Algae terrarium breaks The law of conservation of mass

[eKinho]

algae terrariums consume way too much water, it should be about a third of water in mass used in comparisson with co2,

the way it is programed is ridiculous, in 15 days I consumed about 3 reservatories of water just with my algae.

the equation with approximated parts in mass is

(1)h2o + (3)CO2 > (2)O2

Thank you so much for developing this game, I love it.

[HenryBlatbugIII]

Yes, most of the conversions in the game need some adjustment in order to conserve mass.  Ideally, they should also use properly balanced equations to conserve elements, but there's some wiggle room there with resources like "Algae" and "Clay" that could contain varying mixtures of elements (and with nuclear reactions, if they ever add those).

So far, all of the game updates have been small patches to fix game-crashing bugs, but I assume they're working on this issue as well and will release a full 'conservation of mass update'.  It's currently the biggest obstacle to my enjoyment of the game.

[Lumina]

I guess the game could not have a perfect "conservation of mass", because you need some loss in order to keep doing things and not have a too easy circle. Or at least not being able to reach the balance without some work in research/building etc, so it will require as much work creating a perfect balanced system than continuing exploring. But you could reach a better balance than now, sure.

[MarkusReese]

Well, if want to go into photosynthesis,

6 H2O + 6 CO2 = 1 C6H12O6 + 6 O2

108g + 264g = 180g + 192g

The reverse should be the dupe output.

The mass conservation issue is that it is including stuff that currently isnt part of the system.  Also for example the mass input of algae should come back as contaminated dirt.  I expect that we will see much more balancing and system added since that appears to be the most common complaint from early access fans.

To see the challenges with closed systems, you can do it with waste water from scrubbers, showers and toilets.  That is a great example of where it works and the difficulties involved.  We need water valves for on/off.

[Baelrog]

It indeed does break the law. What I also find very strange is that Algae Terrariums consume Algae (I understand the initial investment). This doesn't make sense one bit, as they should actually grow and thus produce more Algae. This is also inconsistent with the other plants within the game. Instead it should consume carbon dioxide (and the water), which isn't the case according to the Status window. A sensible waste product should be fertilizer, and/or contaminated dirt.
EDIT: On the last note, I think it should be contaminated dirt, which you could then turn into fertilizer using Compost.

[Zezarict]

10 hours ago, Baelrog said:

It indeed does break the law. What I also find very strange is that Algae Terrariums consume Algae (I understand the initial investment). This doesn't make sense one bit, as they should actually grow and thus produce more Algae. This is also inconsistent with the other plants within the game. Instead it should consume carbon dioxide (and the water), which isn't the case according to the Status window. A sensible waste product should be fertilizer, and/or contaminated dirt.
EDIT: On the last note, I think it should be contaminated dirt, which you could then turn into fertilizer using Compost.

Yes, I find it odd that they require MORE Algae, when it should grow to begin with. It should be producing Algae, not needing it. Or if we assume something is being done to the Algae (if there actually is anything) that stops it from growing, and prioritizing oxygen...it still shouldn't' consume it.