Purpleup?

[scott79]

i just bought purpleup (which is used to accelerate the growth of coralline alage) the bottle says to "place in the sump, near a powerhead outlet, or any high flow area o the system for rapid dispersal" however, i do not have a sump. So should i just add it directly into the tank?? pleaaase help!

 

[markeo99]

you can add it in front of a powerhead although I do not recomend using it much unless you can test alk calcium ph cause it can mess them up basicaly it is a calcium supplement. you get alk and calcium to where it need to be and coraline will become a nuisance algae

 

[alyssia]

All it did for me was mess up my calcium.

 

[scott79]

is having too much calcium a bad thing??

 

[gb387]

Like others have said, watch the calcium... been there done that! I have the biggest bottle of purple up you can buy and I have never really used it since I started testing calcium.

 

[markeo99]

1 it precipitates and looks like powder over everything
2 it messes up ph
3 it messes up alk
mainr rule of thumb if you dont test for it dont add it
If your using instant ocean it prob wont hurt anything
reef salt then it might have issues

 

[fau8]

I have it and have found it to really mess up my water balence.

 

[mr_x]

it also has been known to fuel nuisance algae. use a 2 part additive like b-ionic if in fact your calcium is low.

 

[tomato clown]

When I restarted my tank I had a cal. level of less than 20ppm, so Purple up was a feasable solution to regenerate the advancement. I added nothing except the purpleup directly to the tank once a week for 2 months then checked my level and was reading over 500ppm, so I stopped. After waiting another 3 weeks my cal. level was down to 460ppm..
Yes it boosted the systems coraline growth and now I only keep level with b-ionic.
Purple up is fine to add directly to the tank, but as stated drop it in front of a PH or it's not going to mix very well. Your tank will turn a funky shade of hazy purple for a few hours as well, so don't let it bother you too much.
The final question is, Do you really need Purpleup? I ask because it doesn't give you coraline it only basically helps with what coraline needs to grow and really will not benifit much else.
This is how the tank will look after a dosing of purpleup. Note the hazy purple coloring

 

[jmick]

I think the general consensus is that it's a waste of money and a poor product. If you find your calcium and alk levels are low then you should drip kalk (can pick up a big container of Mrs. Wages for $3 and it'll last months and months).

 

[dogfaceman]

just grab a bag of reef crystals, it has everything you need to get some good coralline algae

 

[flricordia]

I tryed it and didn't see any difference in the nano it went into then using kalk. Kalk gives better results IMO. I too had a bottle about 2/3 unused that finally found its way into the trash.

 

[flricordia]

Originally Posted by Jmick
http:///forum/post/2733810
I think the general consensus is that it's a waste of money and a poor product. If you find your calcium and alk levels are low then you should drip kalk (can pick up a big container of Mrs. Wages for $3 and it'll last months and months).
+1

 

[mr_x]

Originally Posted by dogfaceman
http:///forum/post/2733936
just grab a bag of reef crystals, it has everything you need to get some good coralline algae
reef crystals is a little low on calcium.
kalkwasser is ok to keep your calcium level where you want it, but i really think that to raise calcium levels, you should use a 2 part supplement. especially new reefers, who tend to not check their alk levels and keep dripping kalkwasser until they see a decline in their corals.
i feel that a 2 part supplement is alot safer.

 

[rotarygeek]

I used it for about two weeks, and it gave me a great improvement in my coraline algea. But it also fueled alot of Hair algea and red slime algea. So use at your own risk.

 

[donald]

I bought some and used it for a while and didnt see any difference. I still have a ton of it and it just takes up space. It did spike my calcium, so test for it if you plan on using it. I dont think it is worth it. Just change your water regular, use a good salt mix, and use good lighting. Be patient it will grow and then you can fight it just like the rest of us. I say fight it cause it grows everywhere and you will have to scrape it off everything!