[BigBadBurrow]

I have my sources lol

But in theory, if you could source carbonic acid could you add it and achieve the same thing? I'm not gonna start doing it, I wouldn't know where to start in terms of dosing. But in theory, it would work wouldn't it...?

 

[BigBadBurrow]

Yeah, I'm not sure either. But chemically speaking if you fully diffuse CO2 in H2O you get H2CO3, and no bi-products, soooo.... what's the difference to just adding straight carbonic acid?

Also, aquatic plants don't strictly speaking absorb gas - aquatic plants don't have stomata because they're submersed in water all the time, so there is no gas to absorb.

If I had a spare tank and could source some carbonic acid I'd give this a try on some sacrificial plants. But sadly I have neither :- (

 

[BigBadBurrow]

@DarkCobra - ahhhh ok! I wondered why no one had done it because it seems like such an obvious thing to try. Also explains why no where sells carbonic acid lol

 

[BigBadBurrow]

aquatic plants do have stomata...ever heard of pearling? and there is plenty of gas in water...how else would fish breathe?

Yup, heard of pearling, but I don't know what kind of cell produces it.

There seems to be some confusion over whether aquatic plants have Stomata. Some places say they do:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6560781_features-aquatic-plants.html

and others say they don't:

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Aquatic_plants?topic=58075

Who do you believe? God bless the Internet!

I must say I didn't think they would because fully submerged aquatic plants don't come in contact with gas, and instead absorb nutrients through the leaves. But then there's pearling where oxygen is being produced by the plant, so does that mean there is stomata...?

Like I say, I'm a little confused by it at the moment.

 

[BigBadBurrow]

I think the places that say they do have Stomata are referring to aquatic plants that are rooted in water but leaves are above water, such as water lettuce, or reeds. But plants that are fully submerged in water do not have Stomata, and just produces oxygen through pores in the leaf when photosynthesis occurs, not necessarily through Stomata.

This is also backed up by what I've read about lillypads; they have Stomata on the upper-side of the leaf because they're in contact with gas, but no Stomata on the underside of the leaf because they're not in contact with gases, so has no need for them.

Like I say, I could be wrong, but that's the gist of what I've read.