Corals and water quality

[swordfish]

What part do corals play in the bio/filtration cycle of the tank? I have heard they do not stress--but rather benefit--the water quality, unlike fish, since they help with filtration and breakdown of nitrites, etc . Is this true? I mean, after all, even a small tank can sustain a real s-load of them.

 

Thanks,

 

JCS

[Satchmo]

They don't play a part in biological filtration. The reason we can stuff a ton of them into our tanks is because they don't contribute to the bioload like fish do. That said, some corals will absorb nitrates and other organics, but in order to rely on this as a means of export you'd need a good amount of a fast-growing coral and it would need to be harvested periodically.