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Feeding the Color: How Ammonium Bicarbonate Can Transform Your SPS Tank

Feeding the Color: How Ammonium Bicarbonate Can Transform Your SPS Tank

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Featuring insights from reef expert Michael Paletta during a recent CVtv Podcast interview.

What if adding more nitrogen to your reef tank was the key to unlocking vibrant color and accelerated coral growth? For many reefers who've been chasing ultra-low nutrient systems, this concept might sound counterintuitive. But according to longtime reef expert Michael Paletta, dosing ammonium bicarbonate may be exactly what your nutrient-starved SPS tank needs to bring back those brilliant colors you've been missing.

The Problem with Ultra-Low Nutrient Systems

A lot of reefers chase low nitrate readings like it's a badge of honor, but running nutrients too low, especially in SPS-dominated tanks, comes with serious risks. While high ammonia levels are toxic to marine life, small amounts of bioavailable nitrogen are essential for coral tissue health and the zooxanthellae that give corals their vibrant colors.

In many ultra-low-nutrient systems, nitrate becomes undetectable, which limits growth and leads to pale, "washed-out" corals. This nitrogen deficiency affects several critical processes:

Tissue regeneration - Corals struggle to maintain healthy tissue without adequate nitrogen
Coloration - Healthy symbiotic algae require nitrogen to produce the pigments that give corals their stunning colors
Skeletal growth - When carbon and calcium are available but nitrogen is lacking, growth rates suffer significantly

While some reefers turn to nitrate supplementation to address nutrient deficiencies, ammonium bicarbonate offers several key advantages as a nitrogen source for corals.

The science behind this preference is compelling. As Michael Paletta explains, "Most of us can keep corals alive. That's not the issue. The question is, are we providing enough energy and enough nutrition [so] corals get to the point where they have enough energy to produce eggs and to spawn." This distinction between survival and thriving is crucial, and recent research supports ammonium as a key factor in achieving optimal coral health.

^{Michael Paletta and Sanjay Joshi}

Paletta references groundbreaking work by friend and researcher Sanjay Joshi, who spent over a year focused on "growing his corals big enough, providing enough nutrition to see if you could get them to spawn." The results were remarkable: "He did actually get them to spawn, and when he would break off frags... you could see the packets of eggs and sperm in the frag bottom. So we did achieve this by doing ammonia."

The research backing this approach is solid. Paletta notes that Joshi "found a couple of papers and basically showed corals [are] more aggressive at consuming ammonia than they are nitrate." This preference makes biological sense. Unlike nitrate, ammonium is the preferred nitrogen source for both corals and their symbiotic zooxanthellae. It's significantly easier for them to absorb and utilize directly, requiring no bacterial conversion processes to become bioavailable.

This approach challenges decades of conventional reef-keeping wisdom. As Paletta points out, "Since the beginning of the hobby, the goal is always to [not] have any ammonia in your tank. And the reason we didn't have any ammonia in our tank is ammonia converts to ammonium at higher pH and higher alkalinity and it's toxic to a lot of fish." The key insight? "The corals like ammonia; the fish don't like ammonia."

Interestingly, this principle has support from natural reef environments. Paletta recalls a study from a magazine published 12 years ago showing that "fish pee is actually conducive to coral growth. In those higher areas of concentration of fish and consequently higher concentrations of fish urine and ammonia, those corals tend to grow faster than areas that were devoid of fish."

Practical Benefits of Ammonium Bicarbonate

Beyond the biological advantages, ammonium bicarbonate offers several practical benefits:

Stability - The compound is chemically stable and easy to store
Precise dosing - Easy to measure and control dosing amounts
pH neutral - Doesn't cause pH spikes or introduce unwanted ionic compounds like some nitrate salts

^{Sanjay Joshi's Reef Aquarium}

Safe Dosing Protocol for Your Reef Tank

Ready to try ammonium bicarbonate in your system? Here's a safe approach for a typical 100-gallon SPS tank:

Creating Your Stock Solution - Mix 20 grams of ammonium bicarbonate per 1000 mL of RO/DI water. This creates a concentrated solution that's easy to dose in small, controlled amounts.
Starting Your Dosing Regimen - Begin conservatively with a 0.01–0.02 ppm ammonia increase per day. Use graduated pipettes or precise measuring tools to ensure accuracy—this isn't the time for guesswork.

Essential Testing Parameters

Monitor these key parameters closely, especially during your first few weeks:

Ammonia levels - Test briefly to confirm ammonia isn't accumulating in your system
Nitrate readings - Ensure your biological filtration is processing the ammonia effectively
Visual coral health - Watch for improvements in coral color and polyp extension as your primary feedback

Many successful reefers stop active dosing once nitrate levels reach 2–5 ppm, then continue with smaller maintenance doses to prevent nutrient depletion.

The Transformation: What to Expect

The results of proper ammonium bicarbonate dosing can be dramatic. Michael Paletta has observed numerous cases where corals that had browned from nutrient starvation regained their vibrant coloration within weeks of restoring adequate nitrogen levels.

^{Michael Paletta's Reef Aquarium}

Specific improvements you should watch for include:

Enhanced Coloration - More vibrant purples, reds, and greens as zooxanthellae populations recover and pigment production increases
Improved Tissue Health - Increased tissue thickness and better overall coral condition
Accelerated Growth - Faster growth tips in Acropora and Montipora species, along with improved response to feeding and lighting

Critical Mistakes to Avoid

While ammonium bicarbonate can be transformative, certain pitfalls can lead to serious problems:

Never dose blindly - Test frequently, especially during your first week of dosing. Monitoring is essential for safe implementation.
Avoid overdosing - Ammonia levels above 0.1 ppm can harm or kill livestock. Less is definitely more with this approach.
Don't combine with heavy carbon dosing - Unless you thoroughly understand nutrient balance, avoid combining ammonium dosing with vodka, vinegar, or other carbon sources.
Ensure system stability first - Your tank needs solid biological filtration and stable alkalinity before attempting nitrogen supplementation.

When Ammonium Bicarbonate Isn't Right for Your Tank

This technique isn't suitable for every reef system. Avoid ammonium bicarbonate dosing if:

You already have detectable nitrate levels (5–10+ ppm)
You're currently battling algae outbreaks or cyanobacteria
Your system is less than 3–4 months old and still establishing biological filtration
You maintain a high fish load that already provides adequate nitrogen waste

This approach works best in mature, ultra-low-nutrient systems that are heavily stocked with corals but have minimal fish bioload.

The Bottom Line

Ammonium bicarbonate, when used carefully and systematically, represents one of the simplest ways to restore color and vitality to nutrient-starved corals. The key is starting slow, monitoring your system closely, and remembering that zero nutrients isn't always the goal.

If your corals are looking pale despite perfect alkalinity and calcium levels, and your nutrient readings are consistently undetectable, ammonium bicarbonate might just be the secret weapon your reef has been waiting for. Focus on feeding your corals' biological needs rather than chasing numbers, and you may be surprised by the transformation in both growth and coloration.

by PR Manager

Posted in: News Featured

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