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Break122704
08/18/2006, 11:14 AM
i know this is silly but do corals consume oxygen and if yes how does it work

Travis L. Stevens
08/18/2006, 11:53 AM
Yes. Through absorption. Corals are animals too.

boxfishpooalot
08/18/2006, 11:58 AM
Their zoox consume oxygen at night just like plants.

Travis L. Stevens
08/18/2006, 12:20 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7965389#post7965389 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boxfishpooalot
Their zoox consume oxygen at night just like plants.

Well, that's not just like plants. Plants use CO2 and give off O2. The coral itself Uses Oxygen and gives off CO2. The symbiotic Zooxanthallae algae uses the CO2, light, and nutrients to break food down to simple sugars and release oxygen. At night, when they don't have light to use to process food, they don't make oxygen to displace the CO2 in the tank. Hence why CO2 builds up during the night and drops your tank's pH. And that's where the philosophy of having a refugium run on a reverse lighting schedule ;)

boxfishpooalot
08/18/2006, 12:38 PM
I agree, but at night dont zoox take up oxygen and release Co2? Just like plants? :)

Travis L. Stevens
08/18/2006, 12:58 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7965638#post7965638 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boxfishpooalot
I agree, but at night dont zoox take up oxygen and release Co2? Just like plants? :)

Algae, afterall, isn't a plant. It's a Protist; an animal. But, they are photosynthetic, similar to plants. So why would they reverse the process at night? I guess I'm confused. Are you talking about Dark Respiration?