Mixing Live rock+ Live rock Accelerators

[Ninong]

lol, I honestly didn't even realize Betsey Moore had made that article...

Betsey Moore works for Carib-Sea. The article that you posted that I deleted was written by Sally Jo Headlee of GARF touting their GARF "grunge" and included links to their commercial website.

But ya i do find that kinda ironic, and i have lost a lil faith in the secret sauce, but it has raised my Calcium to where it should be...And i will use it (when needed) untill the bottle is empty and after that i will consider a different product.

The primary ingredient in PurpleUp is aragonite sand. They say in their ad copy that it also includes ionic calcium. If so, it's certainly not a good way to dose ionic calcium compared to other products. The raison d'etre for PurpleUp is that Carib-Sea has A LOT of aragonite sand and a lot of aragonite sand silt. Why not bottle it and sell it for twenty bucks a bottle?

[zhenya]

Wow, that tank looks horrible like that....And NO thats not the look im going for.

Doh! I took that crap off the glass in sheets and it;s finally gone...

[DanMan36]

Doh! I took that crap off the glass in sheets and it;s finally gone...

You should invest in a glass cleaner

[DanMan36]

Betsey Moore works for Carib-Sea. The article that you posted that I deleted was written by Sally Jo Headlee of GARF touting their GARF "grunge" and included links to their commercial website.


The primary ingredient in PurpleUp is aragonite sand. They say in their ad copy that it also includes ionic calcium. If so, it's certainly not a good way to dose ionic calcium compared to other products. The raison d'etre for PurpleUp is that Carib-Sea has A LOT of aragonite sand and a lot of aragonite sand silt. Why not bottle it and sell it for twenty bucks a bottle?

Is Aragonite sand and silt bad for your tank ?

[Ninong]

Aragonite sand is very good for your tank but most people put it in the tank first before even adding the water or live rock. They call that the "sand bed."

[ToddTT]

Here's what my tank looked like without adding any purple up or anything else "specifically designed" for growing it. I don;t know about you all but I hated it.


Spending hours scraping this nonsense off the glass is no fun at all.

Oh man! You need some PurpleDown!!!

[Doodaa]

Oh man! You need some PurpleDown!!!

Or less blue lights

[zhenya]

Guys, this tank been dismantled since this summer, so no point in talking about it...

[Doodaa]

Guys, this tank been dismantled since this summer, so no point in talking about it...

I know, but it's like your anemone tank...legendary

[julesjt]

Here's what my tank looked like without adding any purple up or anything else "specifically designed" for growing it. I don;t know about you all but I hated it.


Spending hours scraping this nonsense off the glass is no fun at all.

Wow! that is insane, I have a new tank setup and was hoping for some coraline but I don't think I want it now

[Steve McKay]

Before I upgraded to T-5 HO lighting I had a great amount of beautiful coralline algae,as the coralline grew I did notice how it covered the pores in the rock and only thought about it as cutting off access to inverts and such.I didn't think about how the coralline was cutting off circulation to the rock hampering the biological process until I read Ninong's post about that.Thanks Ninong.Because of the new lighting and possibly other reasons I have lost a good portion of coralline,I was never overly concerned and even less so now.I would rather have good biological filtration than smothered rock,besides don't corals cover rocks.

[Ninong]

I didn't think about how the coralline was cutting off circulation to the rock hampering the biological process until I read Ninong's post about that.Thanks Ninong.

You should thank zhenya. He's the one who posted that.

[Steve McKay]

Before I upgraded to T-5 HO lighting I had a great amount of beautiful coralline algae,as the coralline grew I did notice how it covered the pores in the rock and only thought about it as cutting off access to inverts and such.I didn't think about how the coralline was cutting off circulation to the rock hampering the biological process until I read Ninong's post about that.Thanks Ninong.Because of the new lighting and possibly other reasons I have lost a good portion of coralline,I was never overly concerned and even less so now.I would rather have good biological filtration than smothered rock,besides don't corals cover rocks.

Zhenya,I made a mistake and thanked Ninong instead of you in the quoted post above.Sorry and thanks for that info.

[Bigronbo]

ok, i am very renewed to saltwater tanks. i still need to get my own test kit as i rely on the store to test my water. I saw and read the link to the An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com. My most likely stupid question is can you just buy pool supplies that balance your PH and for a good reef tank what is the best PH level?

[Ninong]

...can you just buy pool supplies that balance your PH...

No.

...and for a good reef tank what is the best PH level?

8.0-8.4

[Bigronbo]

thanks ninong. Now a few more questions. you think canister filtration is better or a sump? and why? is T5 the best lights for most reef tanks?

[Ninong]

Canister filters are not usually employed on reef aquariums. A decent protein skimmer is a much better investment than a canister filter.

Your choice of lighting depends on the size of your aquarium and what you would like to keep in it. T5 lighting if one choice that is suitable for tanks less than 28" tall. A combination of metal halides with T5 actinic supplementation is a good choice for all reef aquariums. Other lighting technologies are in development but right now metal halides are still the gold standard. Again, each situation is different and your choice must take into consideration your particular situation.

[mpwolken]

This thread is extraordinarily fun to read.

There are really only three reasonable ways to keep your reef aquarium balanced and there are a ton of good articles out there on how to employ these methods.

1.) Two part dosing
2.) Using a calcium reactor
3.) Large regular water changes with a sea salt meant for reef-keeping (has a high Calcium content)

Depending on the size of your tank, you should choose the method that suits you best. #3 is great for very small tanks. #2 is great for really large tanks where the cost benefit kicks in. #2 is great for moderately sized tanks (<200G).

[Ninong]

I saw and read the link to the An Improved Do-it-Yourself Two-Part Calcium and Alkalinity Supplement System by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com.

You should also read this article by Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley:

How to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm