ICP DECODE
$39 one-time — not a subscription · included free with the Starter Kit
Not a chatbot. One deep read of your actual lab data, saved to a tank file that remembers every test after it.
Illustrative reef chemistry panel. Alkalinity is below the target range and is the priority correction. Example data — your report uses your own ICP results.
Your results took days to come back from the lab. Reading them takes two minutes.
Decode compares your ICP report against your tank type, salt brand, dosing method, livestock, and maintenance history — then ranks corrections by risk, not by what’s easiest to change.
You can, and people do. Four things go wrong, and all four are quiet.
Units. Labs report the same element in mg/L, µg/L, ppm and ppb, and some report phosphate where others report phosphorus. Read the number without reading the unit and you are off by a factor of a thousand, or by a factor of three. Decode canonicalizes every field against the lab that issued it before a single value is interpreted.
Non-detect is not zero, and neither is blank. “Not detected,” “<LOD,” “0” and an empty cell mean three different things. Flatten them and you get told an element is clean when it was never measured. Decode keeps them apart and says so.
Order, and dose. A chatbot hands you a list. Decode ranks by risk to livestock, so what can hurt something this week outranks what is merely out of range, and every dose is calculated against your actual water volume by the same calculator published on this site — not estimated in prose.
It knows where corrections go wrong. Lanthanum and fish gills. Pulling phosphate down faster than corals can follow. Dosing against a single trace reading that sits at the edge of what hobby ICP can resolve. Decode carries those limits and tells you to confirm on a second panel. A general model will give you a number and mean it.
These are not hypotheticals. Reef forums document chatbot dosing math that would have crashed tanks, and dosing histories a general model quietly misremembered mid-thread.
If you would rather paste it into a chatbot first, do that. Then run the same panel through Decode and compare the two. That comparison is the whole pitch.
Decode is one turn of the BioForge Loop: test anywhere, Decode writes your plan, Core+ ships it pre-measured.
BioForge interprets data you provide. Testing is performed by the lab. Results depend on tank conditions and execution.
Decode reads an SPS tank differently than a fish-only.
Trace windows, alk drift, the metals that stall growth.
Corrections ranked so one side never pays for the other.
Forgiving, until a metal shows up.
No corals doesn’t mean no chemistry.
Real output from the Decode engine. Unedited, sections 1 and 2 of 11.
This is a real tank, not a demo. Read the lab report it was generated from → and check the numbers below against it yourself.
“A salt mix problem would drag other elements with it; an isolated aluminum spike in a tank running granular ferric oxide points at the media, so the media goes first.”
Section 01, unedited engine output. Every correction ships with its reasoning.
Not ready for Decode? Run a free reading of your ICP numbers in our calculator, or take the method with you: a field guide to the four report groups, the µg/L trap, and the reading order that stops panic-dosing. Any lab.
One client's mixed reef was losing ground to green hair algae. A Triton ICP panel showed why, and Decode turned the numbers into a clear first move for the keeper to consider.
| Element | Before | After | Setpoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phosphate | 0.581 | 0.150 mg/l | 0.018–0.07 |
| Phosphorus | 190 | 49 µg/l | 6–23 |
| Magnesium | 1177 | 1331 mg/l | 1320–1500 |
| Vanadium | 10 | non-detect | 0–3 |
| Iodine | 222 | 84 µg/l | 30–90 |
| Salinity | 33.7 | 35.2 PSU | 35 |
Decode's analysis flagged phosphate running roughly 8× over setpoint as the likely driver of the algae. Among the options for bringing phosphate down, it suggested controlled, metered lanthanum chloride dosing run through a filter sock. The keeper chose to dose as directed and shared a follow-up panel: phosphate down 74%, algae receding. Other husbandry changes over the same period may also have contributed, and several other values moved back toward range as well.
Lanthanum chloride works by binding phosphate into lanthanum phosphate, a fine precipitate. That precipitate is the reason the method needs a safety envelope. Drip it slowly into a high-flow area ahead of mechanical filtration, never straight into the display, so the solids are captured in the sock rather than passing over gills. Change the sock often; a loaded sock stops capturing. Come down in stages over weeks rather than chasing the setpoint in one pass, because pulling phosphate down fast can stress corals that have acclimated to the higher level. Watch your fish for laboured or flared gill movement and stop dosing if you see it. Skip the method entirely on systems with delicate fish or weak mechanical filtration, and follow the dosing rate on the bottle you actually own, as concentrations differ between brands.
Decode gives you analysis and suggestions. You make the final call for your tank. Results vary from system to system; this is one client's outcome, not a guarantee. When dosing any additive, follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Upload your Reef Labs Excel, paste any lab report as text, or enter values manually below.
Reef Labs: download Excel from your results page. Other labs: export PDF. Imports all 40+ elements.
If you test at home between ICP runs, enter the most recent values here. Leave blank if you rely on ICP only.
Upload what you can, tank overview, coral condition, algae growth, sump/equipment. The more context. The more precise the decode.
Drop photos here or click to select
Tank · sump · corals · algae, up to 8 images, 10 MB eachYour ICP, decoded.
Your results run through BioForge's structured decode system and issued as a full 11-section action plan.
Why only $39? You already paid the lab for the expensive part, the measurement. Decode is the thinking layer on top of numbers you own. No lab, no shipping, no subscription to justify.
If the report arrives and simply isn’t useful to you, reply to your receipt and we refund it in full. You keep the report.
Your decode is emailed automatically after checkout. If it hasn’t shown up, enter the BioForge order number from your confirmation email to re-run it.
Don't have yours yet? Check your confirmation email. If you need help, contact hello@bioforgesystems.com.
Not useful? Full refund. No fee, no forms — reply to your receipt.
Every tank carries its own biological load, organic acid output, mucus production, trace mineral consumption, that changes how it responds to the same dose. Two tanks with identical ICP results can behave differently once a different mix of coral species and biomass is factored in. That variability is real, not fine print, which is why this report is a starting plan, not a fixed answer: dose based on what your data shows, then observe your tank and recalibrate, the same way any reef practitioner works with a moving target.
BioForge Decode is educational reef husbandry guidance based on customer-provided lab results, photos, and routine information. Output accuracy depends entirely on the accuracy of data you submit. BioForge is not responsible for results derived from incorrect or incomplete input. It is not a lab test, veterinary service, guarantee of livestock outcome, or emergency response. Always dose slowly, retest before and after changes, and watch your tank as closely as you watch the numbers. If you are experiencing a rapid crash or active livestock loss, contact your LFS or a reef specialist directly.
If a technical issue prevents your report from being delivered, email hello@bioforgesystems.com and we’ll make it right. And if the report arrives and simply isn’t useful to you, reply to your receipt and we refund it in full. You keep the report. We would rather lose the $39 than have you feel taken.
Your report is typically ready in minutes. A copy will be sent to .
Preparing your decode…
Know a reefer who just got ICP results back?
Send them here. If they've been staring at a spreadsheet full of numbers and not sure what to do next. This is exactly what it's built for. You'll get $15 toward your next order if they complete a decode.
