Need Advice

[FishStrings]

Correct. Assume that there is CO2 and oxygen in the water as well. They just extract it from the water instead of the air. They do breath small amounts of oxygen at night but in trace amounts, and the evidence to back up this claim is pretty weak. This could just be because the plants stop breathing much at all in their dormancy at night and there is just more air in the water surrounding them. An important concept is that plants cannot live without oxygen breathing organisms and oxygen breathing organisms cannot live without plants.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Er, wut?

You said

What the plant is doing is taking the CO2 and releasing it purely as oxygen since there are already 2 oxygen molecules bonded in the CO2.

Oxygen produced during photosynthesis does not come from the O2 in CO2. It comes from photolysis of water to give 2H and 1/2O2.

and the evidence to back up this claim is pretty weak

What claim?

This could just be because the plants stop breathing much at all in their dormancy at night and there is just more air in the water surrounding them.

Plants can't just stop respiring. Photosynthesis produces carbohydrates because they don't eat, obviously, so the only way to get them is to make them. Respiration is required to get energy out of those carbohydrates. They respire during the day and during the night.

 

[FishStrings]

I never said the plants stopped breathing at all at night. They simply need much less of everything to survive when they go dormant.
The claim was that plants do breath oxygen at night.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Since when do plants 'go dormant'?

 

[`Peter]

Since when do plants 'go dormant'?

At night I guess when they do not take in light so therefore don't need the co2.

 

[OohFeeshy]

But they're still respiring. That's not going dormant by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[lljdma06]

Hey. I have been tolerant of this debate as of late, as this is a place of learning. FishStrings, I'm being serious. If you really want to know some of the latest trends in keeping planted tanks, I really suggest you read the pinned topic labeled "PARC" carefully. In addition, all the threads in PARC are actually open, so if you have questions, you can ask directly on the thread. I took a long time to compile these threads and articles written by other members and myself, and I think it would be a worthwhile read for you.

I, myself will often go back and reread information presented at PARC, and if trends change, which they often do, I'll pick up on it and will post updates.

Llj