Carbonic Acid

[StefanB]

My question is, do you think increased Carbonic Acid within a reef tank from atmospheric Co2 causes irritation to soft coral tissue? Could this explain why some soft corals melt / shrink?

I believe a low PH due to increased carbonic acid affects aragonite and carbonate formation. Could this be a cause for RTN within hard corals? Acros and sps. Thank you!

@Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[MnFish1]

My question is, do you think increased Carbonic Acid within a reef tank from atmospheric Co2 causes irritation to soft coral tissue? Could this explain why some soft corals melt / shrink?

I believe a low PH due to increased carbonic acid affects aragonite and carbonate formation. Could this be a cause for RTN within hard corals? Acros and sps. Thank you!

@Randy Holmes-Farley

While waiting for Randy, low pH CAN irritate corals (or at least slow them down) - I would think this would affect SPS and LPS more than soft corals.

Quick changes in pH (and thus carbonic acid) - can certainly cause IME (or at least seemed to) - an RTN type picture. That said - I wonder if other conditions that are associated with low pH may be more important than 'carbonic acid' itself. Here is an interesting article from Science:

Science | AAAS

www.science.org