caution to purple up users...

[jbird69]

I started experimenting with purple up a couple weeks ago and was very pleased with the initial result. Great polyp extention and good color were quick results from using it.

After 2 weeks or so I have seen a decline in the coloration of some corals. I ran tests and found my dkh down to 5.

I believe purple up is a good product and it does what it says (altho expensive). It does however, force your dkh down in the process of buffering calcium.

I think purple up is a good product (I know some of you disagree so save the bashing ) but it should be used with close monitering and ideally in conjunction with a part B of 2 part to keep dkh from being driven down.

 

[Shane Hoffman]

I agree. I had great success with purple up increasing my coraline growth....I never attributed it to purple up but my dkh also dropped now that I think about it. I bet thats why....I just started dosing part b like you mentioned....

 

[seapug]

I experienced the same problem with their "Aragamilk" product when I tried it a couple years back. I'm pretty sure Purple Up is the stuff with some extra Magnesium and iodine added.

The 2 part calcium and alkalinity products available on the market are a much better way to supplement the stuff that corals and coralline algae need to grow.

 

[jenglish]

even 2 part has it's danger. THe by product is NaCl and can over time both increase salinity and put it out of balance (too much NaCl and not enough other salts)

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

it's not the purple up thats doing it, it's calcification, for every 20ppm of calcification your dkh drops 1 unit.

you need to dose for alk also if your dosing for calc

 

[jbird69]

yeah. I started the purple up and things were going swimmingly. The stuff milks the water just like (actually much worse) than my part B dkh. so I assumed (doh!) it was somehow a magic potion buffering calcium and dkh.

I will continue to experiment with it as a "part A" My livestock responded better to it than my kent tech a,b.

like earlier mention it has some mag and iodine, maybe that is the ballance my livestock responded to.