New build... Purple Tech???

[b_braz]

Only 2 days into my very 1st ever saltwater/reef build. Please never mind my Noobness. How soon can I use Purple Tech or Purple Up? And which one is better?

[Saltydrip]

You don't need them. They are are a bit of a gimmick. What you need is to make sure you have good chemistry and that will get everything turning purple.

The key is to let your cycle take its corse and not mess with anything. Just late nature do it's thing and you will be off to a good start.

[b_braz]

Originally Posted by Saltydrip

You don't need them. They are are a bit of a gimmick. What you need is to make sure you have good chemistry and that will get everything turning purple.

The key is to let your cycle take its corse and not mess with anything. Just late nature do it's thing and you will be off to a good start.

Well I only have dry rock that is going in tonight. It's just the base. 40Lbs. Was thinking it would be nice to give it a boost before the live rock. Is there no point?

[Genetics]

Welcome!

B_braz, what size tank are you looking to setup? What kind of filtration do you plan on running?

[KafudaFish]

Use the money you would have used on it for a clean up crew instead.

There are many useless products sold to us and purple up is one of them. If you keep nutrients in check and proper levels for Ca, alk, and Mg you will grow what you want.

The other key factor is time.

[reefgeezer]

IME, Purple Up and products like it are a waste of money. If you want coralline do the following:

1. Get Ca, Alk, and Mg in check and stable
2. Make sure phosphates are as low as possible (Dry rock may leach it)
3. Seed coralline with a live rock or scrapings from someone else's tank
4. Keep lighting low
5. Wait

IMO. Coralline grows best in tanks with higher organic & nitrate levels that don't have high phosphates. If you start controlling phosphate now, you'll find the cycle will take care of the rest... in time.

[Saltydrip]

It's pointless without there being some live rock in there. If there isn't anything with the purple coralline algae introduced to the tank then it will never start on its own.

[b_braz]

Originally Posted by Genetics

Welcome!

B_braz, what size tank are you looking to setup? What kind of filtration do you plan on running?

I have a 70gallon acrylic clarity plus corner tank. Aguatop CF400-UV Canister, with bio balls and activated carbon. I plan on 40lbs dry live rock going in about 10mins from now. Then another 40lbs live rock in a week. I will post pics after I get my dry rock in.

[b_braz]

Originally Posted by reefgeezer

IME, Purple Up and products like it are a waste of money. If you want coralline do the following:

1. Get Ca, Alk, and Mg in check and stable
2. Make sure phosphates are as low as possible (Dry rock may leach it)
3. Seed coralline with a live rock or scrapings from someone else's tank
4. Keep lighting low
5. Wait

IMO. Coralline grows best in tanks with higher organic & nitrate levels that don't have high phosphates. If you start controlling phosphate now, you'll find the cycle will take care of the rest... in time.

What do you mean by low light? Better to keep my lights off for now???

[b_braz]

Originally Posted by Saltydrip

It's pointless without there being some live rock in there. If there isn't anything with the purple coralline algae introduced to the tank then it will never start on its own.

thanks for the heads up on that. I'm a noob haha. Makes sense.

[Saltydrip]

If you keep your photo period (amount of light) down it limits the algae growth.

Your in the right place when getting started! Feel free to ask all the questions you can think of. Feel free to go into the stickies at the top of the main page and start doing some research.

[wyattroa]

Originally Posted by Saltydrip

It's pointless without there being some live rock in there. If there isn't anything with the purple coralline algae introduced to the tank then it will never start on its own.

I started with dry rock and dead sand. My rocks are covered after a year very nicely. When you get your cleanup crew they are going to come in and have coralline algae on their shells. This is how my tank seeded itself.
Robert

[Saltydrip]

^^ that is very true

Your going to want to add some live rock though because there is a lot of life that comes on live rock you can't get elsewhere. I trade rock with my LFS all the time to make sure I have different types of critters and bacteria all the time.

[Napoleon I]

Originally Posted by b_braz

What do you mean by low light? Better to keep my lights off for now???

No, just be patient. It will take around 4-6 months before you start seeing it show up in little patches. It takes a very long time.
The best thing a newbie can do is CHECK YOUR SALINITY GAUGE against a known good one. I bought 3 cheap ones just to have more then one reference that reads the same.
Buy GOOD test kits and learn how to get repeatable results. Personally I love the Red Sea kits. Easy to use and easy to read.
Have a friend that has experience double check your results.
Then setup your water correctly and be patient.
Nothing good ever happens fast in a reef tank.

Jeff

[b_braz]

Originally Posted by Napoleon I

No, just be patient. It will take around 4-6 months before you start seeing it show up in little patches. It takes a very long time.
The best thing a newbie can do is CHECK YOUR SALINITY GAUGE against a known good one. I bought 3 cheap ones just to have more then one reference that reads the same.
Buy GOOD test kits and learn how to get repeatable results. Personally I love the Red Sea kits. Easy to use and easy to read.
Have a friend that has experience double check your results.
Then setup your water correctly and be patient.
Nothing good ever happens fast in a reef tank.

Jeff

Ok so dry rock is in now. Pictures coming right up. You sparked another question... What is a GOOD test kit? I see tons of them out there. Some cheap and some very pricey.

[b_braz]

Originally Posted by Saltydrip

^^ that is very true

Your going to want to add some live rock though because there is a lot of life that comes on live rock you can't get elsewhere. I trade rock with my LFS all the time to make sure I have different types of critters and bacteria all the time.

I have herd that there are bad critters that come out of live rock as well. How can you tell what ur getting is good or bad?

[b_braz]

Originally Posted by wyattroa

I started with dry rock and dead sand. My rocks are covered after a year very nicely. When you get your cleanup crew they are going to come in and have coralline algae on their shells. This is how my tank seeded itself.
Robert

How soon would you get ur clean up crew? And how many of what type for a 70gallon corner?

[b_braz]

[b_braz]

[b_braz]

[reefgeezer]

Originally Posted by b_braz

What do you mean by low light? Better to keep my lights off for now???

Low light means not blazing those LEDs at anywhere near 100%. Coralline needs some light but can bleach under intense lighting. I'd run them at 20 or 30% max.

[b_braz]

Originally Posted by reefgeezer

Low light means not blazing those LEDs at anywhere near 100%. Coralline needs some light but can bleach under intense lighting. I'd run them at 20 or 30% max.

Don't have a way of dimming. Would just the blues on a couple of hours at night only work???

[Genetics]

Sounds like a great tank to start off with!

Are you using reverse osmosis water? Any plans to use a skimmer?

The only reason I ask is because we all start out newbies at some point. The largest lesson, and most notably regret comes from not understanding the need for some high quality H2O. Are you planning a mostly live rock filtration system? Are you planning to keep fish? Coral?

[b_braz]

Originally Posted by Genetics

Are you using reverse osmosis water? Any plans to use a skimmer?

Plan on a skimmer. And yes to the RO water. I get it from my LFS. Looking for the right skimmer for the right price.

[b_braz]

So I'm ready to start the cycle. What's the best way???