Does higher coral density = higher water quality?

[texman]

Assuming that corals do filter out various elements from the water as well as using CO2, nitrogen compounds and phosphorous compounds to build their skeleton and DNA, do more corals equal less nutrients in the water. Everybody assumes that adding a refugium with plants etc will contribute to health of the main tank. (I also use a refugium loaded with calerpa) Should I try to convince myself that adding as many corals as possible will also end up clearing the nutrients out which I add with my fish food? Can I add more fish if I have more corals?

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the less room for fish there is, the fewer fish you should have.

 

[texman]

I have lots of room for fish. My tank is 6 feet long, 4 feet wide and 3 feet deep. Three sides are viewable. The center 2 1/2 feet by 4 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet high is a formation of live rock which I am trying to cover with corals. There are also various corals strewn across the sand bed. So far, my rock formation is still clearly visible between the corals. Just wondering if there is any reason why I shouldn't cover all the rock with coral.

 

[johnreb]

I think there may be something to your theory. If sps and soft corals consume fish waste and the products of the decomposition of that waste you would think that at least some of it would be converted into coral tissue and not entirely excreted back into the water.

 

[danmhippo]

Just wondering if there is any reason why I shouldn't cover all the rock with coral.

Your wallet....... :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Different question If you cover the rock with coral now, where will they grow? I vote for leavig at least 6" between any coral that has a growth rate so they can grow. Most reefs don't have a lot of types of coral in the area we are talking about. Favites, plates, and other "sand" corals have a slower growth rate, but if there are corals like euphyllia, acros, montis, leathers, etc they will grow pretty quick and will need room.

 

[texman]

I agree that putting corals so close together that they will kill each other is not a good idea, but coming up with corals that will do well next to each other is also a very interesting challenge. I have two different types of acropora (?valida/?cerealis) which are actually touching each other and neither seems to be suffering. In fact, at the base, the two corals are virtually fused. In the wild, on thriving coral reefs (those that I have visited), corals are extremely dense and there is virtually no "dead" rock visible between corals. Almost everything is alive whether it be hard coral, soft coral, gorgonians, sponges, etc. Everything seems to find its own niche. I am not interested in trying to kill corals by placing them right next to each other, however I think that the reef tank would look alot more natural if it wasn't a mass of rock with a few fragments of coral growing here and there. It would not particularly upset me if a certain coral's horizontal growth was impeded by another coral beside it fighting for space. This seems quite natural to me.