ICloud Photo downloading all my photos to my iPhone

I recently enabled iCloud Photo on my Macbook Air and my iPhone.
For the past couple years, I have been importing my photos from my iPhone to iPhoto every time I sync my phone at which point I would delete the photos on my phone to save space.
Now that iCloud Photo is enabled, my phone is now downloading  >4000 photos.
Is there something I'm missing here? It seems really flawed that this program is going to end up using most if not all of the disk space on my phone.
Any help on why it's doing this and any ways to prevent it would really be appreciated.

Hi jlfama,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
I understand that you have some questions regarding how iCloud Photo Library stores your photos and videos and how to conserve as much space on your device as possible. In this situation, I would recommend reading over the attached racial for some great information. The How many photos and videos can I store in my iCloud Photo Library? and Can I use iCloud Photo Library to save space on my device? sections in the article may be especially useful to you. 
iCloud Photo Library FAQ - Apple Support
Best regards,
Joe

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