Red Sea Reef Energy Plus AB+ 250 ml to 5 L — All-in-One Coral Superfood SPS LPS Soft NPS

The Red Sea Reef Energy Plus AB+ is a single-part liquid superfood that brings together the carbohydrates, amino acids, fatty acids and vitamins corals need for vitality, growth and coloration. It replaces the older two-part Reef Energy A and B: it carries every base component of the original plus a few added ingredients, in one formulation where they keep their efficacy once combined. Red Sea's long-term lab testing measured 15 % more coral growth than the original two-part formula.

Why corals need to be fed

In nature, a photosynthetic coral draws roughly 85 % of its energy from the zooxanthellae living in its tissue. The remaining 15 % it produces by metabolising nutrients from the surrounding water. Non-photosynthetic corals such as gorgonians, Dendronephthya and sun corals, along with other filter feeders, draw all of their energy from those waterborne nutrients.

In a reef tank where nitrate and phosphate are deliberately kept low, for example with a reducer like NO3:PO4-X, the energy the zooxanthellae hand over to the coral drops significantly. Red Sea is explicit about this: in that kind of system you need to supply more coral nutrition, not less.

Daily dosage

Red Sea's official dosing is expressed in millilitres per day per 100 litres (25 gallons) of water.

Three manufacturer notes that change everything:

• Dose for the most demanding coral in the tank, even if it isn't the most common one.
• Work out your real water volume: display plus sump, minus the volume taken up by rock.
• The chart is a starting point for a well-stocked tank. The dose is then tuned to your own system.

How to dose it

• Turn the protein skimmer off before feeding and leave it off for 15 to 30 minutes afterwards. Keep gentle circulation running at all times.
• AB+ is added directly to the aquarium.
• For delicate corals such as sun corals and Goniopora, Red Sea recommends delivering the mixture straight to the coral with a pipette. A target feeding pipette does the job without clouding the whole tank.
• If you miss a day or more, don't make up the missed volume: simply resume at the current daily dose.
• Under LED lighting, Red Sea says to increase the dose if corals are not growing, even with no sign of photoinhibition.

The formula was built for automatic dosing: it keeps up to one week unrefrigerated and unstirred without compromising the efficacy of the combined components. With a ReefDose, pour one week's supply at a time into the container and wash it thoroughly with soapy water between refills.

Reading over- and under-dosing

Red Sea describes two precise signals. Over-dosing shows up as a grey-brown biofilm settling on the live rock and as algae outbreaks. Under-dosing, in a low nutrient system, reads as corals bleaching from the base upwards.

One caveat: those same signs can come from nitrate or phosphate levels that are too high or too low, or from over- or under-dosing Trace Colors elements. Before touching your AB+ dose, make sure every measurable parameter is already where it should be.

Our advice

The mistake we see most often is overfeeding. Or feeding a brand-new tank, or a tank that isn't stocked yet. Nothing is lost, nothing is created: the food your corals don't consume doesn't disappear, it turns into algae.

A lot of people feed their corals in order to make them grow. That isn't how it works. It's the other way around: when things are growing, you feed. When things are going well, you feed. When the tank is dynamic, that's when you feed.

Always keep an eye on your nitrate and phosphate. And there's a free clue everybody already has in front of them: the glass. If your glass is fouling with algae quickly, something is off. Cut back the food.

— Stéphane, Aquarium ReefSolution

Choosing a size

AB+ comes in four sizes: 250 ml, 500 ml, 1 L and 5 L. To place yourself, take your real water volume and the dose from the chart above. A 400 L mixed reef uses 16 ml a day: the 250 ml lasts around fifteen days, the 500 ml about a month, the 1 L about two months. The 5 L is aimed at large systems and tanks on automatic dosing, keeping the storage rule below in mind.

Storage

Refrigerate the container after opening. The product keeps up to one year after first use. Never leave AB+ out of the fridge for more than a week, and wash the dosing container with soapy water between refills.

See AB+ in action

Frequently asked questions

Can I feed my corals more to make them grow faster?

No, and it's the most common mistake. Red Sea's chart gives a dose per water volume and tank type, not a number to push upward. Going past it doesn't turn into growth: the manufacturer itself describes grey-brown biofilm on the rock and algae outbreaks as the typical signs of over-dosing. The logic runs the other way: you increase feeding once the tank is already dynamic and corals are growing, not to trigger growth.

Does Red Sea Reef Energy Plus AB+ need to be refrigerated?

Yes, after opening. It keeps up to one year from first use. The formula tolerates one week out of the fridge without losing efficacy, which is exactly what makes it usable in a dosing pump: you fill the doser container for a week, then wash it before refilling.

Does AB+ work with a dosing pump?

Yes, it was designed for it. That's the main difference from the old two-part formula: AB+ holds for a week unrefrigerated and unstirred. Red Sea also notes that the new formulation minimizes over skimming after feeding.

Does it leave residue in the water?

According to Red Sea, every component of AB+ is consumed and used by the corals in their metabolic processes, such as protein production and soft tissue regeneration. The manufacturer states that no unnecessary polluting organic material is left in the aquarium. That doesn't remove the need to watch your nitrate and phosphate: food that no coral eats always ends up somewhere.

Why buy from ReefSolution

We are an authorized Red Sea dealer. Every dosing and storage figure above is transcribed from the official Red Sea manual, not copied from another retailer. Secure shipping across Canada.