# Do Plants Use Oxygen at night?



## marcussteenbergen (Oct 4, 2009)

I just have a few questions! So i have a 55g planted aquarium with 1.2 wpg of 6700k for 12 hours a day at a temp of 75. I dose the aquarium with flourish excel everyday and flourish every week, i also have the tank fertilized with flourish tabs and nutrafin once a year tabs. no co2. There is a film that is on the top of the aquarium and it covers it fully now i know that it is a protein build up and i was just going to add a skimmer attachment onto my fluval 405 but i was reading that plants use oxygen at night so i was just going to add an airstone that goes on at night so the plants get oxygen and the surface film will disappear. So do plants use oxygen at night or would it just be better to add a skimmer on my fluval? Also i just got new anubias and the leaves started going transparent and some of the leaves started turning yellow at the times and they are all the old leaves not the new ones! so i was just wondering if anyone new if what i could do to fix this as all my other plants are doing fine (sunset hygro, onion plants, and java fern) Thanks for any help you can give me


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Plants use oxygen 24 hours a day. Oxygen is used to break down stored sugars which keep the plant alive. So as long as it is alive (every hour of every day) then the plant needs oxygen.

At night they don't really take in CO2 because they aren't photosynthesizing (making sugars with the carbon).

The surface scum can be removed with more surface turbulence.

The yellowing might be phosphate or iron problems. Do you have any test kits?


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## marcussteenbergen (Oct 4, 2009)

Zapins said:


> The surface scum can be removed with more surface turbulence.


I know it can be removed with more surface agitation but if i use an air stone during the day i will lose co2, but if i use a skimmer on my fluval 405 that wont happen as much, but then wouldnt i need to add oxygen at night for the plants to grow?

and no i dont have a test kit but i have started adding iron to see if that will improve my anubias


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Hmm yeah, don't use a bubbler. I'm not familiar with the skimmer you are planning on using, but you can also angle the filter return line so it disturbs the surface a little. You don't need splashing, just a little ripple.


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## marcussteenbergen (Oct 4, 2009)

Zapins said:


> Hmm yeah, don't use a bubbler. I'm not familiar with the skimmer you are planning on using, but you can also angle the filter return line so it disturbs the surface a little. You don't need splashing, just a little ripple.


Its just a piece that you add to the intake of my fluval and it skims the surface as well as removes water near the bottom


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Ah ok, sounds like something you can try.


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