converting tank to natural system

dbates, I want to make one thing completely clear....I am not attacking you in any way. I just have heard the word "natural" one too many times. I hope I'm helpful to you as well as the other people reading this thread.

[quote author=dbates link=board=General;num=1095988730;start=0#9 date=10/04/04 at 19:58:53]more "realistic", more self sufficient with filtration and chemical balancing, stability.... ALl of these things and more that i probably cant think of. [/quote]
Ok...now we are getting to the "meat" of the matter....Thanks for answering honestly. The problem is that we cannot replicate a reef in our tanks. People want to be natural and then they put sand, macroalgaes, mangroves, etc. in the tank (or in the system). None of those things exist near 99% of most reef dwelling corals. There is also little sand. There are a few species of LPS and softies that live on sand inside a lagoon but not many. For good measure, a lot of people combine fish and other corals that don't even live on the reef and put them together in a small nutrient laden glass box and say, "they have created a reef".

Because a skimmer is only replicating nature as opposed to being natural, people want to take it out. However, neither are glass walls LOL!!! We cannot replicate 100% water changes of tides, periodic upwellings of cooler, less saline water, complete [CTRL][ALT][DEL] reboots with periodic hurricanes, etc. Frankly, this list could go on for a loooooonnnnnngggg time. A skimmer mimics the aeration of the wave action of the surf as well as well as reproducing the reduction of Carbon (proteins). Yes, a skimmer is mechanical but this is exactly what happens in the ocean. UV sterilizers (also mechanical) mimic the intense sunlight at the surface of the water (basically, it is mayhem, death, and destruction). Even though these are man-made objects, I consider their effects "natural".

There are numerous ways to skin a cat. I'm not so behind one reefing philosophy that, "everyone else is wrong". However, I fielt I had to address that the "naturalness" that is often promoted is not natural at all.

Talk them into cleaning a skimmer cup as well on occassion and you're golden. You NEVER want a macro to go sexual in your system.

 

Well, I think a better description of what is being discussed is ' balanced ' I agree with you Inwall, every time I read or hear the word "natural" I cringe

John

 

yea that all makes sense, and i understand taht "natural" is a definite impossibility, but what i was referring to was balanced or the "natural" filtration that the live rocks provide. I was always planning on keeping the skimmer on, thats not much of a problem and its obvious that 55 gallons cant compare to the ocean's filtration. I would most definitly leave the skimmer on, especially since i am leaving, there are those that just use powerheads in their tanks, but without myself there to tend it, im not willing to do something like that.