Following the development of mass spectrometry techniques, proxies based on isotopic composition are increasingly applied on coral skeleton to reconstruct paleoenvironments. The present work focuses on coral skeleton isotopic composition to constrain environmental proxies, biological processes and element biogeochemical cycles. The dataset includes several genera originating from different natural environments and cultured in monitored aquaria. First, the effect of salinity on the elemental coral skeletal composition was investigated in order to evaluate potential salinity proxies. Then, environmental influences and biological effects have been controlled on calcium isotope composition in coral skeleton. Finally, this work reports the first Ba isotope fractionation results on marine carbonates, including coral skeleton which provides a first order view of the marine Ba isotopic cycle. A special focus is the question whether the nutrient type distribution of Ba in the water column and Ba natural/anthropogenic sources, are reflected in Ba isotope ratios of carbonate archives.