Talking Points: Step 5 Bioavailable Nourishment™

Coloring elements alone don't finish the job: the manufacturer's Aqua Care Guide™ recommends key biomolecules in coral feeding to get the most from Step 4 – Bioactive Color Elements™. Step 5 – Bioavailable Nourishment™ is that feeding: three coral foods, Bio-Enhance™, Pure Phyto™ and Coral Cane®, the line we call the Nutrition Series, each dosed by stocking level. Below are what each one supplies, the dose bands, the manufacturer's feeding mix, where Step 5 stops and what to say at the counter.

What Step 5 – Bioavailable Nourishment™ Does in a Reef Aquarium

Step 4 puts back the coloring elements. Step 5 feeds the coral that uses them. The manufacturer's Step 4 pages make the pairing plain: dosed alongside Bio-Enhance, the aquarium gets the biomolecules as well as the major, minor and trace coloring elements.

Good lighting doesn't cover it. Zooxanthellae use light and nutrients to make complex biomolecules, and the coral houses them in exchange for consuming many of those molecules. The Guide puts it plainly:

Although corals use photosynthetic zooxanthellae to create many of the biochemical nutrients required, they are more similar to animals than plants.

Zooxanthellae can't provide every nutrient a coral needs, so the Guide calls for additional food sources — the full-spectrum nourishment behind vibrant coloration and vigorous growth.

Step 5 lines up with the three-layer coral diet. Bio-Enhance is the liquid amino-acid supplement, Pure Phyto the phytoplankton and Coral Cane the particle food. The Guide recommends using all three together to give corals all the beneficial nutrients.

Step 5 also applies on every dosing line. Once a customer has chosen a dosing method (Reef Essential®, Easy Reefer® or Signature Series™), the Guide moves them on to Step 5.

What Each Step 5 Coral Food Does and How Much to Dose

The manufacturer lists all three for LPS, Mixed, SPS and NPS aquariums.

• Bio-Enhance: amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates, protein, fatty acids and energy. The manufacturer says it can improve color and induce feeding responses.
• Pure Phyto: natural marine-based phytoplankton, phycocyanin extract and energy.
• Coral Cane: a complete food of phytoplankton, zooplankton and natural food sources, adsorbed with all of the ingredients in Bio-Enhance.

Each band runs by stocking level:

• Bio-Enhance: 0.5–1.0 mL/day per 100 L (26 gal): Lightly stocked 0.50 mL · Moderately stocked 0.75 mL · Heavily stocked 1.0 mL.
• Pure Phyto: 5.0–10.0 mL twice a week per 100 L (26 gal): Lightly stocked 5.0 mL · Moderately stocked 7.5 mL · Heavily stocked 10.0 mL.
• Coral Cane: ½–1 scoop twice a week per 100 L (26 gal): Lightly stocked ½ · Moderately stocked ¾ · Heavily stocked 1 scoop.

Bio-Enhance and Pure Phyto go into high water flow. Coral Cane comes with a scoop and an activator.

Coral Cane has a range of particle sizes, large enough for mouths and fine enough for polyps. It has no added binders, fillers or excess unwanted nutrients, which the Guide says lets it feed coral without polluting the water with nutrients such as excess phosphate.

How to Target Feed and Broadcast Feed Corals With Step 5

The case for using both methods is in The Art of Coral Feeding: Broadcast vs. Target Feeding Explained. Here's how Step 5 does each.

For broadcast feeding, each food goes in on its own schedule at the bands above. For target feeding, the Guide gives one mix: 1 scoop of Coral Cane, 1 mL of Bio-Enhance, 3 mL of Pure Phyto and 4 mL of aquarium water. The manufacturer says the same pre-mix works for broadcast feeding too.

For finer particles, the Coral Cane activator gently crushes the mix. All circulating and return pumps go off, then the coral is spot fed. The Guide says this can raise bioavailability by enhancing polyp extension and giving the coral more time to consume the food.

Don't let the last step get lost. The Guide's reminder: turn the pumps back on when the feeding is done.

Pure Phyto has its own rule. For target feeding, which the manufacturer recommends, the return and circulation pumps go off; for broadcast feeding, only the return pump. The protein skimmer stays on either way, and the corals get at least 30 minutes before the equipment goes back on.

Q Tip Bio-Enhance needs no shaking and is safe on a dosing pump. Pure Phyto is the opposite: shake it well, and keep it off the pump — the manufacturer says it can't be used on one.

When a Step 5 Product Isn't the Answer

• A fish-only aquarium: the three coral foods are listed for reef aquariums. For fish, the Guide's Step 5 product is Fish Enhance™.
• Another all-in-one food on top: our Bio-Enhance page says not to layer it with similar products, which risks a harmful nutrient excess.

What to Say at the Counter About Step 5

Start with the salt. Everyone starts from Step 1, so find out which salt they're on before talking food. Then, read aloud, something like this:

"Your corals get a lot from light, through the algae living in them, but not everything. Step 5 is the food: a liquid dosed daily, a phytoplankton twice a week and a coral food twice a week, each dosed by how stocked your tank is."

"I already dose the color bottles. Why feed as well?"

"The manufacturer pairs them: Step 4 brings the coloring elements, and feeding with Bio-Enhance brings the biomolecules. The Guide puts feeding after Step 4 to get the most from it."

"Won't feeding just feed my algae?"

"Fair worry, but Coral Cane has no added binders, fillers or excess unwanted nutrients, so it's made to feed corals without loading the water with things like excess phosphate. Your nitrate and phosphate targets aren't zero either, because corals need some nutrients. Stay at the dose for your stocking level."

"I'm on Easy Reefer. Is Step 5 for me too?"

"Yes. Easy Reefer covers your calcium, alkalinity, magnesium and color elements. Feeding is still Step 5."

Step 5 is the last step in the Guide, but it doesn't end the routine. Every step except cycling runs for the life of the aquarium: the salt at every water change, nutrients, calcium, alkalinity and magnesium held to target, color elements daily, and feeding on its schedule. The Guide's closing advice to hobbyists fits the counter too: it's "a marathon, not a sprint."

Send them home with the free Reef Essential® Aqua Care Guide™, which has every Step 5 dose and the target-feeding mix. For how all five steps hand off to each other, see Why the Five-Step System Runs in Order.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does phytoplankton coral food need to be refrigerated?

Not Pure Phyto™. The manufacturer says it doesn't require refrigeration, and neither does Bio-Enhance™.

What coral food is best for non-photosynthetic (NPS) corals?

The manufacturer lists NPS corals as suitable for all three Step 5 foods. Our Pure Phyto™ page calls it especially important for NPS corals, which get no nutrition from photosynthesis.

What is the protein and fat content of Coral Cane®?

The manufacturer's typical analysis is crude protein ≤ 60%, crude fat ≤ 25%, crude fiber ≥ 8%, ash ≥ 4% and moisture ≥ 3%.

How is Fish Enhance™ dosed on fish food?

The Guide says 1–2 drops per cube of fish food, and the manufacturer says to soak it for at least 5 minutes before feeding. The Guide also recommends straining fish foods with RODI water to cut phosphate used as a preservative, then replenishing the nutrients straining can wash out, which Fish Enhance provides.