These series of articles from 2003 and 2002 are interesting to read. The following are just a few paragraphs from the 1st part of the food series.
“Stony corals, for example, rely heavily on the capture of zooplankton to meet their energy needs.”
“Coral reef food sources, then, are largely produced by the ocean. Bacteria, detritus, phytoplankton, zooplankton, small benthic fauna, mucus, and dissolved organic and inorganic material of various types and sizes are what comprise the majority of food on a coral reef.
Are We, As Aquarists, Providing It?
In a word, No.”
“As a result of the often unnaturally elevated nutrient levels in aquaria, we employ a number of nutrient export devices, such as filters, ozonizers, and protein skimmers (foam fractionators). We also tend to add these devices to avoid or limit another common nutrient export mechanism, the water change. Unfortunately, it is a serious and probably deleterious compromise in many ways. Such devices actively strip the water column of the very bacteria, detritus, mucus, and plankton that exist, limiting the effectiveness of our captive community to deal with the nutrients and, in return, providing food sources within the food web. When the water column is "stripped" of its productive elements, the populations of filter feeding and predatory sessile invertebrates are compromised, as is the productivity of the substrate communities - including the live rock and live sand with their associated microbial, floral, and faunal components. However, if we do not "purify" the water, we may encounter nutrient problems and react with limited feeding schedules. It is quite literally a Catch-22.”
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