Less nitrate & phosphate
Live phytoplankton keeps photosynthesising in your tank and takes up dissolved nutrients. Instead of feeding hair algae, they reach your corals as food.
Knowledge
All about plankton & corals.
Why live plankton strengthens your reef, how to dose it correctly and how new corals settle in quickly. Clearly explained, straight from the breeder.
Reef targets
- Temperature
- 24–26 °C
- Salinity
- 35 ‰
- pH
- 8.1–8.3
- Nitrate
- 2–10 mg/l
- Phosphate
- 0.03–0.1 mg/l
Why plankton?
In the ocean, food simply drifts by.
In the aquarium, it's missing.
One litre of seawater contains millions of tiny algae and animals. They are the base of every food chain on the reef. In an aquarium, skimmers, filters and fish gradually remove this plankton. Live plankton brings it back.
Light & nutrients
Nitrate and phosphate in the water – otherwise a problem for algae.
Phytoplankton
Tiny algae take up these nutrients and turn them into biomass.
Zooplankton
Rotifers and copepods eat the algae and multiply.
Corals & fish
Filter feeders, corals and fish larvae eat both – and stay healthy.
More life in the sand
Copepods, amphipods and other microfauna eat phytoplankton and multiply strongly. That's food for mandarin fish, seahorses and many other specialists.
Food for filter feeders
Clams, tube worms, sponges and many soft corals live by filtering. Live plankton stays suspended in the water and within their reach.
More stable biology
A more complete food chain makes the system more resilient. It absorbs small mistakes and fluctuations better, and the animals live longer.
Live or concentrate – what's the difference?
Live (Coral Elysée)Concentrate / paste
Stays suspendedYes, for hoursOften sinks quickly
Takes up nutrientsYes, through photosynthesisNo, the cells are dead
Pollutes the waterHardly, the cells are aliveExcess breaks down quickly
PreservativesNoneOften
Shelf lifeShort, keep refrigeratedLong
Dosing calculator
How much does your tank need?
Enter your net water volume. The calculator shows the daily dose and how long a bottle lasts. It warns you if a bottle would last longer than the plankton keeps.
litres
Per day–
Per week–
Guide values from the label. Better start low and increase slowly while you watch nitrate and phosphate.
How to use
How to dose correctly.
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Shake
Plankton settles at the bottom. Shake the bottle before every use and briefly once a day in the fridge.
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Skimmer off
Switch the skimmer off for about an hour or reduce the flow. Otherwise it removes the plankton straight away.
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Dose in the morning
Phytoplankton needs light. Dose in the morning and it can photosynthesise all day and take up nutrients.
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Keep cool
Store in the fridge at about 4 °C. The cold slows the metabolism, keeping the culture fresh.
Knowledge
What's in the bottle?
Three organisms, three jobs. Find out what they are and what you use them for.
Nannochloropsis salina
Phytoplankton · green alga · approx. 2–4 µm
A tiny single-celled marine alga. It is one of the most important feeds in aquaculture because it is rich in omega-3 fatty acids (especially EPA). In the aquarium it takes up nitrate and phosphate and turns these nutrients into food for filter feeders, corals and zooplankton.
- Against high nitrate and phosphate levels
- Basic food for copepods and rotifers
- Tints the water slightly green – that's normal and clears again
Synechococcus sp.
Picoplankton · approx. 1 µm
Synechococcus is among the most common organisms in the world's oceans and makes up a large part of natural plankton. The cells are so small that even very fine filter feeders and corals can take them in. Many reefers use it against cyanobacteria to redirect nutrients to desirable organisms.
- Food for very fine filter feeders and coral polyps
- Support against cyanobacteria problems
- Long shelf life: up to 4 weeks refrigerated
Brachionus plicatilis
Zooplankton · rotifer · approx. 300 µm
Rotifers are microscopic multicellular animals. They move actively and trigger the feeding response even in the smallest fish larvae. Fully grown they are much smaller than Artemia nauplii, the young even finer. So they fit into very small mouths.
- Protein-rich, live first food for fish larvae
- Ideal for shrimp, corals and rearing
- Enriches the microfauna in your tank
Size comparison
A human hair is about 70 µm thick.
Coral guide
How to keep your corals happy.
The essentials for a good start, from the first day in the tank to the right feeding.
🪸The groups
- Soft corals
- No calcium skeleton, very hardy and fast-growing. Ideal for beginners. Low to medium light, moderate flow.
- Zoanthus & Palythoa
- Colonial polyps in many colours, easy to keep. Caution: Palythoa contain palytoxin, only handle them with gloves.
- LPS
- Large-polyp stony corals such as Euphyllia. Medium light and medium, indirect flow. They like targeted feeding. Some have long sweeper tentacles, so keep your distance.
- SPS
- Small-polyp stony corals such as Acropora or Montipora. They need lots of light, strong flow and very stable water parameters – more for advanced reefers.
🌡Acclimatisation
- Float the bag in the tank for 15–20 minutes so the temperature evens out.
- Gradually add some tank water to the bag so salinity and pH match.
- Place the coral lower down and in the shade first, then move it up slowly over the next 1–2 weeks.
- Don't turn up the light in the first days. Retracted polyps are normal at first.
💡Light
Rough PAR guide values: soft corals and Zoanthus 50–150, LPS 100–200, SPS 200–400. A slow adjustment matters more than the exact value. Too much light at once shows as bleaching.
🌊Flow
Better alternating and indirect than a hard constant jet. LPS like medium flow – the polyps should move, not tear. SPS need strong, turbulent flow, soft corals rather moderate.
🧪Water parameters
- Temperature
- 24–26 °C
- Salinity
- 35 ‰
- KH
- 7–9 °dKH
- Calcium
- 400–450 mg/l
- Magnesium
- 1250–1400 mg/l
- Nitrate
- 2–10 mg/l
- Phosphate
- 0.03–0.1 mg/l
Stability matters most. Small, steady values beat fluctuating "ideal values".
🍽Feeding
Corals live on light but benefit greatly from extra food. Phytoplankton feeds soft corals, filter feeders and the microfauna in the tank. Rotifers are ideal zooplankton for LPS polyps. Feed in the evening when the polyps are extended, and briefly reduce the flow.
To the planktonAbout Coral Elysée
Out of passion for the reef.
Coral Elysée is a private plankton culture, by a reefer for reefers. What began as cultures for our own tank now goes to friends and acquaintances in the hobby – and now to you too.
Every culture is grown under light in seawater, checked regularly and bottled only shortly before shipping. No stock from a warehouse and no additives – just live plankton.
Get in touchFAQ
Frequently asked questions
My water is cloudy or green after dosing. Is that bad?
No. It shows that plankton is suspended in the water. After a few hours it has been eaten or removed by the filter. If the water stays cloudy much longer, the dose was too high – use less next time.
The bottle smells or looks a bit different from last time.
Plankton is a live natural product. Colour and smell vary slightly depending on the culture and its age. That doesn't mean a loss of quality. If the bottle smells rotten or is heavily clumped, please get in touch.
How long does the plankton keep?
Refrigerated at about 4 °C: Nannochloropsis up to 30 days, Synechococcus up to 4 weeks, rotifers up to 7 days. Choose the bottle size to suit your tank. The dosing calculator helps you.
Can I overdose?
Yes. Too much plankton isn't eaten, dies off and then pollutes the water. Stick to the guide values, start low and watch your water parameters.
Do I really have to turn the skimmer off?
Ideally yes, for about an hour. The skimmer removes fine particles from the water, including the plankton. Alternatively you can reduce the flow.
Can I combine different types of plankton?
Yes, it even makes sense. Phytoplankton feeds your zooplankton, and together they form a natural food chain in the tank.
How is it shipped?
Chilled and well insulated within Switzerland – Monday to Wednesday only, so the parcel doesn't sit over the weekend. Please put the bottle straight into the fridge on arrival. Alternatively you can pick up at set times.
Is it suitable for people or pets?
No. The plankton is not for consumption and is intended for aquariums only. Please keep out of reach of children.