ANDRE’S REEF GUIDE

Coral Coloration Part #1 or…

How to get your Nutrients back up

In this guide, I provide you with the right methods and practical guidance to get your Nutrients back up to
minimum levels where they need to be, in order to master the first Level of colorful Corals, detectable
Nutrients!

Unfortunately, these days, non-detectable Nutrients are becoming the Reefer Issue #1, so I compiled this
guide for easy to understand and easy to follow guidance to bring those back up.

All relevant products, mixtures, recommended starting dosing amounts and precautional measures are
described quick and dirty as todays Reefer require it.0Also it describes very detailed the equipment usage and
selection for testing so you are not lost in all that 😉
 Andre’s Reef Guide – Colorization Part#1

Table of Contents – ARG Part#1

Copyright and Notice of use ......................................................................................................... 3
Quick Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3
Foreword ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Identification ................................................................................................................................... 5
What is the issue and why are Nutrients really required ? ................................................................... 5
Part of the Food Chain in the Tank .......................................................................................................................... 5
Effect when no Nutrients are present ....................................................................................................................... 6
Myth of Zero Nutrients .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Types of Low/Zero Nutrient Tank issues .................................................................................................................. 9
How can these scenarios occur? ............................................................................................................................. 9
What to avoid while in a Zero Nutrient level situation ............................................................................................ 11
Required Equipment and measurements ............................................................................................. 11
Testing Equipment Nitrates .................................................................................................................................... 12
Testing Equipment Phosphates, Phosphorus ........................................................................................................ 13
Nutrient Level Correction .............................................................................................................18
What Nutrient level to be at?.................................................................................................................. 18
Different Groups of Nutrient systems ..................................................................................................................... 18
What Levels are we shooting for? .......................................................................................................................... 18
Things to bear in mind when dosing Nutrients and potential issues ................................................ 20
Increase of Nitrates ................................................................................................................................................ 20
Increase of Phosphates ......................................................................................................................................... 20
Saturation effect while dosing ................................................................................................................................ 20
Tissue or tip burn effect .......................................................................................................................................... 22
Bacterial impact, Cyano and Algae ....................................................................................................................... 22
How long do take things, to show effect? ............................................................................................................... 26
• Colors ........................................................................................................................................................ 26
• Algae disappearance ................................................................................................................................ 27
• Bacterial disappearance............................................................................................................................ 27
• Pathogenic bacterial diseases .................................................................................................................. 27
• STN and RTN............................................................................................................................................ 27
• Marine Fungus .......................................................................................................................................... 28
Raising Nutrients ..........................................................................................................................28
Alternative ways to increase Nutrient levels ........................................................................................ 29
Dosing Phosphates and Nitrates ........................................................................................................... 29
Dosing Nitrates ....................................................................................................................................................... 30
Dosing Phosphates ................................................................................................................................................ 31
Applying the right strategy of correction ....................................................................................33
Zero Nitrates and detectable Phosphates (very easy) ........................................................................................... 33
Zero Nitrates and Zero Phosphates (mostly easy) ................................................................................................. 34
Zero Nitrates and high Phosphates (mostly moderate to manage) ........................................................................ 35
High Nitrates and Zero Phosphates (mostly difficult to resolve)............................................................................. 36

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Zero Nitrates and Zero Phosphates while no Nutrient reduction is present anymore (No GFO, No Carbon dosing
etc.) ........................................................................................................................................................................ 36
“Andre’s Biodiversity recovery method”. ................................................................................................................ 37
Overall and other things being covered in future parts .............................................................39
Some more important things for Colorization ......................................................................................................... 39
Next Reef Guides ................................................................................................................................................... 40
Introduction of myself ..................................................................................................................41

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Copyright and Notice of use
2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic
or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case
of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted
by copyright law. For permission requests, write or contact the publisher, addressed “Attention:
Permissions Coordination” via email or any other given contact information. All described
methods and facts as well as information listed are personal opinions based on personal
experience, interpretation and education. The Author takes no responsibility or liability for the
use and applying the described practices and or methods and Products used and any form of
results. Also, the Author confirms personal distance to any recommended or mentioned brands
and products and has not received any form of compensation for these products or brands to be
mentioned in this publication.

Quick Introduction
Hi, my Name is Andre………….and I’m addicted………………… ;-)
Thank you for acquiring this publication and I hope you will love it and get more of these.
I’m a Reef keeper since many years, and with the increased popularity of myself to the folks out
there, I unfortunately can’t keep up with all the requests and questions I do get everyday ;-(

So I thought, since most common issues and questions are repeatedly the same these days,
some of my fellow Reefers inspired, almost forced me to publish my work and experience in
Chapter books and Reef Guides, in the way and easy to understand language, I use with them.
That will help me to get my time back and spend it again more on my own Tank systems.
I will have a more detailed description of myself at the end of this publication, for the ones that
want to know more about myself and want to get to the purpose of this e-book now!!!!

In case you would like to follow me or you are just interested in other internet publications I
made related to our addiction, please get in touch with me via the below methods:

Contact form on Publishing Website / Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/PSXerholic

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Andre’s Reef Guide – Colorization Part#1

Foreword
Pale or fade looking Corals? Tissue Necrosis? Algae outbreak while no Phosphate?
No idea what to do next? Nitrate Zero, Phosphate Zero, or even both? Or do you just want to get
to the next Level of Colorization and Reefing?
Then you need to read this practical hands-on Guide, to get the Colors of your Corals back, or at
least learn from a Pro-Reefer (I hate that term, but others keep using that for me), how to get to
the next Level of Reefing. Learn in this part especially, how to resolve a low, or worse, a Zero-
Nutrient issue without making the issue worse which can happen easily!!!
Nutrient control and Nutrient existence in the Reef Tank is the first MUST TO HAVE, in order to
have beautiful colors on your Corals!!!
Yes, if you have Zero Nutrients, you are going to face an issue sooner or later. And I will explain
and give guidance how to detect if you truly have an issue or not. And if so, this Guide will tell
you how to resolve that with very specific instructions and guidance in detail.
This and my other Guides do provide enough “quick and dirty information”, how to get to the
next Level of Reefing and sets the required Milestone to become the owner of a beautiful Reef
Aquarium, as you sometimes see it in the Forums, where you just instantly start drooling……….
I will also talk about the effects and manipulation of the bacterial biology and how to repair it
from experience, not just theory. I have fixed so many Tank systems from average and beginner
hobbyists recently, and the requests for help getting more, so that I will cover with all my advice
and hands-on guidance in my Reef Guides.
It will also cover my personal Nutrient management to minimize the issue of undesired algae.
This publication will not cover any Reefer basics, so you should know enough about how to
operate a basic Reef Aquarium and maintain the Standard parameter.
This publication is for day to day folks, which just simply do not have the time for years of
research ;-)
If you are that type of person, who really expect all the background details and
chemical/biological explanation for everything that is being written and mentioned, this book may
help you a lot to get the issue resolved, but won’t give you answers to what you are looking for,
you would like to fully understand.

Red Montipora Capricornis

Even the “simple” to keep

Corals can be a real joy to have
in the tank alongside with many
other Rainbow Acropora, as
long it’s vibrant in Color

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The main part in this Guide will cover the identification of the issue, and sufficient explanation in
simple words you need to have, to understand the situation and potential solution.
Then I will cover the way forward how to resolve the issue, and the steps which are required to
bring the Tank biology back in balance, step by step.
A list of the recommended Products and Equipment (at least for the US), including the
professional way of how to use them to avoid mistakes will be given. As well this Guide will have
tons of hints for beginner Reefer, which will become very handy in future. I basically explain in
detail what I do and did with my Reef Tank.
The required doses and how and when to apply it, will be explained.
Keep in mind this Guide is written for the Hobbyists, which do typically contact me for help, so
this Guide is intended to help everyone and to resolve issues that have to do with low Nutrient
levels in the Reef Tank.

Single colored Coral colonies, just with sufficient intensity make such a huge difference

Identification
What is the issue and why are Nutrients really required ?

Part of the Food Chain in the Tank

In a few words, Nutrients like NO3 (Nitrate) and PO4 (Phosphate) are important ingredients for a
Reef Tank. Nitrate is food for the Coral itself, fuel for many biological processes in the Reef Tank
and very important, it is food for your bacteria, which keep your Tank alive and healthy.
Phosphates are as well an important ingredient for the Coral skeleton, and many other chemical
processes in the Tank. PO4 levels are being affected whenever something in your Tank grows and
dies……….. This is important to realize.
For example, a dead live rock in a Tank will come to live after a few weeks, and even this rock
will start to uptake PO4, in reality unnoticed by most of us, it’s actually all the critters and
bacteria inside the rock that are consuming the NO3 and PO4. What I’m trying to say is that the
rock becomes as substrate, a little biotope, which will host plenty of animals. And all these will
need NO3 and PO4 to live and survive.

Let me repeat this. It is important to understand that……Nutrients are FOOD for your entire Reef
and since this guide is about how to color up Corals, these Nutrients are required in the Tank.

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Effect when no Nutrients are present

Corals will start to pale out and looking dull, when no Nutrients are present for a while or not
being provided anymore.
This means, your Corals will basically not be able to produce their colors on their “skin”, when
NO3 and PO4 are not available for consumption. Corals will do quite well for a while and the
typical signs of missing Nutrients will then start to appear. In many cases the zooxanthellae,
which is an algae that lives within the tissue (skin) of the Coral, will be reduced to a point that
the Coral becomes almost white like a dead Coral.
After a period of time with no Nutrients the overall health will decrease, the Coral does suffer and
will also start to be very sensitive to changes in the water chemistry, salinity or simply changes in
the light cycle or type.
This sensitivity can result then into a tissue necrosis, slow or rapidly (STN/RTN) or end in
bacterial infections, or simply not being enough resistant anymore against many marine fungus
that we all have in our Tanks.
I repeatedly noticed from my fellow Reefer, that were dealing with this issue, that typically the
SPS will do leave (die off) the Tank first, and weeks or months later the more robust or easy SPS,
and then also the LPS Corals will be affected as well if the Nutrients were not going to be
corrected.

ORA Red Dragon Acropora, before and after. Clearly to see the increased intensity in color in a higher
Nutrient level environment.

Another very complicated effect, by the way, is being introduced to the bacterial biology of the
Tank. Missing of one or the other, or simply both of these Nutrients in the Tank, can actually
often lead to imbalance of the bacterial strains. I try to be very simple here now.
The bacteria biology in your Tank is a community of many different bacteria strains and families.
They all do a specific job and do consume a certain waste in your Tank. Simply spoken some like
to consume more the Nitrates than Phosphates and the other way around. The theory and
practice has shown that, if one of the Nutrients is being depleted, the diversity of bacteria strains
becomes affected in a negative way towards an imbalance. I will not talk too much in this part
about the bacteria and biology, since it almost need it’s own guide. In the good ol’ days, people
used the term monoculture, which I strongly believe should really be called “Imbalanced/limited
culture” in the bacterial biology. The effect of such an imbalance can be for example a Reef Tank
scenario that shows that Nitrates start or keep elevating, while Phosphates are already Zero.
Looking at these scenarios of imbalanced biology, a lot of times this will result in an algae
outbreak or a Cyano outbreak, since the algae or Cyano bacteria won the battle against their
competitor, in this case the bacteria that we use, to eat all the food away that the Cyano or
nuisance algae need.
Remember there is a constant battle in our Tank for competing and survival. We are just
managing the battle and are trying to last the battle as long as possible with selected winners.

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As you recently see more and more of these bacterial products on the market, they are mostly a
blended bacteria mix, with the mission to clean the Tank by eating a specific waste, which
nuisance algae needs to grow, hence they kill the algae by starvation.

Purple Garf Bonsai while entering an Ultra low

Nutrient state, you can see on the colony the purple
starts fading out. Before this colony was intense
dark purple from base to tip.

Back to the subject, you can have success with colors while have non-detectable Nutrients with
your tank, but only while you are dosing Nitrates or/and Phosphates into the system daily and
regularly during the day. Means Nitrates are being fed and consumed as soon as possible after
dosing, so they won’t become detectable, but Corals will still get a little amount of it while the
Nitrates are in the water column, in very small amounts. Pro-Reefer call this situation the
“Equilibrium” since the Coral is in an environment of almost Zero Nitrates most of the time,
however has the chance to take up Nitrates throughout the day, whenever supplemented.
I do this method sometimes (ULNS in Equilibrium) with Nitrates, however not with Phosphates.
I’m not recommending to keep PO4 so close on the border of detectable levels and prefer to
have the PO4 in at least low levels, but never non-detectable.
So, in general, keep NO3 and PO4 at low levels if you like, but not at Zero, unless you are doing
the “Equilibrium of Nitrates”!!! It is much easier to maintain low Nutrients (2.5ppm – 4ppm) with
very good results.
I will explain later what to look out for and being aware of, when operating the Tank in the low
or ultra-low Nutrient system mode, so called LNS or ULNS. There are 2 important things to look
out for in very low Nutrient systems.
The danger of tissue burn and the required algae control. Operating in ULNS requires very fine
tuning to keep the Tank algae free, since we are very low in the Redfield ratio. I will quick cover
the Redfield ratio and algae control in this Reef Guide part as well.

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Myth of Zero Nutrients

Why the heck is this even an issue???
In that old dusty book on yours or the library’s shelf, they were recommending to get Nitrates
down and did not even really care about Phosphates that much!
And with Phosphates, which can cause an algae outbreak, everyone is saying you need to get
your Phosphates out of the Tank. Very confusing, true!

Well, first at all in the last few years, the hobby and the business has been developed quite well.
High performance filtration equipment is available, which brings these days our Nutrients down
with ease. In the past, that was not as easy as it is today. Also with the current knowledge of
bacteria and their management, things and care became much easier to keep Nutrients low and
even at Zero.
With the enhanced technology, also the Water Test Kits became much more accurate and more
affordable for the hobbyist. While dealing with high tolerance test kits in the past, the color
showed 0-5ppm Nitrates, now we are with ease, able to differentiate between 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75
….. and so on.
Don’t take me wrong, many Pro Reefer are able to tell from the appearance of the Tank if there
is anything out of whack, but that takes years of experience in the hobby. Treat our Senior
Reefer with respect, they have been taken care of these sensitive systems without an Email
Alarm on their Phone while at work, when the Circuit Breaker tripped!

My Avatar Efflo……… could look at this picture for hours. These colors are only been achieved with
Nutrients present. The Coral turns brown immediately when I let those parameter drop.

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Types of Low/Zero Nutrient Tank issues

The following scenarios are typically possible and very common:
● Zero Nitrates and detectable Phosphates (very easy)
● Zero Nitrates and Zero Phosphates (mostly easy)
● Zero Nitrates and high Phosphates (moderate to manage)
● High Nitrates and Zero Phosphates (mostly difficult to resolve)
● Zero Nitrates and Zero Phosphates while no Nutrient reduction is present
anymore (mostly difficult to resolve)

The first 2 categories are typical Reef Tanks with depleted Nutrients, in which a few corrections
and a different habit can bring the desired results mostly.
More information about why this could happen, I will explain later.
The third scenario is moderate to manage, since PO4 can be mechanically reduced with ease for
the course of correction.
The last 2 scenarios are the most challenging of all, since here is the bacterial biology totally
jacked up in a way, that Phosphates are being depleted (with no use of GFO!!!!) via bacteria
strains that are in an extreme imbalance.

Nutrient supplementation sometimes makes you wonder

what Colors are hidden in some Species

How can these scenarios occur?

First and foremost, I have to say that for a fresh hobbyist, the flood of information and methods
how to reduce Nutrients are huge. Asking around for recommendations how to setup a Reef
Tank, you will get a variety of methods and systems, how to reduce the Nutrients, from people
who are fully convinced as well as convincing to others, that their chosen method is the best of
all and it works perfectly.

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Let me say that I have done a lot of different methods to operate my Reef Tanks, and there are
multiple ways to achieve what you are looking for ;-)

Very often it is the case, that the Reefer applies several methods of Nutrient reduction on one
system, leading then into too strong Nutrient reduction. This may not be the case in the
beginning, however at some point they might be too much in future.
Example: A Tank was running on GFO to reduce PO4. Nitrates were managed mostly by a Deep
Sand Bed. In addition the owner heard about the benefit of a Chaeto Refugium. So he added that
as well. After a while he noticed he can use less GFO, since the Chaetomorpha strips a lot of PO 4,
as well the Nitrates were nicely settled at 2ppm. Perfect, he noticed to use less GFO, otherwise
he would have operated likely with insufficient PO4.
Anyways, his buddy told him about the benefits of Vinegar carbon dosing, so he thought to give
it a shot.
Awesome, after a few weeks, Nitrates dropped to non-detectable and PO4 is shown as well with 0
on his test kits. Here we have the classic Zero Nutrient system now.
What basically happened is, that the carbon dosing which enhances the bacteria population, did
start to take off and reduced the remaining Nutrients to Zero with ease. You can run a Reef Tank
with Vinegar (Carbon dosing) only and achieve the same results, since it’s so powerful that it
actually doesn’t necessary need a DSB, Refugium or any GFO.
Be aware that not only Vinegar dosing enhances the bacteria in your Tank. Any other additional
Nutrient control methods would do the same to the system.
A similar effect you will have when supplementing Sugars, Beer, Vodka or any other Nitrate and
Phosphate Removing products. Bio Pellets and some Liquid Bacteria products do the same thing.

I can’t touch and explain in this part every method of Nutrient reduction, however for awareness
and fuel for thought, when you try to find the reason of your Zero-Nutrient situation, here are
the most common systems and methods that can interact with each other:
• Deep sand bed (Bacterial substrate)
• Live-rock (Bacterial substrate; or dry rock after a few months in your Tank)
• Bio media (Bacterial substrate)
• Chaetomorpha / Macro algae (Export)
• Algae Scrubber (Export)
• Skimmer (Export)
• Micronanobubbling, MNB and Skimmer (Export)
• Zeolith / Zeovit (Bacterial substrate, Bacterial overpopulation)
• Activated Carbon (Indirect Export)
• Bio Pellets (Bacterial overpopulation)
• Bacterial Products for Nutrient reduction (Bacteria dose & feed, Bacterial overpopulation)
• Vodka, Sugar, Vinegar, even Maltbeer, Coke etc. (Bacterial overpopulation)
• Vitamin, Aminos, Fuels etc. (Indirect Bacterial overpopulation)
• Warm Temperature or 6-6 Light method (Partial indirect Bacterial overpopulation)

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Powerful Skimmer with additional options for higher efficiency do no good in the beginning of a tank life if
totally oversized for a longer period of time. Equipment should grow with the tank system.

What to avoid while in a Zero Nutrient level situation

In summary, try to avoid too many methods of Nutrient reduction at the same time.
A Primary and Secondary method may work very well, do not apply too much, especially just
because it became a trend.
I personally have the opinion that a Reef system and it’s equipment has and will grow with it’s
age. So equipment and methods will come and go while the Tank is maturing and the Corals
grow and Livestock becomes more. You start with a small skimmer that can handle your Bio load,
but does not strip out too much of the waste and food the Corals like and need.
Watch out for Amino Acids and Fuel Products, these do enhance bacteria activity as well, and can
make things worse if you are already in a Zero Nutrient situation.

Required Equipment and measurements

Before we continue, here are a few serious words of advice.
Coloration of Corals starts with appropriate test kits. Do not keep using low budget test kits with
low resolution, while spending hundreds of dollars for a high end frag on a show or online!!!
Unfortunately a lot of people using low resolution Nitrate test kits, which indicate Zero Nitrates,
but in reality it’s not.

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In their beginner phase of the Reefer or Tank, the Corals look beautiful. Likely due to the fact of
Nitrates present but the kit does not indicate these low levels and simply shows Zero readings.
And we are talking about 0.25ppm – 0.5ppm here, so really low. Months later, when the Tank is
further matured, the Nitrates drop really into the Zero levels, and Corals begin to pale out. That’s
when the Hobbyist starts to recognize an issue and does not correlate the Nitrates to this issue,
since it was non-detectable before for a long time already.
Same applies to Phosphates. It is crucial to measure the Phosphorus in very low range on almost
any good looking Reef Tank. Even a normal Hanna Low Range Phosphate Checker is not precise
enough for the ranges we operate the Reef Tanks today.
In the following section I will describe the equipment recommended for testing and provide
guidance how to use the Test kits appropriately for accurate readings especially on the Hanna
Checker.

Rainbow Acro showing multiple colors at once, look at the pattern and did you notice the yellow tips ?

Testing Equipment Nitrates

Here is my personal recommendation of the Test kits that I use:
● Red Sea Pro Nitrate Test Kit
This test kit does an excellent job covering the low range of Nitrate levels in the
Tank. And if required, it also covers the higher range of Nitrates via a diluted
test.
Make sure whatever Test kit you use, gives sufficient resolution in the low ranges
of Nitrates such as 0.25ppm, 0.5ppm and so on……..

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Testing Equipment Phosphates, Phosphorus

For measuring the Phosphates in the Tank in the required Ultra Low Range, you are going to
have ideally a HC ULR Phosphorus Checker!
You may have already a HC Phosphate Checker, however the Phosphate Checker has too high
tolerance in the range below 0.1ppm, where we do operate our Reefs ;-)
Means if your PO4 Checker reads 0.04ppm, it theoretically can be anywhere from Zero to 0.08,
since the HC checker has an accuracy of +-0.04ppm@77 F (Current accuracy
http://hannainst.com/hi713-Phosphate-lr.html)
Long story short, you need a HI736 ULR Phosphorus Checker. Buy yourself right away a pack of
reagent refills, since the original HC has not many reagent packages included.
When doing corrections, we measure the Tank progress daily for at least a few days until stable
which will require the reagents to be on hand.

I hear a lot of people

have problems with the
checker, and also damage
the unit, have incorrect
readings etc. so I have
made a detailed
description how to
perform and accurate test
with the unit. Mostly I did
notice in the past simply
incorrect handling of the
Checker, leading to these
issues.

I’m not bothering you guys with the details, but after the measurement with the Phosphorus
Checker, we have to convert the Phosphorus into Phosphates. That is extremely important.
To convert phosphorus ppb, to Phosphate ppm, you simply multiply the measurement that is in
ppb by 3.0661, and then as the phosphorus is in ppb, divide it by 1000.
So 30ppb would mean 30ppb*3.0661/1000=0.090183, considered 0.09ppm PO 4…..voila.
Now you have the Phosphate concentration in ppm. Since even the Phosphorus Checker has an
accuracy of +-5ppb, means you can be still 0.015ppm off the reading in any direction!
On a bad reading this would mean your actual Phosphate is 0ppm, instead of 0.015ppm.
The multiplication factor of 3.0661 is the ratio between the different molecular masses of PO 4
and P. (94.971Molar mass and 30.974Molar mass= 3.0661)

Please have the table on the next page on hand.

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Phosphorus to Phosphate conversion table

5ppb 0ppm - 0.015ppm

10ppb 0.03ppm

15ppb 0.046ppm

20ppb 0.061ppm

25ppb 0.077ppm

30ppb 0.092ppm

35ppb 0.107ppm

40ppb 0.123ppm

65ppb 0.200ppm

100ppb 0.306ppm

Don't like to be here at all ;-) To o h i g h f o r m y t a s t e

You need:
• A Syringe 10ml
• Few Kitchen Paper towels
• Tank water
• Scissor
• A Watch that shows seconds

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Here is Andre’s process with the newer “3 minute time out” units

1) Fill both glass cuvettes with 10ml Tank water via the Syringe and close the
cuvettes
HINT ! – If you have trouble to read some Syringes to know where the exact
reading level is supposed to be, then for example use the Syringe range from
1ml to 9ml to sample 8ml of Water, 1ml to 6ml for a 5ml sample etc. ;-)

2) Rinse both cuvettes under tap water

3) Dry them both nicely with Paper towels

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4) Cut off the top of the reagent bag straight and squeeze it to have a nice sharp
mouth on the reagent bag as on the picture for ease of filling the cuvette
An alternative is to use a Mini Funnel, typically online available.

5) Now it’s time to start the HC, press the button on the empty HC
6) Load the 1st cuvette into the HC and press the button, the HC will now calibrate
itself with clear Aquarium water
7) When the HC asks now for the next cuvette, now you have 3 minutes time for
the next steps prior the unit shuts off due to inactivity ;-)
8) Fill the reagent into the 2nd glass cuvette and close it, alternatively with a Mini
Funnel

9) Start mixing the 2nd cuvette gently for 2 minutes now

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10) Within the 2 minutes mixing process, start rinsing for a second this cuvette again
quick under tap water and dry it with a clean dry unused paper towel to remove
all fingerprints. Do this when the 2 minutes are almost over and only hold the
glass cuvette then only on the black cap and top of the glass from that point on
when dry and clean.
11) After 2 minutes total mixing and cleaning the reagent cuvette, I place it into the
checker, and now hold the button for about 3 seconds until the countdown of 3
minutes starts on the display.

12) After the countdown is over, the measurement starts and you can take the
reading from the display shortly after.
13) For cleaning purpose, rinsing the cuvettes under normal water always worked
fine.

This procedure avoids/minimizes:

• Checker to become contaminated with Salt creep or water
• Glass corrosion on the outside of the cuvettes
• Issues of scratches from salt creep on the cuvettes
• Reduction of lifetime
• Less misreading, higher accuracy

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Nutrient Level Correction

What Nutrient level to be at?
Since you have mastered it, to achieve a real low or even Zero Nutrient system, the question
remains, what level should you aiming for.

Different Groups of Nutrient systems

You might heard about the different systems to achieve certain levels of Colors.
There are no real definitions yet, however, driven by Nitrate levels, the following terms in the
Reefing community are typically used:
ULNS – Nitrates are typically below 0.25ppm to non-detectable, while dosing Nitrates regularly
LNS – Nitrates are 2-5ppm typically, but below 6-7ppm

In very low ULNS systems, you sometimes see pastel colors on Corals such as on the Triton
method or Zeovit method.
Very advanced Pro-Reefer are capable of operating these ULNS systems with very vibrant
coloration on their Corals instead of a pastel color, but this is rarely achieved. Those Tanks do
have a “good” uptake of Nitrates and a excellent tuned PO 4 household. In future parts of my
guides I will talk more about the other Trace elements you need to measure and maintain to
achieve the desired colors.
Unfortunately the owner on tanks like this do typically not release their secret, how much Nitrate
they do dose daily or every other day to maintain these colors. So it is a bit of trial and error to
figure this out at a later point. In certain Reef Tank setups, I even have seen Hobbyists, that do
maintain their Nitrate uptake by excessive feeding, which requires an established Tank and a
very good functioning filter and bio system to handle the Bio load.

What Levels are we shooting for?

Make your life easy and target for Nitrates somewhere in the levels between 2.5-4ppm.
The required PO4 Level you should look for, you can determine with the Redfield ratio, in order to
keep the potential issue for an algae bloom to a very minimum. The Redfield Ratio I will cover
later in this Guide, however it is basically a balance of Nitrates to Phosphates that you work
within, to avoid or minimize undesired algae outbreaks. Very important!
In case you had or have algae outbreaks in the past, you may have been outside of the balance.
Additionally, if you target for very low Nutrients, you will notice that as lower the Nutrients are,
as more precise and stable you have to stay within the Redfield ratio, means lower Nutrient
levels requires more accurate balance, and is therefore more difficult to manage!!!

Nitrates between 2.5ppm and 4ppm, always seemed to provide the best results in color and
intensity and depth of coloration compared to the required maintenance to keep these levels.
One caveat of the higher Nitrate level (5ppm – 10ppm) is, that many of the SPS in the Tank do
start thickening their tissue.

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This is leading to bright colors to become darker, due to the fact that the skeleton is not being
reflected anymore that easy through the skin of the Corals by the light, therefore Corals appear
darker in whatever color they are. I have noticed that a pink bright color shifts down to dark red
when the skin starts to become thicker, yellow appearing colors then also look more greenish etc.
On the opposite, if you are able to maintain the Nitrates on the lower side of the range, you will
be able to achieve brighter colors on the Corals. And if you work yourself with not much swing
into the 0.25ppm range, you will be able to achieve very bright but still vibrant colors, of course
as long many other important criteria in the chemistry have been met as well. Here is where the
Zeovit Tank effect sometimes is to be noticed, when the Corals appear to be almost white with a
hint of color, just basically because the skin layer is very thin.

Many people have experienced issues with adaption of Zeovit cared Corals in a “normal” Reef
Tank, if there is such a thing as a “normal” Tank.
These issues, sometimes just RTN or STN starting a few days after they got into the Tank, are
likely a result of the very sensitive thin skinned Coral tissue layer. In addition imagine the sudden
Nutrient swing the Coral is exposed to from Zeo to a non-Zeo Tank just by the change on
Nutrient levels, since you have now a better idea how low a Zeo system is typically operated.
So in summary, for ease target 2.5ppm-4ppm Nitrate level first, when having a Nutrient issue
and you are not really a Pro Reefer with all the fancy equipment to maintain stable conditions
under very low levels. Later when feeling confident, you can start experimenting with lower levels
as long you have the equipment and time to maintain these low levels.
HINT - In perspective to PO4 levels, target and watch out on the Redfield Ratio. An observation I
repeatedly made is, that most SPS that do have yellow in their genetics, do show fancy looking
yellow rims or yellow tips etc. only, if PO4 is below 0.08ppm/0.1ppm.

Deepwater Coral under ULNS conditions showing off with bright blue and hints of purple, possible due to a
very thin layer of Tissue.

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Things to bear in mind when dosing Nutrients and potential issues

Increase of Nitrates
Be careful not to increase Nitrates too quick. I do not anymore exceed an increase of 1ppm per
day. Reason is I have seen that it takes a few days for most Reefer to manage a stable dosing of
Nitrates and during that time multiple swings are happening. These swings in higher range likely
led to sensibility for diseases and TN. So take your time and tackle things slowly. Remember, a
few more days now at Zero Nutrients, won’t likely make a difference anymore ;-)
In addition, I can assure, slow changes are less stress. Stressed Corals in general react with
bleached appearance! Keep that in mind.

Increase of Phosphates
As soon you start increasing your Nitrates, it is also important to dial in the PO 4 values.
Just increasing Nitrates with still Zero Phosphates doesn’t get you anywhere near where you
want to be!!!
Here a few words of warning. Do not underestimate the effect of staying within the Redfield ratio
to avoid algae outbreak and minimizing Cyano or Spirulina, commonly called Red Slime (even
when not really identified by the hobbyist).

Since years now I set my Nitrates up where I want them to be and just dial in the PO 4 level in
accordance to the Redfield ratio.
First it is a good way to get algae under Control, as well it is easy to do. Either I dose PO 4 as
needed, to keep it on Level, or I do correct via my method of Nutrient reduction I have in my
system.
If larger reductions are required, and my carbon dosing can’t adjust quick enough, I still may use
GFO for a few days which I generally try to avoid but sometimes it makes it necessary.
Another danger I repeatedly see is the risk of STN/RTN when the Phosphate levels swings up and
down for a while.
On my own system and fellow Reefer systems, the repeated adjustments (swings) of PO 4 levels,
of more than 0.1ppm to 0.15ppm per day which typically occur in case of use of large amounts of
GFO instantly with high flow, or high usage of bacterial based Nutrient reducers like Waste away,
MB7 and other products of this kind, can do quite good of a job and reduce Nutrients really fast
temporarily. Especially when used more than recommended which I do see a lot. The
manufacturers have it’s reason why there is a limitation per day, keep this in mind. So careful
and take things slow when dosing Phosphate products.

Saturation effect while dosing

Another effect you may likely see and you need to be aware of, is the saturation level when start
supplementing Nitrates but especially Phosphates. This effect is almost on any Tank, and will hit
you suddenly.
When start dosing Nutrients, you will start dosing a certain amount of solution of your elements.

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The first few doses won’t show any Nutrient increase the next day. So you keep dosing the same
amount or even more the next time, impatient as we are.
Well, your Reef Tank starts to consume these depleted elements with all the processes that
demand these Nutrients until they are filled up, and then the Nutrients will start buffering and
start to increase. Means the Tank likely will react like a sponge to the first few doses and then
suddenly you will start reading your Nutrients. Unfortunately with the impatience of the Reefer or
not paying attention while dosing, a lot of times that point of saturation is missed and then the
Elements are overdosed, causing a swing since now you have to wait to get them down again to
continue with the dosing.
To prevent such an event, stay with your correction dose for a few days, measure 1 hour later
after dosing, and 24 hours after dosing to see
a.) the actual increase by your dose, and
b.) the consumption to Zero, of that particular amount you just dosed 24 hours ago
Also remain your patience while dosing even if it’s hard ;-)
HINT - If you read barely any increase after 1 hour, then it’s recommended to do a stronger mix,
or a larger amount of your dose.

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Tissue or tip burn effect

Wow, we are getting closer to the dosing itself, lol.
Another important item you got to look out for is tissue burn or tip burn while in ULNS status.
The quick and dirty fact is just, that SPS will get burned tissue and/or burned tips, when
Nutrients are too low, while ALK is above ~8.5dGH.
Just stay away from high ALK and you won’t need to worry about this potential issue. Personally
I keep my ALK at 7.8 to 8.2 somewhere, ideally solid as a rock at 8.0, but that's hard sometimes
even for me.
Every Water Change, Coral frags pick from your tank, Salinity adjustment, GFO or PH Scrubber
media replacement, night or daytime has influence to your ALK level to some extent.

This Coral got severe Tissue burn from a high ALK level (9.5dKH from the records) while the tank got into
ULNS levels

Bacterial impact, Cyano and Algae

As mentioned earlier, supplementation of Nutrients have an effect on your Reef Tanks heart, the
Bacterial biology!!! This is where most issues in Reef systems actually come from, and I have
dedicated this short section into this Guide to talk at least about the effects, and how I manage a
healthy bacterial diversity to avoid undesired Cyano and other undesired bacterial
overpopulations in my Tanks.
Earlier in this part, I talked about that Nitrate is food for the Coral itself, food for many biological
processes in the Reef Tank and very important, it is food for your bacteria, which keep your Tank
alive.

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Phosphates are as well an important ingredient for the Coral skeleton, and many chemical
processes in the Tank. PO4 is being used or released whenever something in your Tank grows
and dies………..
So what I’m trying to say here is……Nutrients are FOOD for your entire Reef and since this guide
is about how to color up Corals, both of these Nutrients are required in the Tank!!! Nutrients are
food for your bacteria, good and bad ones!

You have many different bacteria species and strains in your Tank as part of the Nitrogen cycle.
The bacteria of this cycle, are the ones that we mainly want to keep healthy and diverse. Due to
the fact that these bacteria live and populate all differently, partially since they do live from
different food sources, they do also consume differently certain waste and Nutrients in the Tank.
It may happen, that for example from dosing certain Nutrients and bacterial foods as well as
carbon dosing (Vinegar, Vodka, Sugar etc.) you promote the growth of certain species that the
overall population of bacteria does consume more PO 4 than NO3 at the end, resulting in one
Nutrient dropping while the other remains higher or even worse, it may rise. Read the previous
sentence 2-3 more times until it makes sense to you.
Basically one bacteria is competing out the other, leading to a situation where the uptake of
Nutrients and waste is not balanced anymore.
If you strip out one particular Nutrient via GFO (mostly PO 4), then there is not much food left for
the bacteria that consume mostly the Nitrates. So instead of mainly consuming Nitrates, those
bacteria will over the time reduce their population and Nitrates will rise.
Also, a limitation on certain foods for the good bacteria, may make it harder for them to
outcompete the bad bacteria such as Cyano and other even pathogenic bacteria.
Last but not least, you do not want to have the bacteria limited in the Tank, that do eat and
consume all the good stuff what your sleeping pest algae’s in your Tank are waiting for ;-)
Many Reefer will experience Dino’s and Cyano appearance for a short period of time while getting
through the changes to the target Nutrient levels they want, however, we do walk through a
change in the bacterial biology since we will start feeding certain bacteria strains by dosing
Nutrients, and not just the good bacteria! Important is to ride through this phase and establish a
bacterial population, that will outcompete the bad undesired bacteria and algae.
Many issues in Reef Tanks are because of a destroyed or imbalanced biodiversity.
So please be patient while going through a change and a bit of Dino and Cyano, or Red Spirulina
appears in the Tank. However, if that appears, watch and observe, and react as needed.

Bacterial diversity
There are many products out there which are intended to support a good diversity of bacteria.
However, in all the years I dealt with many Tank systems, where I guided the owner through the
pain and rebirth of their Tanks, I always went back to one single product that never disappointed
me. Prodibio Biodigest is the product I personally use and always recommend to use whenever a
Tank issue appears to be of a bacterial nature.
That actually applied to Cyano, Red slime, Algae issues, Bacterial diseases on Corals, STN, RTN,
and many other events that root cause, may be a bacterial reason.
Preventively I use the recommended dose every week to maintain a good bacterial diversity in
my Tanks. If I have to choose between 1 or 2 ampules, I typically go with the lower quantity.

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In case of an issue, I typically dose 2-3 times the recommended dose on the first day, 2 times
the dose 2-3days later and then I decide on the scenario how to continue. I have a more detailed
description later on.
While dosing the fresh bacteria, I keep the Skimmer and UV off for 3-4 hours during the day
while the lights are on. I’m using the light to support the bacteria to populate and grow.
BUT…. I do need my Skimmer to run, to avoid PH drops, since my house has high amounts of
Co2, hence I’m Co2 scrubbing (Will follow with a Guide for Co2 scrubbing and other methods as
well in soon future). So in case you need to run the skimmer while dosing bacteria, one way to
handle it, is to increase the skimmer water height so the skimmer overflows very aggressively for
a few hours while the collection cup is taken off or the cup drain hose is open back into the
return section, so the dosed bacteria in the water column will not be exported so quick hence can
settle down on the substrate.

INFO – Probiotic bacteria

only means healthy
supportive bacteria “The
Good ones” and is used
as a buzzword in the
Food and Medical
industry. Pathogenic,
basically means a real
harmful bacteria such as
a bacteria causing
diseases.

Algae Control via Redfield Ratio

Since we spoke a bit about the bacterial competition as well the importance about a good
bacterial diversity, you may now appreciate even more a healthy bacterial biology, since these
balanced bacteria also are in competition to nuisance algae in the Tank.
They actually help to keep the Tank in a balanced ratio and will support undesired outbreaks.
Believe me I had them all in my Tanks over the years on my journey………… Rare Red Hair Algae,
Pirates eyes or Bubble Algae, Bryopsis, you name them, I had them ;-)
So what I’m trying to say here is, you need to keep up PO 4, to feed the bacteria, which do the
fighting for us and do outcompete the undesired algae.

One important detail is to stay within the Redfield ratio to prevent Algae outbreaks and issues.
My Tank always looks clean, sometimes too clean, and I have no worries about a few algae
appearing here and there. That is with very little support from a clean-up crew!

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It is easy to apply. I have created 2 slightly different user friendly tables, to determine the
required PO4 level, depending on the measured Nitrate level.

The Buddy ratio is shown as well, however this is for more advanced Reefer.

Just check in the “Redfield ratio table” the NO 3 level, and pick the appropriate PO4 level and try
to achieve that. You will notice that you got to vary a bit up and down and watch your Tank
behavior. A lot of other Nutrients and compounds are in your Tank, you do not even measure,
may feed algae and some bad bacteria. Means, just following the Redfield ratio is no guarantee
to an algae free Tank, but the first step in the right direction to meet the minimum requirements
for a Tank, free of any algae issues.
If you start paying attention to the Redfield ratio table, you will notice as lower you go with the
Nitrate and Phosphate levels, you have to be more precise, very precise. If you operate in the
ULNS range between 0ppm-0.25ppm NO3, there is not much room for fluctuation on PO4, for
example, caused by a GFO reactor with exhausted media, which can easily result then in an “out
of whack” situation.
Talking to Reef owners that also do operate an ULNS, they do not trust PO 4 reduction methods
with high probability of dynamic performance, means swings such as GFO reactor or Bio Pellets
which makes absolute sense from that perspective.
I personally prefer to run my Reef Tanks in ULNS while on pure Vodka or VSV which is one
method of Carbon dosing. (Vodka, Sugar, Vinegar mix.) With the ratio of the ingredients, I have
also some influence on the reduction balance between NO 3 and PO4. This method can provide a
stable Nutrient level while supplement on a hourly dose or continuous operating dosing pump.
Nevertheless, I always have a Spare Phosban Reactor on hand with some GFO and pelletized
activated Carbon as needed, just in case something happens.

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I’m not a fan of using Hydrogen peroxide treatments honestly and the so called slime removers.
These products do destroy the bacterial biology and re-establishing the biology is very risky, time
consuming and costly. I have initiated in a very very very few cases a system crash with
Hydrogen peroxide but that is then exceptional. People wondering why after the use of these
products the pest comes back anyways or the Tank crashes…… well think about what is
happening if you kill a lot of the bacteria in your bio system.
HINT – Careful when using Hydrogen Peroxide along with Iodide supplements.
The Hydrogen Peroxide can suddenly oxidize the Iodide to Iodine causing heavy bleaching or
other high iodine level effects on the Reef Tank.

Amazing blue coloration as a result of good Nutrient management, and Trace Elements

How long do take things, to show effect?

Here in general some numbers to work with, to bring your expectations down ;-)

• Colors
The effect of most Nutrient and element changes, start typically to appear 5-7 days after
the correction.
Nevertheless, in some cases where the required basic elements (ALK, CA, MG, Potassium
etc.) are available and have been well maintained, then the addition of Nitrates from
Zero to 1ppm has shown noticeable differences already after 24 hours! Typical effect is a
more deeply vibrant color of the Coral together with significant increase in fluorescence.
Just amazing when this effect occurs the first time.

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• Algae disappearance
When the corrective action has been taken, and the desired parameters have been
achieved, it mostly showed effects after about 6-7 days later. It seems that most Algae
remain and use their buffered “foods” very well. So be patient.
Ideal example: My Tank was “fed” once with water from an exhausted DI cartridge for
about 3-4 days (350 TDS water) according to my records. That led to a strong layer of
diatoms on the sand bed. Changing the Nutrient control method to GFO to strip out
silicates out of the Tank, took about 2 weeks according to my test kits. After that, it still
took another 3 weeks for all the Dino to disappear from the DSB, which suddenly
happened at the end.
2-3 weeks it also takes for natural depletion of most green hair algae to disappear from
overflows and strong water flow areas, like pump cages, pipes etc.
This is just some indication, of course, real bad algae issues can take up to months,
depending on how much waste has to be consumed first, before the algae starves.

• Bacterial disappearance
Cyano and other Bacterial accumulations typically take 2-4 weeks in most cases. Severe
cases where the Tank was maintained incorrectly for a long time or where the biology
has to be re-established first, can easily take 8-12 weeks from the day after the
correction. This is where the battle of competing against each other has to be completed
first.
To find out how to identify Cyano vs. red Algae, search this subject in the internet for
more details how you identify Cyano in a Reef Tank, by use of Hydrogen peroxide.

• Pathogenic bacterial diseases

VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) fed white slime bacteria or Faecalis bacteria issues,
take from about 4 weeks to 3 months to disappear completely out of the Tank while
treated with Probiotic bacterial supplementation, Hydrogen skimmer injection and Vodka
dosing as needed.
Brown Jelly disease which is a bacterial disease, typically stops within 24 hours after
corrective action has been taken. However in certain cases the bacterial destruction
continues, due to the fact of bacteria fueling supplementations feed as well pathogenic
bacteria. So ensure those supplements are not dosed when battling Jelly disease.

• STN and RTN

To bring STN (Slow Tissue Necrosis) and RTN (Rapid Tissue Necrosis) to stop is quite
challenging and there are a lot of different reasons for it. Typically the STN or RTN that
mostly hits the Aquarist is stress related and from drastic changes in the water
chemistry, for example from ALK swings, Reactor and dosing equipment failures and
many more disasters that can happen. I typically do not frag in these situations and
prefer to correct reasonable slowly the issue. RTN stops then within 6 hours after
corrective action, STN usually 24 hours later. In case of bacterial caused RTN/STN
events, I evaluate potential fragging.

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• Marine Fungus
A marine fungus that grows on Corals and substrate, typically takes 7-10 days before you
can see any receding of the filaments after the treatment started. From receding to
disappearance, of the complete fungus, I have observed typically 3-5 days. Corals start
looking much better and healthier from that point on typically.

ORA Red Planet Acropora on its way back to coloration. Still some tips on the left with bleached tips from
Zero Nutrients for too long

Raising Nutrients
Finally we got to the addition itself now.
Well, let me tell you something. It is not always required to get straight to the dosing pump and
inject Nutrients to your water. Sometimes the dosing is only a temporary fix, and by correcting
an issue where multiple methods of Nutrient reduction have been applied as I explained earlier,
that correction may resolve Zero Nutrients issues very effective and will avoid additional
supplementation and equipment.

As well, I strongly recommend to purchase a dual measurement unit kitchen scale and a plastic
jar for mixing. Keep the Jar and utensils clean from other applications on the Reef Aquarium and
away from other people in the household, for storage or while working with Chemicals.

Remember Nitrates and Phosphates are food for bacteria. This applies inside the Tank as well on
surfaces in the house. BIOHAZARD ;-)

 Keep all Chemicals for the Tank out of reach of children for your Tanks safety,
and your child’s safety!!!

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Alternative ways to increase Nutrient levels

Temperature decrease does reduce bacterial growth and population, hence less Nutrient
consumptions.
However, that is sometimes not a good option for some Reef inhabitants and likely won’t resolve
a real Zero Nutrient system issue , but can support temporarily.

Turning the Skimmer off for multiple hours per day does a great job also, to raise or better
reduce the Nutrient export of the Tank system.
A typical action which I recommend to system owners, that have identified only a slow decrease
of Nutrients, but do not experience a suffering Tank. Mostly these owners like to get a bit more
of the pop into their Corals.
Taking the skimmer out of operation for more than 5 hours in a row, I do not recommend, due to
chemical or biological reactions in the skimmer if the water in the skimmer body is locked in.
In some cases the Reefer really requires the skimmer to be in full operation for 24/7 for PH
increase via Co2 scrubbing, so the “Skimmer off” method is not an option for every system. Nice
is, that the export of both Nutrients will be reduced that way.
In certain cases you hear Reefer on the Forums saying that the Corals look much more vibrant
since the Skimmer has been kept off during night time so Corals can eat more and better. That
may be partially the case, however the Nutrient levels do rise slightly then as well in the night!
If it is possible and the PH drop in the night allows to keep the skimmer off, then I would
strongly recommend to do this, since the Corals feed during night time most efficient.

Feeding more is also a common solution that surely works in systems where the depletion of
Nutrients is not too harsh. I recommend in that case to use frozen food cubes melted in Tank
water and pour it into the Tank as is. The Phosphates in the juices and melted water are
appreciated by your Tank in this case.
Another recommendation to most Reefer is increased feeding. Depending on their feeding habits,
they should feed like 2-3 frozen cubes, 1-2 times a day for a 200G system. Also feed every other
day dry food, like Coral Frenzy into the Tank, as well multiple times a day a good amount of
flakes.

More feeding in combination with the skimmer off, does a great job, but only in case the Tank is
not already in starvation mode, which means bleached, pale and very unhealthy looking Corals.
The effect of more feeding is increased when you increase the amount of fish in your Tank in
case you won’t have many. Fish poop is awesome and still the best Coral food ;-)
The visual effects of more feeding you typically notice the end of the first week, if Nutrients have
been detectable in the meantime.

Dosing Phosphates and Nitrates

HINT - Here is another hint from my end. Diluted solutions for more precise dosing is what I
recommend to start using when doing this the first time.
First the effect is not that much, and hence less risk of overdosing.

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Also with strong mixed solutions, it’s difficult to dose then 0.1 ml Nitrate solution for a small Reef
system. If you dilute it by 10 times, you have better precision on how much to dose because it’s
then 1ml instead of 0.1ml.

Dosing Nitrates
What product to dose is in the hand of the Reef owner. There are multiple products you can buy
online.
Lab grade Sodium Nitrate, Spectracide Stump Remover (Potassium Nitrate), as well as Seachem
Flourish Nitrogen. Probably many more that will supplement some sort of Nitrates we can utilize.
I personally utilize since years the Spectracide Stump Remover with great success. Concerns and
rumors about Algae and Dino or Cyano from this product are likely due to the fact that most
Reefer do not pay attention to the Redfield ratio while dosing Nutrients.
A look on the Data Sheets of the Stump Remover indicates 100% Potassium Nitrate, which is
more as in some Industry Grade Potassium Nitrates available online.

Here is my Recipe:
400g RODI Water (Yes, I weigh my Water ;-)
20g Potassium Nitrate
The following results (for reference only) I get from that mixture for my 300G system, about
220G Water :
2ml = +0.6ppm NO3
1ml = +0.3ppm NO3
.5ml = +0.015ppm NO3
.1ml = +0.06ppm NO3
Write a few of your own different doses and target results onto the bottle, to be able to dose
Nitrates after the measurement precisely, while kids are around asking you a ton of questions, at
exactly that moment!

Start with a 1ml dose on 100G Tank system from a similar mix as mine above, of course
depending on your starting point of Nitrate levels.
Measure your Nitrates about 1 hour later to determine the Nitrate increase of your own mix.
Then another 24 hours after dosing, you measure again to see the current consumption to Zero,
or the difference in Nitrates, of that particular amount you just dosed a day before, means the
daily consumption.
If you can’t read or barely see any increase after 1 hour, then it’s recommended to do a stronger
mix, or a larger amount of your dose.

Keep this mix for like 3 months in a cool (not refrigerated) safe place in a secured containment
suitable for Chemicals of that type, and dispose it in case the clear liquid becomes milky or
cloudy.

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 Keep all Chemicals for the Tank out of reach of children for your Tanks safety,
and your child’s safety!!!

Dose Nitrates after the lights turn off, so that the Nitrates do not feed too much of the
Photosynthetic Bacteria that live mainly in the water column and you support the bacterial strains
and colonization on the substrate. This method will reduce the bit of risk of bacterial blooms from
dosing and Nitrates are readily available for the Coral feeding time in the night.

In my personal experience, no product provided better colorization effect than the Stump
remover.
Since we do not know what Products can harm the Reef Tank over the time, when operating in
the lower Nitrate range, I typically try to avoid too much dosing, means not more than every 2-3
days, and not more than 1ppm increase on Nitrate levels per day.
HINT – Nevertheless, in my personal experience the maintenance with Nitrate dosing apparently
shows better results on Colorization, as maintaining detectable Nitrates naturally, like less
filtration, less Carbon dosing, using Bioballs etc.

Reef Ready Grape Juice, one of a kind Coral and a must have for SPS collectors. The Fluorescence is hard to
capture on Pictures

Dosing Phosphates
Concerning to Phosphates, there are more limitations to products you can use to bring up this
Nutrient. There are not too many products on the market to increase easily our Phosphates.

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One product recently approached the market is Seachem Flourish Phosphorus which contains
Potassium Phosphorus as well as Brightwell NeoPhos. I have not used these specific products,
however received feedback that it definitely increases the PO 4 levels very efficient without the
need for refrigeration of the product.

Another way, which I personally strongly prefer is, to use Reef Nutrition Phyto Feast which is
basically bottled and concentrated Live Phytoplankton. My experience with Phytoplankton is great
for coloration first at all. I used Phytoplankton as food every few days in the past with the
intention of Coral food with great results. However a friend came across the issue that he used
Phyto Feast too much and bumped his PO 4 levels through the roof by daily use. That fact actually
made totally sense, since Phytoplankton is farmed with plenty of sources of different Phosphates.
That way I found the perfect mix of Food and PO4 supplement, both in one.
Caveat of the Phyto Feast is, it is more expensive and need refrigeration. So for my 300G Reef
system, a 16 Oz bottle I never finish actually prior the “Best by” date. Just to get you an idea.

The method how you dose is the same as with Nitrates.

Start with 2ml per night after the light turns off for 100G of Tank system.
Measure your Phosphorus about 1 hour later to determine the Phosphates increase of your mix.
Then another 24 hours after dosing, you measure again to see the current consumption to Zero,
or the difference in PO4, of that particular amount you just dosed a day before.
If you can’t read or barely see any increase after 1 hour, then it’s recommended to do a stronger
mix, or a larger amount of your dose. However, do not underestimate the Saturation effect I
explained earlier.
In the beginning, if you do see a slight increase of PO 4 the next day from the previous day,
reduce the following dose by half, and carefully observe the increase to the next day.
Tricky part of dosing Phosphates is the daily consumption and saturation level of the tank, while
trying to achieve a balance. Typically I do preventively measure weekly or bi weekly when the
tank is running smooth, while using feeding habit (frozen food) and amount to maintain PO 4 on
the long run.
However occasionally I have to correct and bring up Phosphates.
PO4 fluctuations are not that dynamic as with Nitrates.

TCK Plutonium Pikachu, one of my

most preferred Yellow Acros

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Applying the right strategy of correction

I hope it is clear now how to dose the required Nutrients, so let’s talk about how to select the
right strategy when it comes to Nutrient depletion and resolution.
Read through all the scenarios to understand the correction philosophy.
I will basically recommend below the correct strategy how to approach the most common
scenarios. Keep in mind, finally it is mostly a sort of a bacterial issue you are dealing with since
too many bacteria are eating all your Nutrients!!!

Also the described “Andre’s Biodiversity recovery method” works a lot of times for algae and
bacterial issues in the tank, due to bad housekeeping and maintenance or other issues that
caused an impact on the bacterial biology.

Zero Nitrates and detectable Phosphates (very easy)

Depending on how long the Tank has been starving, as longer the recovery of the Tank will take.
Typically when this occurs, mostly reduced skimming and more feeding, as well more fish will do
a real good job.
Depending on the decision to what Nitrate level the Reefer want to maintain, simply NO 3 dosing
will do the job. It may be required to continue small amounts continuously to maintain a certain
parameter.
At this point review the listed methods in section “How can these scenarios occur?” and try
to determine, if there is a collision by too many Nutrient reducing methods, that might have
caused your scenario.
I do strongly recommend maintenance doses of Biodigest weekly/biweekly to maintain a good
biodiversity. Biodigest can be double dosed in case you see signs of Cyano. Remember with more
Nutrients you also feed the bad boys. However in most cases the good bacteria will compete out
the bad bacteria after 1-2 weeks. So don’t get too nervous while some Cyano or Algae start to
appear while the tank is in a change of parameter.
Manage the PO4 Levels in accordance to the Redfield Ratio. Those may need to be brought up as
soon the Nitrates are increased.
Watch out for what activated Carbon you use. Do not apply too much media or too much flow. I
have great results using a filled reactor with pelletized activated carbon and only a little bit of
flow, just enough to avoid a significant yellow/green tint of the water. The water normally still
has some tint. Carbon does strip out waste, which may become useful Nitrate when processed by
bacteria. Do not overuse it.

HINT – I had a Reefer in the recently, that did use Red Sea Reef Spec and GFO, and no other
method of Nutrient Reduction. His 100G tank was starving to death and Corals looked really bad
when he consulted me. After a while and a bit of tinkering, we only did reduce the Reef Spec
Carbon to 1/3 of the recommended amount with much lower flow, and the tank took off from
that point. This setup was generally kept very clean, and the combo with only Reef Spec was
already way too much.

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Zero Nitrates and Zero Phosphates (mostly easy)

Apply the methods as mentioned above for Nitrates.
Also in addition, start dosing the Phosphates, ideally the Phytoplankton as mentioned earlier.
Remember to avoid large PO4 swings. These may lead to STN events, if the swings are 0.1ppm –
0.15ppm per day, or even worse, if those values are going up and down over days then the
chances for STN/RTN events increase. Take it slow on PO4!
Important part in my experience is to re-seed the bacterial biology, since in some cases the
supplementation of Nutrients at this point will shuffle the biology around causing bacterial
imbalance.
Often in these Tank situations, the Reefer is battling Cyano, Red slime or Nuisance algae issues,
with no success since the bacteria that could outcompete these problems, do not have sufficient
food to populate and regrow in a healthy diversity. Remember Nutrients are food for bacteria.
At this point review the listed methods in section “How can these scenarios occur?” and try
to determine, where the collision is, from applying too many Nutrient reducing methods, which
may have caused your scenario.
If applicable, most common things that may help :
• Cut back on Macro Algae, in case the Algae is thriving. Just use smaller amounts.
• Reduce GFO amount
• Reduce Biopellets
• Reduce Carbon dosing quantities

Real bad cases of this scenario, where no Nutrient reducing methods have been applied in a
while, and dosing Nutrients does not help to keep them detectable, please refer to the last
scenario and described “Andre’s Biodiversity recovery method”. Some tanks have been treated
with chemicals or bacterial cocktails that actually jacked up a normal bacterial diversity so bad,
that it needs recovery.

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Zero Nitrates and high Phosphates (mostly moderate to manage)

The third scenario is moderate to manage, since PO4 can be mechanically reduced with ease for
the course of correction.
So basically you start to apply the Nitrate addition as described in above scenarios, therefore I
won’t repeat this again.
However, you should manually and slowly reduce the PO 4 with GFO in line with the Redfield ratio,
while increasing Nitrates.

Watch for the effect of leeching Phosphates out of rock and substrate. In case you have never
paid attention to PO4 in the past and this is new to you, there might be a large amount of locked
in Phosphates in the rock and substrate.
PO4 will try to balance between the water columns and the water in the rock. Means while you
absorb the PO4 out of the Tank water with GFO, Phosphates in the rock are saturating the water
in the rock surface, which will be transported into the Tank water stream via regular water flow
in the Tank. This process is what we call “Phosphate leeching” in simple words. Those reductions
can take quite a while depending on the history of the Tank. So be prepared for weeks of PO 4
absorption. You will find more information of “locked in” Phosphates for longer period of time
when you make an online search for OTS, means Old Tank Syndrome, but this truly take years of
running a Reef Tank with no PO4 absorption to be a real issue. Just like to mention this here in
case that may apply to your tank!
If in your case certain nuisance Algae (excessive algae on rocks and substrate) start to die off,
the PO4 in the Algae does break down back into the Tank water, feeding the Tank with PO 4 for a
while. Means you sort of reduce the Phosphates, with the results of leeching again PO4 back into
the tank. This is why I always recommend to manually take out large amounts of Algae from the
Tank to support the recovery progress of the tank.
Trying to say here, be careful and observing the Tank is very important while stripping PO4 out.
Investigate the reason why high PO 4 did occur. It may be from dosing Phytoplankton daily while
not being aware that it does bring plenty of PO4 in your Tank. Or simply, because the Tank was
pre-owned and the rock was used with no PO4 reducing methods. On the other hand, the
Nutrient reduction method applied, may have been worked very inefficient for PO 4 reduction.
In addition as in previous scenarios, apply Biodigest to minimize undesired issues to occur.
Remember the Tank will go through changes in it’s bacterial biology.
HINT - By the way, have always a Phosban or equivalent reactor, as well as Activated carbon and
GFO on hand, ready to be used ;-)

This beauty actually never wanted to

remain in captivity and with as much as
possible care, it slowly died over a 2
years period of time

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High Nitrates and Zero Phosphates (mostly difficult to resolve)

You may experience high Nitrates while PO4 is low to Zero, and even while you try to lower
Nitrates, they won’t come down?
Please refer to the last scenario and apply “Andre’s Biodiversity recovery method”.
You likely have jacked up your Bacterial diversity, which the recovery method did resolve all my
cases in the past, which were quite a lot.
Along with the “Andre’s Biodiversity recovery method”, you also need to feed the bacteria of the
first part of the Nitrogen cycle, means ammonia is needed. That typically is being achieved with
just simply a bit more feeding of flakes and frozen food. The support of the first part of the cycle
will support the second part of the cycle, which handles the Nitrates!
Very important and mostly successful is the dosing of Phosphates in line with the Redfield Ratio,
to provide sufficient food for the bacteria strains, in order to get back to a normal biodiversity.
In the meantime while doing the recovery method, do not use or supplement any Amino or
Vitamin products such as Fuel or Selcon etc., to avoid fueling the bad bacteria we try to
outcompete with the good probiotic bacteria strains.
Many times I do see these tanks have been shown a history of Slime Removers, Hydrogen
Peroxide Treatments, and excessive use of magic bacterial Aquarium cleaners or Nutrient
reducing liquids leading to a bacterial imbalance very likely and obviously. Remember, some of
these products are literally engineered and may use bacteria strains from Waste water treatment
technologies or just simply outside of the normal reef habitat. I have not seen long term studies
from vendors yet.

Zero Nitrates and Zero Phosphates while no Nutrient reduction is present anymore (No
GFO, No Carbon dosing etc.)
The last scenario here listed is the most challenging one, since the bacterial biology is totally
jacked up in a way, that Phosphates are being depleted (with no use of GFO!!!!) via the bacteria
strains that are in an extreme imbalance.
In the past, experienced Reefer intended to restart or “crash” these Tanks and rebuild the
biology quick and fast with remote sumps, but mostly with bacterial products while the Tank is
going through a short cycle. However, I’m not a fan of this method and have successful treated
Tanks with the below method ;-)
This way, we are going to re-establish a balanced bacterial diversity, that will get Nutrients under
control and help to out compete the bad bacteria and undesired algae and bring back the Biology
we need to run our tank.
The way it basically works is that we are going to overdose a specific liquid probiotic bacteria
strains into the Tank and feed them and help them to populate.
Of course you need to support with the activities described in the previous strategies in this
chapter, means dosing Nitrates, dosing Phosphates and follow as well as apply, the previous
mentioned activities.
While doing this, these strains will take over at a certain point and will compete out the bacteria
strains that are leading to imbalance of the biology.
The best and most reliable product so far from my experience, Prodibio Biodigest, is what I
recommend to use for this method. I have tried other products but always go back to that
particular product.

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Beautiful frags, from my actually LNS system, as you can identify from the real bright colors. Those would
darkening in a normal tank and get thicker tissue when Nitrates are above 5-6ppm and Po4 is above
0.1ppm

“Andre’s Biodiversity recovery method”.

1. First thing you do is to start a log sheet to record all the dosages of bacteria and
Nutrients as well the Nutrient levels at the beginning. Also a few Tank pictures
help to determine progress.
2. Start with a dosage of Biodigest that is 3-4 times the recommended dose for
your Tank system size.
When dosing the fresh bacteria, keep the Skimmer and UV off for 5 hours during
the day while the lights are still on. I’m using the light to support the bacteria to
populate and grow at the second half of the daily light cycle.
Watch for bacterial bloom which never happened with this product in my cases.
However, if that occurs, aerate the Tank, shut lights off and turn the skimmer
back on and UV if available. Therefore this method is on own risk!
3. Then you start dosing in small amounts the missing Nutrient(s) as described
earlier. This will help to feed the fresh supplemented bacteria to grow and
populate.
Experienced Reefer who do apply the Carbon dose method, should not
considering to dose that particular day, to avoid bacteria blooms. Only very
experienced Reefer that really know their system should do additionally dose of
Vodka or Vinegar.
4. The following days you have to keep a very close eye on the Nutrient levels of
the Tank and dose as needed.
5. 2-3 days later after the first initial dose, another bacteria vaccination with
Biodigest will be done. This time 2-3 times the recommended dosage.

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6. After 7 days you likely see a change in the measurements. Means Nitrates are
decreasing if initially too high, or PO4 starts to be more detectable with less
dosing as on the first few days etc. Something will be noticeable slightly, even
while no signs on the Tank may be observed. Typically after the first week,
Reefer do notice a first increase of Alkalinity or Calcium consumption. This is the
time to watch out for the overall consumptions of elements again, if the Reef
Tank got stuck previously. If Nutrients rise, other Elements become the limiting
factor.
7. From this point on, you can decide to do another 2-3 times vaccination dose
weekly if the Nutrient household did not change yet or no significant changes
have been noticed on the bacterial diversity. In many case the treatment takes
2-4 weeks to start showing effect on e.g. elevated Nitrate levels.
8. If you detect noticeable changes in Nutrients, just continue with the
recommended normal maintenance dose of bacteria and let the tank recover
further.
9. Remember with more Nutrients you also feed the bad boys (Bad bacteria).
However in most cases the good bacteria will compete out the bad bacteria after
a while but that depends really on your situation and many other factors. So
don’t get too nervous while some Cyano or Algae start to appear. Avoid bacteria
fueling Amino, or Vitamin supplements during the time of this method.
10. There is no guarantee this method will resolve your issue and will color up the
Corals, however the chances are great. Keep in mind, there are many other
factors as well for colorful Corals. Acceptable Nutrient levels are only one of the
requirements for colorful Corals.
11. If you apply this method to get Nitrates down (High Nitrates, Zero Phosphates
scenario), and you won’t see a Nitrate reduction after 2-3 weeks, even while PO4
is being managed well, you can fuel/accelerate the probiotic bacteria by use of
pure Vodka, with a daily dose of 1ml Vodka per 100G Water volume. Do not dose
Vodka in the first few weeks, since it may feed the bad bacteria more than the
good ones in the beginning ;-)

I do strongly recommend maintenance doses of Biodigest weekly/biweekly to maintain a good

biodiversity. Biodigest can be double dosed in case you see signs of Cyano. Remember with more
Nutrients you also feed the bad boys. However in most cases, the good bacteria will compete out
the bad bacteria after 1-2 weeks. So don’t get too nervous while some Cyano or Algae start to
appear.

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Overall and other things being covered in future parts

This Reef guide content, assumes the reader has the basic knowledge and understanding of how
to care about a Reef Tank system.

Some more important things for Colorization

However, the Colorization of Corals is depending on a few more things then just Nutrients which
are an important part of this goal.
Other things you need to watch out for is:
• The basic Reefer Elements to manage ALK, CA, MG, Salinity
• Healthy Bacterial Biology
• A good PH, that does not drop below 7.8 in the morning hours ;-)
• The Advanced Reefer Elements to manage K, SR, I, Fe
• Clean Tank system and pristine Water
• High Stability and very slow changes and adjustments to avoid stress bleaching
• A good light source with sufficient blues (Just this requires an entire book)
• Adequate flow inside the tank, large and gentle!

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Next Reef Guides

Reason for these guides is actually to resolve the massive amount of requests people asking me
for my help. And recently, since I’m not just only on local Forums and Clubs, as well as on
Facebook, I have been referred between the hobbyists more and more.
So in order to help people effectively, it’s easier to write it all down and hand it out to them.
Some visitors from other cities and even out of state came for consultation, got kind of lost when
back home and did not write plenty of things down from what we talked about.
I have a massive amount of requests from people what to write my next Reef Guide about, and I
like to stick with the items that do cause the most issues and is crucial to be resolved. On some
of them, I work on already.
Sure, I do will write one day about how I do manage my Tank to remain Algae free (which I
partially did in this Guide) and how to bring a Tank into the position to being able to just pop a
huge old bubble algae in front of my shocked visitors (I kept popping these and have no ones left
anymore) or how I manage an occasional Ich outbreak here and there if I play too much with the
Tank parameter. Or maybe how I battled a 6 feet long Killer Bobbit worm in my Tank or other
creepy pests………….;-)

Next Guides I have on my list will be a quick and dirty as well as much shorter Guide, talking
about the required Water Parameter, the Reefer has to be aware of, and has to measure and
dose. Kind of in the way of Rookie and Average Level Reefer way……..easy to follow and
understand.
Then I will issue a Guide dedicated in which I very detailed explain the ways how to increase PH
and it’s importance for colorization.
In between I may issue a Guide how I run my Tank now these days after years of trial and
changes, seeking for improvements.
And some more ideas………stay tuned

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Introduction of myself
I’m a Reefer since many years, and with the increased popularity of myself to the folks out there,
I unfortunately can’t keep up with all the requests and questions I do get everyday :-(

So I compiled these Reef Guides to get away from responding to all these queries where local
Reefer from the Club as well people all over the US nowadays asking me for support.
My first Tank I got when I was I believe 8 or 9 years old. It was a 25Gallon, old used Glass cage
which I did clean up as best I could. Filled it with Well water, Sand and Crawfish……….and a light
on top of it. Yeah, right into the addiction.
So in the first night most Crawfish “craw”led out of the Tank and my Mother found them, walking
all over at the house the next morning. Well what a great start!
Over the years even when I still was a teenager, I maintained nice looking planted Freshwater
Tanks, and financed the hobby with breeding of exotic fish. The Amazon was my world and
Takashi Amano was my hero these days in Germany.
Later on, I started to get into the Saltwater addiction when it became more affordable for me as
a young man and after my wife almost forced me into the salty side of the hobby since I was
planning on a Takashi Amano Style Mega Tank system.
Since she was exposed already as a little girl to her Grandpa’s Saltwater Tank systems and
already stung by the Saltwater bug, it hit me right after she told me to look into a Saltwater Tank
instead of Freshwater again ;-)
And there it begun………………………………….

Happy Reefing ……………………

Andre

Houston, Texas USA 2017 Andre’s Reef Guide – Colorization Part#1 Revision 1.0

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