep reading that post.
