Thoughts on "Purple Up"?

**oldhead** · 07-15-2008, 02:32 PM

Can't remember if any of you guys mentioned using this stuff. I'm contemplating buying a bottle but haven't seen much feedback on it. Thoughts? Thanks!

**kaybee** · 07-15-2008, 04:07 PM

There are usually two camps of thought regarding this product. For some it works wonders, for others it's either a 'snake oil' or an unnecessary product.

I purchased and used an entire 16oz bottle of it (over the span of perhaps a year or more) but decided not to continue using it. It's hard to say whether it worked (or whether the results were specifically attributal to the product or not or due to the calcium, carbonate and other trace element conditions already present in my tank).

One of the reasons why I decided to move on to different products was because the ingredients aren't clearly stated. Sure it contains calcium, aragonite, iodine, strontium and magnesium, but in what form, what concentrations and what else is in it? It's kind of vague. I like to know what I'm putting in my system.

It's worth giving a shot, but if you've already got decent calcium levels it may not be necessary.

**cocoa_pleco** · 07-15-2008, 07:47 PM

love it, i easily got 20x more coraline growth

**oldhead** · 07-15-2008, 09:25 PM

Yeah I've been getting mixed opinions about it it seems. How long were you using it before you started noticing the effects? I am thinking about getting some this weekend when I go to pick up the rest of my test kits.

**Halelorf** · 07-16-2008, 12:23 AM

I've been using it since the start of my tank and my coralline has gone through the roof. I can't say for sure it was the purple up since I also have some calcium that I dose, I do pretty good water changes religiously, and I add baking soda to my RO top off water. I would like to get a experiment tank and compair purple to liquid calcium to see the difference in growth but my floor can't support any more weight. The point when I really started to notice the growth was right around a few weeks after I started my tank. Once I noticed a little spot on my glass they grew in number and in size every day it seemed and my live rock is completely covered in it as have my heater and powerhead.

**gem** · 07-16-2008, 01:11 AM

IMO it's a waste of money and have been told by quiet experienced reefers that it can be a detriment in the long run. Coraline algae will grow in time. While your coraline algae is growing, it's using some of the excess nutrients that would normally allow pest algaes to grow. So, while coraline is good, you want it to continue to grow rather than cover your rocks and and slow in the nutrient usage. It's been suggested to chip some off the tank or powerheads, even the rocks when there's plenty of coraline, to allow the coraline to continue using up nutrients for growth rather than pset algaes.
This doesn't mean that you will never have a pest algae issue. Hair algae and cyano happen.
Just my .02

**cocoa_pleco** · 07-16-2008, 01:35 AM

Originally Posted by oldhead

Yeah I've been getting mixed opinions about it it seems. How long were you using it before you started noticing the effects? I am thinking about getting some this weekend when I go to pick up the rest of my test kits.

in a week i saw a noticeable difference, and within a month i had coraline covered in places that there was none before (heater, powerheads, etc). now, ive got massive coraline amounts, my urchin just gorges on it all. i know it was the purple up since i wasnt dosing anything else, now i dose alot more but when my tank was 5 months-8 months old all i had was purple up and man it made a difference

**oldhead** · 07-16-2008, 02:43 AM

Originally Posted by Halelorf

I've been using it since the start of my tank and my coralline has gone through the roof. I can't say for sure it was the purple up since I also have some calcium that I dose, I do pretty good water changes religiously, and I add baking soda to my RO top off water. I would like to get a experiment tank and compair purple to liquid calcium to see the difference in growth but my floor can't support any more weight. The point when I really started to notice the growth was right around a few weeks after I started my tank. Once I noticed a little spot on my glass they grew in number and in size every day it seemed and my live rock is completely covered in it as have my heater and powerhead.

What does adding baking soda to the top off water accomplish? I have heard of people adding baking soda but never got a explanation as to why.

**cocoa_pleco** · 07-16-2008, 02:44 AM

Originally Posted by oldhead

What does adding baking soda to the top off water accomplish? I have heard of people adding baking soda but never got a explanation as to why.

buffers up the PH

**oldhead** · 07-16-2008, 02:46 AM

Originally Posted by gem

IMO it's a waste of money and have been told by quiet experienced reefers that it can be a detriment in the long run. Coraline algae will grow in time. While your coraline algae is growing, it's using some of the excess nutrients that would normally allow pest algaes to grow. So, while coraline is good, you want it to continue to grow rather than cover your rocks and and slow in the nutrient usage. It's been suggested to chip some off the tank or powerheads, even the rocks when there's plenty of coraline, to allow the coraline to continue using up nutrients for growth rather than pset algaes.
This doesn't mean that you will never have a pest algae issue. Hair algae and cyano happen.
Just my .02

Now this is something that I didn't think about. But I have also been told numerous times, especially with cyano, that I'm in for it regardless as it's one of the stages a tank goes through as it matures. So now I'm not sure if I should be worried about accelerated coraline growth or not. So much is confusing to me in this hobby sometimes.