will purple up hurt tank

[Smarkalan83]

Will the cloudiness the purple up forms in the tank hurt any of my fish or coral....thanks

 

[mr_X]

yes. not the cloudiness, but the addition of calcium without an alk buffer will eventually hurt your tank, and coral.

 

[Smarkalan83]

What can I use as buffer

 

[Smarkalan83]

What are the best levels for carraline to spread fast and what is the best buffer to use if I dose purple up

 

[austinsdad]

Looks weird IMO after purple up. Natural coraline growth is much nicer looking, but you gotta seed with coraline rock that'll spread and be patient.

Nothing good in this hobby comes from rushing things. Sounds corny maybe and I've heard it about a thousand times. But it is SO very true.

 

[Smarkalan83]

Well my tank has been up bout year and half I do have it in there but its mostly green and light pink ....I just scraped the front and 2 sides yesterday but I would like more pink and purple and was just tryin to get those results...what are the best levels to be at

 

[mr_X]

are you sure your calcium level is low? high light also can prevent coralline algae from growing, as will alkalinity swings. alkalinity swings can be caused by adding something like purple up.
if your calcium level is low, i would suggest using a 2 part additive. check out bulk reef supply. they are about the cheapest for additives.
there is also a product called b-ionic.
i would invest in some quality test kits first however. salifert would be my choice.

 

[Smarkalan83]

I have been using api test kits and my calcium is 420 and according to api test Alk is normal

 

[Smarkalan83]

Actually I'm sorry I gave wrong calcium level... Here are my levels
Ca 480ppm
Ph 8.2
Alk in range of 1.7-2.8 says normal
Phos .5
High range Ph 8.4
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Ammonia 0
All tests done w api

 

[mr_X]

i've found the API calcium test kit to be about worthless. double check your results with another local reefer's salifert kit.
just remember that you can't raise calcium levels without effecting alkalinity. i find that coralline (and corals) grows well with just regular water changes.

 

[Gti_Leo]

doug have you ever used redsea test kits?

 

[mr_X]

no. never tried them.

 

[Smarkalan83]

Will poly ox help get rid of cyano bacteria??...I know red slime removed will but I used twice and for some reason my leather would not.come back to after I did neither would my xenias

 

[mr_X]

you need to do a series of large water changes to remove that from your tank.
no, kent poly ox will not remove cyanobacteria.

 

[crister13]

For the coralline you can scrape some off turn off pump and leave powerheads on. That should help!