Purple up & feeding plankton

[Nimboli12]

Id like to know what you guys think of purple up , how often you should use it, when to start and how much is too much to turn your rock purple?

Im trying to create live rock from dead rock in my 3 gallong. It has live sand but I had a problem with diatoms. That is gone now,. So can I add purple up to it now?

I bout a bottle of plankton for my soft corals. I have a couple that need indiv. feeding. The plankton is the kind you pour into the water into the flow.

 

[Northstar24]

Regarding Purple up - save your money. If you have a piece of rock with corraline on it, just maintain a healthy calcium and alkalinity level - you'll start hating the purple plague soon enough

 

[little_fish]

+1 North

I would also not use the plankton stuff. The soft corals will get everything the need from the light and the water column, adding that stuff will just feed the algae instead.

 

[yote]

+2 North on the purple up.
If you have some coralline in the tank now,just use a NEW hard bristled tooth brush and scrub what you already have.That'll cause it to release spores that will settle else where and help spread the purple plague.

If it's phytoplankton that you bought,you pretty much paid for something that your tank will naturally produce on it's own. That green busty stuff that forms on the front glass is phytoplankton.
If it's zooplankton,then some of your corals WILL use some of it,but not much.Things like tiny feather dusters,hitching corals,LPS corals and SPS corals will feed on it too.But unless you have a tank loaded with those,there's no need to waste your money.

 

[Nimboli12]

How do I know if I have a healthy calcium and alkaline level? Do buy a test kit for it? Also what about "B-Ionic" I was told to get some I was sold 2 bottles 1 for alkalinity and one for Calcium. And "Aquavitro" fuel for reefs . Should I just take these back for a refund?

The rock that in my 3 gallon tank with live sand. What can I do to speed up the live rock bacteria growth there? Ive been adding left over frozen Myses shrimp

 

[little_fish]

You get a test kit for it, but as long as you are doing regular water changes and dont have many stony corals, you really dont need to test.

And yes, i would return those and get a refund.

Adding more live rock will speed up the cycling process.

 

[Bifferwine]

A good rule of thumb to follow is to not dose anything that you test for. Most of what the LFS sells as additives are unnecessary as long as you are doing regular water changes -- that stuff is already contained in the salt mix.

 

[Nimboli12]

OK. Great. I dont have any more live rock. Im still curing dead rock. Im going to buy a couple of clown fish on LA. I'll just buy a couple pieces from them? or check out a couple other sites you guys suggested for rock.

Im so glad Im here.

 

[BL1]

I would just go to your LFS and look at their LR there. If you buy it from online there's no guarantee you'll get a piece with any color to it at all.

 

[yote]

A good rule of thumb to follow is to not dose anything that you don't test for. Most of what the LFS sells as additives are unnecessary as long as you are doing regular water changes -- that stuff is already contained in the salt mix.

Fixed that for ya Biffy.:D

 

[Bifferwine]

Thanks Yote!

 

[yote]

Thanks Yote!

Anytime Sweetie.:D