Probiotics and Bacterial Driven Systems (A Regurgitated Presentation I Put Together Months Ago (My Apologies))

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How Do Bacterial Driven Systems Accomplish This?

Driving a biological reaction is much like baking a cake, in that different components in different amounts are needed to produce the final product.

2 eggs + 1/2 sugar + 2 cup flour  cake

Some well established studies show that many forms of marine bacteria and phytoplankton (bacterioplankton) utilize:

106 carbon + 10 nitrogen + 1 phosphorous

Although different species assimilate in many different variations of ratios.

The limiting reagent in these reactions is free, unbound organic carbon. While it’s true that there are many aromatic rings, long chain fatty acids, saccardies and other components throughout the water system, elemental carbon is essential to bacteria for driving their biological reactions, and in the aquarium, carbon is a limiting component.

Photo Credits: Brian Lentz, Andy Long, www.hausriff.ch

References:

-Coral Magazine 
-Smith, Robert L., Thomas M. Smith. Ecology and Field Biology. Benjamin Cummings. New York, 2001.