[Sk8r]

Reading Bertoni's comment that phosphate comes in on/via live rock---it does make sense, because it sure fuels one heck of an algae bloom at the end of the cycle.

Which suggests---maybe our traditional setup method, in which we let this go on, then fatten a batch of CUC on the resulting algae, is not the best way we could go. Phosphate IN algae can't readily be measured: but we know it's there, because there's algae.

What if---we ran Phosban during the cycle? No algae bloom?
We'd have to feed the CUC to prevent them starving during the last phase. But if the phosphate is floating around in the water ready to cause an algae bloom, and we yank it, via Phosban or a fuge, we have gotten rid of something our tanks don't want.

We still need a CUC: they're the turtle on which the universe rests, and imho they aid nitrate breakdown by their activity; but if we've sopped up the phosphate, corals would be happier faster. We might need a different kind of CUC, fewer snails, more worms, brittle stars, hermits, etc.

Opinions? I have a related thought on phosphate management, but I'll put that in another more specific thread.