Easiest way to more colorful, faster growing and healthier corals!

Posted on 1 August 2018
Posted in acropora color, algae control, amazing reef tank, aquarium water testing, colorful reef tank, how to color up sps, reef amino acids, reef trace elements, sps color, sps supplement
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Red Sea's Foundation, Energy and Colors supplements are one of the easiest programs to follow in achieving colorful/healthy corals. If you are looking to bring out the best coloration and the maintain super-healthy corals, you definitely want to give them a try.

I am sure we have all looked at reef aquariums online or at fish stores and stared in awe of the amazing colors of the corals in other people’s reef tanks. Looking at our own tanks, we’re left sitting there wondering why our corals are not nearly as colorful. Especially with SPS corals, it seems so difficult to get them to be any color other than green or brown.

Light plays a big part in the colors of the corals. The other half of the equation is water chemistry. If you already have a good quality light (such as an AI or EcoTech Radion), you will want to see what you can do on the water chemistry end to boost the colors and vibrancy of your corals. Elements like potassium, boron, iodine, iron all have effects on coloration of corals. Dosing the aquarium with amino acids and vitamins have also been shown to improve coral tissue health and increase the vibrancy of tissue coloration.

With hundreds of supplements to choose from and thousands of possible combinations, it would take years of trial and error to find an optimal combination of supplements for a reef tank.

Fortunately, Red Sea has done all the hard work for you. Through years of research and testing, they have developed a series of supplements that will give you the results you are looking for: better color, better growth and better health!

The backbone of these supplements is the Reef Foundation Program: A, B & C Supplements. These elements (Ca, Alk, Mg) are responsible for the skeletal growth of corals. Red Sea also offers a great test kit (Reef Foundation Pro Test Kit) that accurately tests all three of these parameters so you can determine how much to dose.

Next up is the Algae Management Program. Excess nutrients (NO3 & PO4) not only cause algae problems, they also stunt coral growth and cause many SPS corals to brown out. Excessively high levels of nitrate or phosphate can even cause your corals to perish. Therefore, it is important to reduce your nutrient levels before adding/feeding supplement to your corals to try and make them colorful. Red Sea utilizes a method called ‘carbon dosing’ to control your nitrate and phosphate levels. The NO3:PO4-X supplement along with the Algae Control Test Kit (which tests for NO3 and PO4) is a great way to keep your nutrient levels in check.

Once you have the Ca/Alk/Mg at the right levels and the nitrate/phosphate levels within range, you can then start to add supplements to make your corals healthier and more vibrant. The Reef Energy Program (A & B) is a two part carbohydrates, amino acid and vitamin supplement that achieve exactly these results. These ‘energy’ supplements feed your corals to provide them with the necessary energy to grow and develop healthy, vibrant, tissue.

The last step is the Trace Colors Program. This program is designed specifically to increase the coloration of SPS Corals. Red Sea has found 31 trace and minor elements that are found in stony corals and have provided a series of 4 supplements to offer those elements in the proper ratios to your aquarium. What we especially like is that you are not required to test these trace-color elements separately to determine the dosage amount. You simply need to determine how much calcium you need, then calculated how much of the trace-colors supplements you need based on that calcium dosage.

With so many complicated aspects to this hobby, we really love how Red Sea took something so difficult and made it so simple and effective. Rather than months, or years, of trial-and-error testing, a hobbyist is able to follow this straight-forward program and achieve the results of healthier and more colorful corals. That jaw-dropping tank of gorgeous corals is closer than ever before!

If you would like us to help you get your corals to be healthier and more colorful, feel free to call us or stop by the store. We look forward to serving you soon!

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