as i am forbidden to touch my aquarium other than to feed and replace evaporative loss for a couple weeks, i have been doing a little research on reef systems in nature. i am looking for a little feedback on a something that works in nature, but apparently we don't want in our aquariums:

i thought i bought an ro/di, but actually only got an ro. the only bad stuff showing in the water test is ca and si. reef folks are telling me not to worry about the ca, but the si could be a problem. this is where the 'working hypothesis' comes in:

on a natural reef, diatoms consume silicon. copapods consume diatoms. copapods are then consumed by other critters. a balance is usually reached where the cycle is in equalibrium.

my ro will remove silicates down to 5ppm, which means i will get periodic diatom blooms. i need to grow copapods for my scooter blenny. i really don't have a problem if the water is tinged brown from time to time provided it doesn't get out of hand.

so, am i realllly stretching it to think that if i have to raise pods to feed my scooter, and continually adding pods, it would control the si to the point where my tank levels will be ok??? i.e. constantly adding, and adding extra if i see brown. or is it impossible to get the cycle that works in the oceans to work in a tank?

it may be an interesting experiment if it hasn't been tried before.....

ps: critters actually look happier today with no water changes, chem tests or other general fussing on my part. so far no losses.