purple up

[irieboy]

any tips on using purple up for a 14gal biocube. I just wanted to know if anyone had any success with this product. thanks

[brian92]

Some people think its great but its just calcium I think. Do you test for calcium. I saw a thread just like this last week

[irieboy]

yeah it's at about 430 i use sea chem adv and just thought if it would give it a boost. the purple up that is

[StevieT]

don't over dose. use one or the other. Calc 420-480 constant is best

 

also watch alk

[Rgardner]

It worked well for me in the beginning then the results started to die down. I loved the colors that were added to the rock, light green, some pinks and purples but not hardcore coraline which I had expected. I have been running it over some tonga pcs in my 2.5. I have recently let up on my dosing which I now do once a week. I posted a picture which shows my rocks after using purple up for 2.5 months.

[Polly]

I've read that a lot of people have great results, but I dosed with it and ended up with red slime. I haven't dosed is 3 months and my calc is 440 as of yesterday. I do weekly water changes, so I think I'm good now.

 

Thanks,

Polly

[mmelnick]

it works great, but be careful ... as stevieT said watch your alk. It has a built in bufffer, which can actually be counterproductive in large doses. Just take it easy and it should render good results. I ahve been using it since I started my tank.

 

Check out the before and after pics in my thread. It is linked in my sig.

[The Propagator]

Purple up is the biggest scam going.

Its like $15.00 a bottle locally and all it is is calcium.

[mmelnick]

Purple up is the biggest scam going.

Its like $15.00 a bottle locally and all it is is calcium.

 

Actually it is a balanced mixture of calcium and iodine with a built in buffer, it was thought our really well for an "easy dose" type configuration. The only problem is that most people don't test for iodine and only assume that it is being consumed at a similar rate to calcium.

[The Propagator]

In a nano reef environment iodine will be replaced with water changes if you using a quality salt and are performing regular water changes.

You shouldn't have to worry about iodine unless you have a heavy bioload of softies, a heavy biload in general, or your using carbon regularly.

 

I think the stuff is crap. No matter what the bottle says.

[intheb0x]

i also started using it and ended up with red slime. it seems to help b ut i had purple growth everywhere before dosing with it so i thought it would boost it.

guess not but not worth the green slime.

[fishkid714]

i hate it ... i used to use it but it seamed like one cap would but my cal. in the 600's now i use fiji gold works perfect love it, buy it, its cheap

[xJoshx]

just dose kakwalser or how w/e it's spell cheaper and lasts longer.

[bdare]

Purple up is the biggest scam going.

Its like $15.00 a bottle locally and all it is is calcium.

 

Not only is it just calcium, but it's aragonite which means it won't dissolve. WASTE OF MONEY! If you want to grow coraline keep Ca, Alk and Mg in check and keep phosphates LOW. Don't buy snake oil.

[The Propagator]

Yup and so is araga-milk.

GARBAGE.

More bioavailable my ass !

[imisky]

i have heard of some people say when you use purple up and test your water ( not right away of course ). The results of i believe.... Ca OR Alk returns a false result ( someone correct me which one is the one that gets messed with ). This is due to the partical aragonite thats messing with the test.

 

I read that somewhere and cant find it. or i would provide the link

[The Propagator]

TRUE.

If it cant dissolve it won't absorb into the system.

[chuckfullservice]

If you want coralline add a piece of rock that has has some on it ,does calcium at 480ppm wait 6 months you'll be scraping it of your glass like me. It needs lots of calcium to grow and light !

[rhunter513]

Not only is it just calcium, but it's aragonite which means it won't dissolve. WASTE OF MONEY! If you want to grow coraline keep Ca, Alk and Mg in check and keep phosphates LOW. Don't buy snake oil.

 

I hesitate to post in the 'advanced topics" forum for fear of being banished to the beginners forum again, I sure hope Maeda is not watching...but here goes.

 

I agree there is no magic to coralline growth. If you are using a good salt Mg will be good with weekly water changes. Use a two part buffer like B-ionic for alk and Ca. My tank is 5 months old now and has awesome coralline growth. Most of my back wall is covered. I have been dosing B-ionic daily since i started the tank and doing weekly 10% water changes since for weeks after starting the tank.

[SPS20]

Purple-UP is no substitute for using proper practices to maintain Alk/Ca+ levels. IMO, such "one bottle does it all" products are utter garbage. ANY product which claims to supply significant amounts of both Ca+ and Alk in one bottle is crap. You simply cannot dissolve alot of both in one liquid, which means such products are essentially precipitate in a bottle. You can get the same result by grinding up some coral skeletons into a powder and dumping them in. What result is that, you ask? Milky water with no appreciable increase in Ca+/Alk levels.

 

Purple-UP is, imo, crap. If you want to grow coraline algae, monitor and control your Ca+/Alk levels with a 2-part, kalkwasser, a Ca+ reactor, or with separate powdered components such as the seachem products. With the exception of Kalkwasser, the basic principles of chemistry prevent you from providing both Alk and Ca+ in significant amounts in one substance. It has never worked, and never will. If you want proof, try mixing a little of part A and B of a two-part buffer system together in a glass, and watch what happens. (Be careful when you do this, the resulting reaction creates *alot* of heat.)