purple up enough for calcium?
 

for a whole year now i've been using carib-sea purple up to buffer my calcium. i'm wondering if this is enough or if i should supplement with another supplement specifically for calcium, such as kent liquid reactor or tech CB 2-part?

oops, nm (pls delete)

Have you been testing your calcium levels with a test kit? If so, what are the readings?

If not, you need to get a test kit ASAP. Adding chemicals to your tank without testing what the levels are actually at can be very dangerous to your reef.

o yes i've been testing calcium since day 1, calciums currently at 380, i'm just wondering if it can serve for long term use like i've been using it?

If you're happy with the level, growth in the tank, ease of dosing, why change?

Your calcium is a tad low, especially for an SPS tank. The majority of reef keepers like to keep it in the 400-430 range, but almost always above 400. Personally, I don't know everything that is in Purple Up (they don't list it, it's a secret), so I would not trust it to be the only calcium source. I also don't believe Purple Up does anything for coralline growth IMHO. If you want to continue using it though, by all means go ahead, but I would suggest that you supplement mostly with a high quality calcium supplement, and lower the usage of the Purple Up. For smaller tanks, I like to use Kent Liquid Calcium or Kent Turbo Calcium. A two part solution would be an even wiser idea, I like TLF C-Balance. :)

switching to aragamilk will give you more calcium than purple up with most of the same benifits i believe

On the bottle of Purple up I think it tells you to maintain calcium levels to a particlar number which I do not recall. But as stated above you wanna be over 400, I think going with a calcium supplement is a good idea. I just switeched to Tailored Aquatics Calcium and DKH and so far I am very pleased with the results. I do also add Purple Up on the days I dose calcium and its been working real well for coraline and my SPS.

A Ca of 380ppm is on the low side but wouldn't say unacceptable.

NSW

i agree 380 is a bit on the lower side i'm slowly bringing it up to the 400's, mark the reason i started thinking about changing is i'm finding that it's hard to get it too the mid 400's without it falling quickly back down to the 380's, is this because of my alkalinity level? (8 dkH )

It could be because of Alkalinity or Magnesium. Can you tell us your readings for everything that you test for?

calcium is now 380 and magnesium under 1100 last time i checked

had problem before as well trying to get Ca with low Mg. It goes at about 3:1 ratio.

OK so what is the supposed benefit of Purple Up? I have been using it since I started my tank 2 months ago, primarily to encourage coraline alagae. I am using Kent salt and my clacium is regularly testing at 500 although my Mg is low.

Is there any benefit to Purple Up at that level of calcium? It tests at that same level with a fresh batch of SW as it prepares for a water change.

Purple up is nothing more than a hugely overpriced calcium supplement, nothing more nothing less. You pay for packaging in a neat little bottle. It is a rip off for what you are getting. That being said it does work, but it costs a lot compared to other supplements/ways of doing things. It doesn't build coraline algae at all, good water parameters, a source or coraline to begin with build coralline algae. Even strong metal halides deter coralline...it lt thrives in a bit darker...Most of my tanks that had super corraline growth, i mean inches think were all on the undersides of rock, and all grew in the tanks that had the most vho actinics. It's present everywhere but thrices in the darker areas..and yes all colors. the more shade the darker/more intese the color (whatever it was). Compare calcium supplements, and buy the cheapest/least hassle free way for YOU do dose your aquarium. Regardless of what anyone else says. If it's convienent for you but not the way others do it, who cares. But you are paying way to much for what it does...way way to much.

honestly as far as corraline is concerned, theres nothing better, 2 weeks after i took my sand out and went bare bottom my bottom pane was already mostly dotted all over with purples and pinks, it's just not proving to hold it's buffering capability very well (in my case at least ), as for you're calcium level of 500, that seems overkill, what test kit are you using? let it slowly drop down thru precipitation

are you really finding that little use out of it as a coraline enhancer? i've found that my tank's getting much faster corraline growth than per say people who are using 2-part/1-part like liquid reactor, like mik_101's tank, much slower coralline growth. then again you might have a point, i am maintaining my alkalinity and calcium in order. interesting how you found that you're dimmer tanks are getting quickewr corraline growth, the tops of all my rock are covered and bottoms where it's dark are bare :neutral:

I'm sorry but the benefit of purple up over normal stable calcium levels, is i'm sorry to say...and mean this with no ill will...all in your head.

I have thick coraline everywhere, the thickest though was always out of direct light....and by thick i mean it looked like the LR was melting off coraline..some places i could have chiseled 3 inches in and would still be at coraline...mind you that was on a tank that had flourished for years and years...coraline doesn't walways seem to grow in everyones tanks either...some immaculate tanks seem to have none, but the above was my opinion and some of the general consesus on coraline i have read over the years. But everyones tank is a completely different environment compared to even the tank in the nxt room. But with regards to purple up it is not snake oil, just overpriced. There are quite a few different types of coraline i've noticed over the years...although if they are different in any other way than the growth pattern they show i'm not sure.

One has to remember that coraline is an algae and requires the same conditions to grow that any other algae needs...nutrients and light. It just happens to be more desirable then any other algae and is therefore a good way to soak up nutrients in a tank.



And corraline not liking bright light is just a myth. It won't be the nice dark purples and reds but the pink stuff grows like gangbusters only 6" under a 250w 10K DE MH


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ralline002.jpg


and just in case there are people out there that don't know it yet...I HATE coraline algae

I agree also that the magnesium levels are likely your cause of lower calcium levels. If you use a magnesium supplement like kents or seachem you could raise the Mg levels by about 50 ppm every couple of days over a week or so, to about 1400-1450 ppm then target your Ca at your desired level with a Ca supplement at about an increase of 15 ppm per couple of days after that.

My levels are as follows 1450 ppm Mg 440 Ca and Alk is 9.2 dKH.

I use a Calcium reactor with reef bones and Zeomag with an effluent drip rate of 80 ml/min and ph of 6.6 I have not added any other supplement for these three for over three months just check drip rates and monitor alk. check CA and MG once a month.

Pz

i know exactly what you meen marie, the biggest/thickest clump i got is barely 6'' away from a 400 watt mh, plating and growing away every day, it's competing with space with me xenia, should be interesting! ( in a slow, boring, & time-consuming sort of way :lol: )

thats exactly the parameters i'm going for, looks like i might have to balance out other parameters like my alkalinity before worrying about my calcium. although my tanks not big enough to go into a Calc.reactor i think i'm gonna start another calcium buffer in liu with my purple-up in my top-off water.

thanks again for all the comments everyone-

I am using Kent salt and Salifert test kit. That is testing my replacement water just before a water change. The tank water was at 525 the same day.

Is that all you test for? You don't test pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate, Alkalinity, etc?

Your magnesium should be around 1350. Think of Mg as the fulcrum on a teeter totter. You can't keep alkalinity and calcium up if your magnesium is very low. In your case, it is very low. Try to aim for Calcium 400-430, Alk 8-10, Mg 1350-1400. pH should be 8.0-8.4, and Am, nitrite, nitrate, and phos all 0. Not close to zero, but AT zero. :)

sigh..

Not sure why you feel a need to sigh, I wasn't trying to step on anyones toes. I was just pointing out to bv_reefer that maybe excess nutrients is the reason why he is getting better coraline growth then mik_101, not because he is using purple up.

And I really do find coraline to be as invasive as some of the "pest algaes" out there. I also realize i need to manage the nutrient levels in my tank better :mrgreen:

I am testing for all of these too. As some others have reported there was a batch of Kent that had some weird parameters. Calcium is continuously high, while Mg is low. So I have recently been dosing to get the Mg up.

My Alk has been too low. So before dosing for alk I think I am going to hold off on the purple for a few weeks to see what happens.

I am not fond of my coraline algae either :) thats why i sighed :) I like it on the rocks but never stays there. :) And yes i would agree excess nutrients will spur all forms of algae...among other things...as well all know :(

Honestly i find it easier to mix new water and adjust to what i want it to be, then add to tank. I realize you need to get wats in there already up to snuff so to speak, but make the water what you want before you put it in. Yes there have been a few instances with bad salt from kent...as well as seachem, instant ocean..i'm sure others :) which is why ...in my opinion test every batch of water before it goes in. Albiet contaiments we cannot test for can harm...but err on the side of caution :)

no no i test for all those, just thought i'd point out the important ones first..

pH 8.3 ; ammonia undetectable ; nitrite 0.25 ; nitrate 0 ; alkalinity as mentioned 8 dKH ; phosphate 0

i'll start dosing some form of magnesium in that case, think kent tech-m will do it, i've been relying on my salt mix (seachem reef salt) as a constant source for magnesium!

I had not thought of that technique, preping your SW before adding to the tank. That's no different than getting the replacement water to the correct empearature and salinity before adding to the tank. That would work once I get the tank parameters to the range they should be at.

Saves you from dosing a tank...with a high load of sps you would need to dose, unless of course you did regular water changes....which i prefer anyways. some dosing will likely be required but not as much...to very little. I'm still dialing the new tank in on everythiing, but the last one needed no dosing at all...20 gallon weekly changes did it for me. From the start though i made sure all my water had levels i wanted...then it was easy to add/change as the system used more or less or what have you.

thats true marie my nutrient levels are higher than his, thats ok the rc80 will take care of that next week :mrgreen: by the way did you see way more clarity in you're water column when you switched over to the bubble king? i actually can't wait to get the rc in there!

The difference in water clarity was apparent within 24 hrs and its been getting better and better ever since. I love my BubbleKing :lol:

I think you'll find your lights are even bluer then you thought once you get all the yellow out of the water column :mrgreen:

you're not running external are you? think thats the way i'm gonna go, too nice to be in-sump :lol:....but i've always wondered usually a ''wet'' skim means light coffee colored, but what's considered skimming wet on a Bubble King? light black?:lol:

You shouldn't have ANY nitrites show up in your tank once your tank has cycled. This shows there are some other problems going on with your tank (which likely have nothing to do with your cal, alk, or mg), but I am suspicious that you would have nitrites but no nitrates. I would get an LFS to test your water for you to double check the numbers, and make sure your kits are accurate.

You can safely raise your magnesium 100 ppm per day with no troubles. The Kent Tech-M product is Magnesium sulfate, which is epsom salt, and not the best choice as a single source of magnesium. SeaChem Magnesium is a blend of Magnesium chloride and Magnesium sulfate and is a better product imo.

I'm not familiar with the SeaChem salt, when you mix up a batch of salt and let it mix for 24 hours what salinity do you mix it to? What does the cal/alk/mg test at? If they are off to begin with, then you need to buff up your waterchange water before you even use it. I use Instant Ocean salt, and I have to add a bit of calcium, and quite a bit of magnesium to get it to the proper levels before I use it.

Personally, I really dislike Kent salt. I will take Instant Ocean over Kent any day. Be sure to buff up your waterchange water before doing a waterchange as I said above. Stopping the Purple Up dosing isn't going to raise your alkalinity. ;)

my main priority is to get that skimmer in next week and let it work away, as for the magnesium i've heard better comments about the seachem magnesium as you mentioned earlier, so i think thats the one it'll be. my nitrite problem is from nothing more than running skimmerless since day 1, and i suspect my phosphates are on the higher side too, theres alot of things that i suspect water changes don't remove that a good skimmer will.

You shouldn't have nitrites from running skimmerless. I have run many tanks skimmerless and have only had troubles with nitrites when...I was have troubles... :lol: ...and that was rarely.

what skimmer are you running on you're display myka?

Myka: I think I will be picking up some Seachem salt next week after reviewing the salt analysis report posted earlier on this thread. I have halted the Purple Up just so that I can get some tank tests without it's influence for the moment.

To date I have been using Kent Tech-M to bring the Mg up. Any others have comments regarding the Kent Mg dosing vs. Seachem Mg dosing?

Thanks