Nutriment for the corals

[Oualid]

Hi,

I am wondering.
If the level of the phosphate (PO4) needs to be very low around 0.03 ppm and also the level of the nitrate < 1.0 ppm how do the corals get the nutriments?

/Oualid

 

[SpottedMoocow]

Photosynthetic coral have a symbiotic relationship with a photosynthetic dinoflagellate called Zooxanthellae. They are able to produce almost all the sugar and proteins (as well as building blocks for amino acids) that a coral needs. The zooxanthellae are what needs the nitrogen source (nitrate) for photosynthesis and phosphates for cellular structure.