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Who's Consuming My Vodka?

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I had a long, tough day and final able to sit down at about 8 PM. I pour myself a little Tito's hand crafted to carbon dose myself and sit and enjoy my tank. While I'm sitting there sipping on the good stuff, I'm saying to myself, you poor sucker bacteria, you're getting the best vodka $11.99 could buy.....Traveler's Club Vodka....but still liking it! I reflect back to my PhD days at the Center of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University in the early 70's and think about how they are converting alcohol to aldehyde and pulling this into the Krebs Cycle making ATP.....and I say to myself.....wait, if bacteria can do this, corals must be able to metabolize alcohol as well. It never hit me! (I also reflect on wishing I had lab time to isolate the enzymes in my corals). When we carbon dose our tanks, the corals must also be consuming this "carbon" as well. I have a fully mature tank and now wonder if I need to compensate for all those corals so that the bacteria have a pinch of vodka for themselves, while the corals party hardy with the vodka.
 

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
If I recall, ethanol to aldehyde (is acetyl?) to CoA into Krebs (somewere in the north or northwest side of the diagram, or is it northeast).

But a number of corals, thinking softies, rely on photosynthesis and dont rely on the Krebs. With lighting requirements of SPS, does krebs apply? Do any corals require krebs?

Thinking Krebs applies to bacteria growth to consume more nutrients to prevent algae from consuming them and has no implication on coral growth.
 
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redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
They need to metabolize sugars, and Kreb's is the cycle. As far as where it enters, it's totally dependent on how the cycle was drawn up. In my day, alcohol entered at about 5 o'clock....but again, it could be drawn where it comes in at the north/northwest side. As far as your photosynthesis comment....it's still producing sugar, which needs to be metabolized.
 

Mark_C

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NJRC Member
Moderator
MAybe its how it enters.
Photosynthesis uses chloroplasts for H20, light, and CO2 to provide glucose to mitochondria (in corals and algae).
So, guessing its a different production route.
Bacteria will actively break alcohol down for respiration via hydrogenases, corals will use chlorplasts.
Educated guess - Both enter the cycle as glucose, but bacteria use the booze to get there, corals use the light/O2/CO2 to get there.
Educated guess 2 - An added bonus to the bacteria using booze is that as it metabolizes and grows, it strips the elements that algae needs faster than algae can grab it.
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Your educated guess 2 is what we want....the bacteria consumes the N's and P's faster than the algae can by growing and multiplying quicker......algae doesn't have a chance.
 

Mark_C

Staff member
Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
So. Assuming (yes, I've seen the Odd Couple)...
If... Algae and corals share the chloroplastic method of conversion
And... We go with Educated guess 2 - bacteria consumes elements faster than algae, preventing growth
And... We are hyper-charging our bacteria to strip elements to prevent algae growth
Then... Are we diminishing the growth of our photosynthetic coral?
(this post works much better if you have 'Conjunction Junction' playing in your head at time of reading)
 
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