Glutaraldehyde and Carbon in planted tanks!

[MickeM]

Hi all..
I hope someone here can help me out... verify or explain..

Since I have some information(hearsay) about Glutaraldehyde-CH2(CH2CHO)2 ..existing in some chemical "cleaning"/washing-products or -mixes used inside large oiltankers( and in the shipping industry) ..

I am wondering what effect Glutaraldehyde actually have/provides in/to our planted tanks ..? (even if in very small tiny doses..)
It is sold(in fluid "plant-nutrient-mixes") under the pretense as/for "bringing" enhanced amounts of Carbon to the plants..

Are Carbon-molecules or other important chemicals "released" from the actual fluid mix into the water .. creating more CO2 in the tank???

or ..do these mixes (containing Glutaraldehyde), in a smart/simple way, clean the stomata+cleaning the areas for radiation-absorbtion (mostly the leaves??) of our plants..and therefore enable the plants to function/grow in a better way??

I know several situations with enhanced plant-growth(Echinodorus sp. + others) after changing more water than usual.... When adding new water(+oxygene?)..maybe we then are "cleaning" the plants so to speak????
..and probably also "creating"/"tie up" new available useful chemical compounds into the water.. dissolved from the nutrients resting in the bottom sediment..??
or is it improving the clearity of the water.. leading to more light-radiation reaching the plants?

I know these are quite specialized questions, but I had to ask anyway... after having attended in threads
concerning the importance of enough water circulation for plants in tanks.
.
(One more thing..!! In "greenhouses" where our plants often are cultivated, they are being sprayed with water..and "nutrients"?? They are not actually (rarely) placed in the water, ..so this problem/situation may not then occur at all...when plants are kept in the open air (with much free oxygen-O2).. or ..at least when leaves are positioned above the water surface during cultivation..or in a paludarium/terrarium?)

If the "cleansing effect" is the main-/keyfactor.. is this effect then only important for the stomata (on/at the leaves of the plants..) ?
..or is it maybe an important factor for the whole/entire plant (including stem and other parts) ???


Cheers,
Micke

 

[regani]

It has nothing to do with cleaning the plants.
As we all know plants harvest light to generate energy. They then use this energy in chemical reactions to build 'stuff'. Most of these things they build are materials for building more cells and cell walls and storing energy for when there is no light around.
Most of the material made for this purpose is glucose. Glucose can easily converted back into energy and also is the basic unit for the main building material of plants: cellulose.
Plants make glucose by taking CO2 and stitching it together into longer carbon chains. First they make units 3 carbons long (for most plants), this happens in the Calvin cycle. Then they stitch those together into 6 carbon units: glucose (and other sugars). This process is called gluconeogenesis
Glutaraldehyde is a 5 carbon compound that looks a bit similar to some intermediate stages in the gluconeogenesis and can kind of sneak into the process. The plant will be happy to use it, as it doesn't have to spend a lot of energy to stitch together CO2 molecules but basically gets a 5 carbon unit for free.
So glutaraldehyde can be seen as a substitute for CO2 because it leads to the same product (glucose) as absorbed CO2 and can thus supply building material and energy in the same way as CO2 does.

 

[MickeM]

Thanks for answering regani.. great info!!!!!