Many of our readers probably know Euro Corals, a German company specializing in the online sale of corals.

Perhaps some of you have already made some purchases, or you may have lingered over the outstanding colors of the corals in the e-commerce website, putting some items in the cart, debating… I’m pretty sure that anyone who found themselves browsing their pages couldn’t help but marvel at the gorgeous pastel shades of the most demanded acroporas, picturing that frag in a specific spot in their tank… right, right, it would look good right there.

If you have the chance to take a look at their corals you will notice that, along with the most classic and common species, many pieces for connoisseurs can be found. It was truly a surprise to us to learn that behind this well-known and established company, there is another equally solid organization: Modern Reef.

We met them all in Nuremberg during the 2022 post-pandemic Interzoo, which was quite rewarding for the operators, and delivered interesting news for us to catch up on.

The video of Modern Reef’s booth at Interzoo 2022

Before we continue, we have linked our video, in which you will see Modern Reef‘s stand and the exhibited products. By clicking on the URL below you will be automatically taken to the beginning of the section. From there, you will be able to see the full report or select another stand from the time stamps in the description.

A Perfect match

So, what is the connection between the two brands?

Modern Reef was founded by the Euro Corals staff to satisfy some needs, and to create products for their own tanks.

This is an important partnership that allows Euro Corals to have a series of customized products (because they are developed in accordance to their own demands), and provides Modern Reef a valuable showcase for the public to discover their series. If someone had to sell you a product and somehow prove its quality, wouldn’t you trust its efficiency if it was used on Euro Corals‘ flawless animals? We’re sure you would.

The “All-In-One Reef Keeping System” line

Let’s start with the review of Modern Reef‘s products from the supplements line, developed with the help of Euro Corals and its hands-on experience.

ALL-IN-ONE REEF KEEPING SYSTEM is the complete system for the supplementation and nutrition of the corals at the exhibition. It consists of three products: one complete supplement set and two nutrition products (Complete Reef Food and Polypops).

The supplements

The four supplements are:

• Base KH1
• Base KH2
• Base CAL
• Base MAG

We have Calcium and Magnesium and the two KH solutions containing trace elements, to fill the oligoelements spectrum. They are recommended for the “balling” system.

It can be considered a mixed balling system where elements such as micro-nutrients and amino acids are added to the base to complete the system. Since they cannot be mixed together due to their incompatibility, they are dosed as a food complement when adding Complete Reef Food and Polypops.

These sets are sold as a complete kit, all four containers (2.5 L each) are sold together for € 67.15. The 5 liter format is the most convenient and it is sold for € 111.92, with a considerable saving compared to the previous offer.

Last but not least, ONE-4REEF is a product that combines all the necessary oligoelements, organic micro-nutrients, and amino acids from sea water. It can be used in a balling system, measured out correctly together in combination with the ALL-IN-ONE REEF KEEPING SYSTEM line, whose dosage can be reduced by 25%, because some elements can be found in both products.

You could also use it as a supplement in your calcium reactor.

This line has a wide range of supplements, available in 100 ml, 250 ml or 1000 ml, depending on the type. Barium, Molybdenum, Potassium, Calcium, Iodium, Iron, Zinc and many more… have a look, they have it all!

Coral food

For coral nutrition, Modern Reef has developed two products.

COMPLETE REEF FOOD is a mixture consisting of both solid and liquid food, it feeds all types of corals directly or indirectly. It is great for filter feeders, bacteria, and microorganisms forming the marine benthos of the aquarium. It also contains amino acids, vitamins, and fat acids.

POLYPOP is specifically designed to increase pigments and coloring of SPS corals, extroversion and coloring of marine polyps, and to boost the animal’s immune system against parasites and diseases.

In the Modern Reef online store both products are sold in 100 ml and 250 ml sized formats, respectively for €37.44 and €74.88.

Fight against cyanobacteria and parasites

It is considered the curse of lots of reefs, in particular high-performance and ambitious ones: cyanobacteria is a stress-causing problem for many aquarists. Modern Reef‘s solution has a name: CYANOCLEANER, a product that promises to solve the problem in less than 48 hours.

It is absolutely non-toxic for fish and all the other animals in the aquarium, and completely free from ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and antibiotics, so it won’t affect the chemical and biological stability of the water. It comes in 100 ml or 250 ml sizes (respectively for €37.35 and €74.71).

We have to mention another parasite cleansing product, with which you can treat the new entries before putting them in the tank. C-DIP 1 kills parasites and prevents bacterial infections, while C-DIP 2 coats the entry with a protective layer, to help it adapt gradually and securely to the new environment.

Nutrient control

The nutrient control is performed with three products. C+ (COMPLEX CARBONS), provides carbon sources for the direct feeding of bacteria. It helps with bacterial reproduction, which in turn reduces phosphate and nitrate.

Phosphate and nitrate sources work in the opposite way, balancing those tanks in which corals would be endangered due to the lack of nutrients.

P+ (PHOSPHOROUS PO4 MIX) is a phosphor source, while N+ (NITROGEN NO3 MIX) provides a clean nitrogen source for us to increase the nutrients according to our needs.

They are all bottled in a 1000 ml format and cost about €35 per pack.

NITRI-BAC is the right product for the startup of new tanks, maintenance after water changes, or treatments that could reduce the bacterial component.

It’s a bacteria starter that includes the essential bacterial strains used in the nitrification process.

The 150 ml product costs € 29.63, the 250 ml one is € 41.53.

The brand new ICP tests

Now let’s introduce one of the most-talked-about products at Interzoo 2022. We’re obviously referring to the ICP tests. Almost every organization brought their tests and Modern Reef was no exception. We had the pleasure to speak with Ali Akil, CEO and founder of the company, who gave us details about these tests, what features make them special, and why they stand out from other products on the market.

Ali was truly excited to present the REEF WATER ANALYSIS PRO and its online management system, accessible via a web browser. He pointed out the extreme precision of the results, achieved from a constant maintenance and adjustment of the analysis tools, and explained to us why the ICP tests from Modern Reef are different from all the others.

We have an abundance of analyzable parameters: 52 for seawater, 50 for osmosis water, 102 altogether.

The osmosis water tests won’t be available in the standard version: if you want them you have to buy the DUO version which comes with another container for the sampling of RO water. The REEF WATER ANALYSIS PRO costs € 29.63 while for € 36.89 you will get the REEF WATER ANALYSIS PRO DUO to test your osmosis water too.

We have all the “standard” parameters in the test, but if you look at the screen below and already have knowledge of the ICP expected results, you will surely notice two new entries.

Two new important parameters

• WATER CLARITY and PAR LOSS are the new features.
• WATER CLARITY gives us information about the water clarity in a scale ranging from 7 to 15.

This parameter directly influences the light penetration capacity, so it displays the rendition of our lighting system. A tank with stable parameters but a low clarity index (higher values in the range) probably won’t have the same oxidoreduction capacity of a tank with a high clarity index (lower values in the range).

This takes us to the second new feature.

PAR LOSS expresses the PAR loss itself, in percentage points, a value that could, in fact, depend on the measured clarity index.

Just think of how much a reef is conditioned by the light, and how much light influences the success or failure of a reef; this information is essential.

It will highlight a problem we may not have taken into account. We will then take action with targeted solutions, for example by placing a roll filter to limit the sediment, or replacing spent carbon in our sump, etc.

We still have much to discuss about ICP tests, by the way.

Key word: Customization

Modern Reef offers standard adjustments on deviations from parameter ranges measured time after time. This means that the customer is advised on the adjustments needed to make a specific parameter fit in the targeted range. Modern Reef has decided to improve its system to adapt it for any need of any user.

When configuring, entering the details about the tank and the technique used will allow the system to make changes in the targeted ranges. Every result will be read correctly referring for each unique aquarium.

A fish-only tank will have different settings than an SPS tank, an optimal value for one may be out of range in another context, because of the different needs. This makes every fix customized, every solution tailor-made.

As well as possible solutions to some of the issues, Modern Reef planned a continuing maintenance program. Based upon the daily consumption of a specific element, the maintenance algorithm will calculate the correct servings of supplements to keep the element at the correct level in the tank.

Surely, each tank is different from the others, and every reefer has a certain amount of animals that lead to a diversified consumption of elements. Thanks to Modern Reef, we have a baseline that helps us to prevent mistakes that would get worse over time.

“Let’s go social” with Mimic Reef

The last feature we will talk about is the “social network” of marine tanks.

By clicking on the Mimic Reefs tab from the Modern Reef homepage, you will found a database filled with photos, descriptions, and parameters of lots of users, named Reef Masters. These users are successful reefers that decided to share their set-ups on the platform. This platform provides easy access to their tanks’ details, starting from their technique, as well as presets, type of lighting and PAR, and will let us read the results of the ICP tests performed on their water.

We will be able to express our preferences with the like-button, but most importantly, take inspiration and get ideas for our reefs.

It is up to us to decide whether to follow their example and get closer to their targeted values, or share our settings and configurations with other users. With a good number of likes and grim determination, you may be able to become a Modern Reef Master someday.

REFERENCES

As usual, here is the link of the official homepage of Modern Reef. We also invite you to watch our videoreport on Interzoo 2022.

[Translated by Aisja Baglioni]