Boron is present in Natural Sea Water (NSW) in a moderately low concentration (4.4 4.8 mg/L or ppm). It is present predominantly as boric acid and to a lesser extent as borate.
Boron has several important biological functions and our results show that a too low boron concentration can slow down the growth of corals and coralline algae. Boron also has some positive effect in buffering NSW especially in the range of pH 8.1-8.3. In most aquariums, boron is depleted very slowly yet steadily and in some aquariums, boron is present in a very high concentration. This is due to use of bad quality salt or impure supplements.
Salifert's Reef Boron does not contain the toxic boric acid compound (see above) but is, within 24 hours, gradually converted predominantly into the desired boric acid. This procedure has advantages since, when added to the aquarium, a locally high concentration will be present until evenly mixed throughout the whole aquarium. If it were present as boric acid then some slight, but temporary, toxic effect could take place. This danger is prevented with Reef Boron and Salifert is the only company presently offering such an essential additive.
Other elements such as strontium and many trace elements have a similar effect as boron, such as accelerating coral growth and allowing many biological processes to take place. These elements can easily be supplemented with our Natural Strontium, Trace Soft and Trace Hard supplements.
