Live rock is a key component of a marine reef aquarium. But did you have a hunch that the live rock harbors a highly diverse living bacterial community that play an important role in the maintenance of the aquarium?
Bacteria that attach to live rock and live rocks exclusively play an essential role in running the biological filtration in the aquarium. Ammonia is leached from water as product is generated by fish and other fauna. Ammonia is toxic to aquatic life, and should be converted to a less toxic species (i.e., nitrate).
Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. Nitrosomonas converts ammonia to nitrite and Nitrobacter converts nitrite to nitrate. Nitrate has a toxic effect in aquatic organisms but, at low concentrations, the toxicity is much less toxic than ammonia and nitrite. Periodic water changes and supplementation of live plants/algae is suggested for maintaining nitrate concentrations.
It should be emphasized that the bacteria in live rock operate on oxygen. That is the reason why adequate water circulation, and aeration are necessary in an aquarium. Without sufficient oxygen, the bacterium will not be able to operate and the aquarium will not be able to live.
In conclusion, live rock is a naturally filtering system and a habitat for acclimated, beneficial bacteria that further assist in the degradation of wastewater and keeping water quality in balance. In this paper, we will discuss the role of live rock in a reef aquarium and how it can be part of overall health and system stability of the ecosystem.
That is, to summarize, here are three points:
At the first place, live rock consists of an ideal natural filter of the aquarium. When flowing through the porous matrix of rock the water provides an optimal niche for the activity of detoxifying bacteria. These bacteria degrade organic waste and transform toxic ammonia and nitrite into less toxic nitrate. This process (biological filtration) is important to maintain the water quality in a marine reef aquarium.
Second, live acoustic presentations provide a habitat for a variety of marine organisms. The porous nature of rock offers a habitat for small invertebrates (e.g., copepods and amphipods) to reside and reproduce. These vertebrates are a good dietary food for some kind of fish and other aquarium inhabitants. Furthermore, live rock provides a habitat in which corals can establish and thrive and develops a natural and varied aquarium ecosystem.
Thirdly, live rock holds the aquarium in balance. The beneficial bacteria that grow on the rock help to maintain a stable nitrogen cycle, which is essential to the health of the aquarium. In addition, the porous nature of the rock is the location of excessive nutrient accumulation, which will not allow for enough increase in nutrient concentration to be dangerous to the inhabitants of the aquarium.
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