Modern Reef users experience thread

Mmoore0324 · Feb 3, 2026

Superlightman said:
that is normal if you not have dosing amino and coral food prior, to be fair you should have add this befor. I saw not improvement ,got actually less during my test but I was dosing KZ supplements with the fauna products befor the modern reef. The Modern reef products included coral food so that is normal. For my system it was probably to much as I got many algua from it , I problaby had some bad stuff in my tank that also loved the food, not only the corals.

I was dosing aminos and liquid and particulate coral foods before MR as well. I did the full line of Fauna products. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Fauna products, but I did not get the same response as I’ve gotten from Modern Reef.

RoanokeReef · Feb 8, 2026

These fit the bottles perfectly-
3ml Syringe for Liquid,Syringe Without Needle,Sterile Individually Packed 20pcs. https://a.co/d/0hjdeAMO

Superlightman · Feb 8, 2026

Mmoore0324 said:
I was dosing aminos and liquid and particulate coral foods before MR as well. I did the full line of Fauna products. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Fauna products, but I did not get the same response as I’ve gotten from Modern Reef.

well for me it was the complet opposit

Oldreefer44 · Feb 8, 2026

My biggest takeaway so far is the consistency of Alk, CA and MG. Once I was able to establish proper dosage amount to keep alk at 7.9 - 8.0, measurements for all three of these has been extremely consistent with very little to no fluctuations when measured at noon everyday.
Another observation was that the dosage amount, 25 ml, was a lot less than prescribed by the Modern Reef calculator which was 70ml.
The third and possibly the most relevant is that an ICP-ms (ATI) test showed NO deficient elements.
As far as polyp extension and color improvement is concerned I can only give anecdotal opinions which are that there is minor improvement however my Leng Sy cap, which is my growth barometer, has added at least an inch of growth in the 5 weeks since I switched over.
Also no question that it is relatively expensive versus other systems. My calculation is that it coasts about $2 a day to run the regular RKS system.

Genvid · Feb 13, 2026

Modern Reef said:
Hi! Could you share the LOT number and the version of the RKS you used—or, if you don’t have it, where you ordered it from (store/vendor + approximate order date)? That would let us check the lot-production database and support report data. Thanks!

Sorry to bother you, but I have a Waterbox Infinia 230.6 reef aquarium, 230 gallons. I set it up almost six months ago. Currently, there are six Torches, a Goniapora, and three Zoas in the tank, with ten fish. I would like to try your complete system; I currently have a three-component system: ALK, CA, MAG, and ESV. Please advise what would be best to get first. I will be using the same salt as you do. I have attached a photo of the tank. Thank you.

Genvid · Feb 13, 2026

Modern Reef said:
Hi! Could you share the LOT number and the version of the RKS you used—or, if you don’t have it, where you ordered it from (store/vendor + approximate order date)? That would let us check the lot-production database and support report data. Thanks!

Sorry to bother you, but I have a Waterbox Infinia 230.6 reef aquarium, 230 gallons. I set it up almost six months ago. Currently, there are six Torches, a Goniapora, and three Zoas in the tank, with ten fish. I would like to try your complete system; I currently have a three-component system: ALK, CA, MAG, and ESV. Please advise what would be best to get first. I will be using the same salt as you do. I have attached a photo of the tank. Thank you.

RoanokeReef · Feb 13, 2026

You will need -

All-in-one Proportional Consumption Reef-Keeping System (RKS) 4x5L Set – Modern Reef USA LLC

www.modernreefusa.com

Complete Reef Food 100ml – Modern Reef USA LLC

www.modernreefusa.com

Polypop 100ml – Modern Reef USA LLC

www.modernreefusa.com

Modern Reef · Feb 13, 2026

Genvid said:
Sorry to bother you, but I have a Waterbox Infinia 230.6 reef aquarium, 230 gallons. I set it up almost six months ago. Currently, there are six Torches, a Goniapora, and three Zoas in the tank, with ten fish. I would like to try your complete system; I currently have a three-component system: ALK, CA, MAG, and ESV. Please advise what would be best to get first. I will be using the same salt as you do. I have attached a photo of the tank. Thank you.

Hi! This really comes down to your tank’s current alkalinity/calcium consumption and what corals you plan to keep long term.

From the photos, it looks like consumption is still fairly low, and I’m not seeing any Acropora yet. In that case, starting with One‑4Reef makes sense. If/when you add Acropora and demand increases, you can then step up to the RKS 4‑canister system for more control and capacity.

If you’re planning to stick with LPS and soft corals only, you can likely stay on One‑4Reef without needing to change systems.

For where you are right now, I’d go with:

One‑4Reef
Complete Reef Food
Polypop

Bryman · Feb 13, 2026

I've been running Modern Reef RKS + Polypop + Coral Food exclusively for 3 weeks now in my Nuvo 20 gallon nano (build thread here). As another member pointed out, the stability is quite high in terms of parameter fluctuation - which is nice. My consumption is low at only 1.4 ml/day, but my system is mostly SPS and LPS frags. I dose 1 drop a day each of Polypop and Coral Food.

One thing I'm noticing is some red slime algae on the sand bed. The tank is only about 5 months old, but this is the first time I've seen it. The only other thing I am dosing daily other than the Modern Reef RKS system is lab grade Ammonium Bicarbonate solution to keep Nitrates between 5-10. I also dose about 1 ml of MR Biodiversity 2x a week. Here's my params as of now:

My temperature is set to 77 degrees F, with a +or- variation of 0.2 degrees F. SG is stable via ATO at 1.026. My flow is random and strong enough to move some sand on both sides. My SPS par levels are between about 300 - 475, lit by 14k - 20k Reef Breeders Meridian+Edge bar for 11 hours a day including ramps. I do a 4 gallon temp. + salinity matched water change 2x monthly with Red Sea Blue Bucket (moving to MR salt soon). RODI water reads 0 TDS out of a 6 stage unit.

So to my point - my SPS frags are not really coloring up or thriving as I'd hoped, and now I have some red slime algae. I don't know if I am doing anything wrong, or if I need to be more patient. Please feel free to chime in with your thoughts!

Oldreefer44 · Feb 14, 2026

I'm guessing that Akil will chime in at some point so I won't suggest a solution but interestingly, I had been battling a moderate cyano outbreak ever since a power outage related crash last fall. About a week after switching over to MR it dissaperaed overnight.

Bryman · Feb 14, 2026

Bryman said:
I've been running Modern Reef RKS + Polypop + Coral Food exclusively for 3 weeks now in my Nuvo 20 gallon nano (build thread here). As another member pointed out, the stability is quite high in terms of parameter fluctuation - which is nice. My consumption is low at only 1.4 ml/day, but my system is mostly SPS and LPS frags. I dose 1 drop a day each of Polypop and Coral Food.

One thing I'm noticing is some red slime algae on the sand bed. The tank is only about 5 months old, but this is the first time I've seen it. The only other thing I am dosing daily other than the Modern Reef RKS system is lab grade Ammonium Bicarbonate solution to keep Nitrates between 5-10. I also dose about 1 ml of MR Biodiversity 2x a week. Here's my params as of now:

My temperature is set to 77 degrees F, with a +or- variation of 0.2 degrees F. SG is stable via ATO at 1.026. My flow is random and strong enough to move some sand on both sides. My SPS par levels are between about 300 - 475, lit by 14k - 20k Reef Breeders Meridian+Edge bar for 11 hours a day including ramps. I do a 4 gallon temp. + salinity matched water change 2x monthly with Red Sea Blue Bucket (moving to MR salt soon). RODI water reads 0 TDS out of a 6 stage unit.

So to my point - my SPS frags are not really coloring up or thriving as I'd hoped, and now I have some red slime algae. I don't know if I am doing anything wrong, or if I need to be more patient. Please feel free to chime in with your thoughts!

After doing some research, I think I have a good possibility of what is happening in my tank. I did notice that when I started MR RKS, I saw a lot of improved water clarity. Before that, I had a slight haziness in the water all the time. About 2 weeks before I started RKS, I also put in a stronger UV sterilizer in the system to prevent dinos from coming back. So whether it was the stronger UV or RKS / BioDiversity balancing out my system, the water got clearer. In the last 2 months I've also been ramping up my lighting to what I believed would be appropriate for my SPS-dominant direction. Even though I've kept NO3 and PO4 in the ideal ranges, I think I might have hit a threshold with the clearer water and increasing lighting where it's just too much. This could be why cyano is blooming as well, because it's too strong for my corals and they are paling and not growing, so the cyano steps in. So, I am going to try backing down my peak lighting intensity about 15% and see what happens.

Modern Reef · Feb 20, 2026

Bryman said:
After doing some research, I think I have a good possibility of what is happening in my tank. I did notice that when I started MR RKS, I saw a lot of improved water clarity. Before that, I had a slight haziness in the water all the time. About 2 weeks before I started RKS, I also put in a stronger UV sterilizer in the system to prevent dinos from coming back. So whether it was the stronger UV or RKS / BioDiversity balancing out my system, the water got clearer. In the last 2 months I've also been ramping up my lighting to what I believed would be appropriate for my SPS-dominant direction. Even though I've kept NO3 and PO4 in the ideal ranges, I think I might have hit a threshold with the clearer water and increasing lighting where it's just too much. This could be why cyano is blooming as well, because it's too strong for my corals and they are paling and not growing, so the cyano steps in. So, I am going to try backing down my peak lighting intensity about 15% and see what happens.

Totally sounds like cyano (the classic red slime). In a ~5‑month nano—especially one that’s mostly frags—it’s pretty normal for it to pop up on and off. It’s usually less about what product you’re using and more about what’s currently dominating the tank (flow/gas exchange/biology).

A few quick thoughts:

Your RKS + 1 drop/day of Polypop/Coral Food is a very small dose—really unlikely to be the “cause” of cyano.
Cyano often shows up with low flow at the sandbed and/or CO₂ buildup / weak gas exchange, even if overall flow feels strong.
There isn’t a permanent cure—best we can do is reduce how often it returns, and that comes with maturity (bigger corals + more competing organisms).

What we’d do first:

Increase surface agitation / gas exchange.
Make sure you’ve got good flow across the sand and siphon out what you can.
If you want a direct assist: run Modern Reef BIOClear.
After BIOClear, follow with a BIOMix: BIODiversity + BIOReef Snow + BIOActivator + BIOBac (mixed with tank water, ferment ~4 hours, then dose) to boost biodiversity.
Consider adding benthic mixed copepods (surface-dwelling pods) to help build that “mature tank” biology.

Backing light down a bit is fine if corals look stressed, but we’d prioritize oxygen/CO₂ + sandbed flow first.

Bryman · Feb 21, 2026

Thanks for the advice @Modern Reef. I don't have BIOClear, but I have the rest of the products you mentioned in a mixture that has fermented for 5 hours, ready to go in the tank per the protocol on https://modernreef.eu/anti-dinoflagellates-and-cyanobacteria-protocol/. I think my always hungry peppermint shrimp may have done some damage to my pod population and I will look to refresh as well. My surface agitation is pretty solid but will see what I can do to increase it. I can't really increase overall flow across the sand as I am at the point where increasing more will cause bare spots and sandstorms. Such is the negative of a nano tank with only 11" of water depth. In hindsight I should have used coarser sand than my Fiji Pink.

noelskii · Apr 6, 2026

@Modern Reef can I use biopellets along with the all in one system?

OnePiece Corals · Apr 6, 2026

noelskii said:
@Modern Reef can I use biopellets along with the all in one system?

Hey friend, im pretty sure they said not to use anything with thier system. Are you trying to lower your nitrates?

RoanokeReef · Apr 7, 2026

They do sell their own carbon dosing method, guessing from the smell it was vinegar in a bottle.

RoanokeReef · Apr 7, 2026

Has anyone used their ICP service ? If so, what was your turn around ?

OnePiece Corals · Apr 7, 2026

RoanokeReef said:
Has anyone used their ICP service ? If so, what was your turn around ?

I have. With my own shipping label ( priotlrity ) it takes me about 8day to get results. Mind you I'm in the west coast and the forwarding hub is in the east.

Featherweight · Apr 7, 2026

Update time. Been using this on my 250 for a bit now

Colors and growth are the best I've experienced. Polyp extension is better than when I ran std 2 part or all for reef.

Loving it so far