New products I picked up

[joker577]

Hey guys, had a 5$ coupon off 25$ or more bought today so I went out and picked up PurpleUp and Seachem's Reef Plus. What do you guys think?

 

[DonW]

Hey guys, had a 5$ coupon off 25$ or more bought today so I went out and picked up PurpleUp and Seachem's Reef Plus. What do you guys think?

I'd take the purple up back.

Don

 

[joker577]

Why? I've heard alot of people use it with success, and the guy there has a huge tank at home that he uses it on and he says that there's so much coralline you can't even see the rock

 

[DonW]

Why? I've heard alot of people use it with success, and the guy there has a huge tank at home that he uses it on and he says that there's so much coralline you can't even see the rock

It screws up your water chemistry, trust me. There is much more to chemistry than coraline.
What happens with that crap is you dose it into the tank. Most of it remains undissolved, it collects in anoxic zones. The anoxic zone acts just like a carx and dissolve the purple up at night when the ph is very low in those zones thus screwing up the reef chemistry.

Don

 

[CarlaW]

Personally, I wouldn't be dumping anything into your tank, before you get the thing straightened out and running well. Slow down, and be a little patient. We have all been where you are at right now, we are trying to help you not make the same mistakes we did.
Listen to folks like Don, he knows his stuff my friend. Patience is the only thing in this hobby that is solid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sihaya]

I'd take the purple up back.

Ditto. It's really nothing more than powdered aragonite and iodine.

 

[blind1993]

it will screw up ur ph so bad u will need to add mroe things and well u dont want to do that.

 

[joker577]

i use marine buffer for my ph

 

[DonW]

i use marine buffer for my ph

Probably not a good idea either. Most will raise alk and mess up the balance. I'd just stop adding anything until you get a understanding of the basic chemistry.

Don

 

[joker577]

That's reef buffer, I read about it at the store cause I was like hmm what's the diff between marine buffer and reef buffer, mine just raises it with no other effects, reef buffer raises alk also

 

[DonW]

That's reef buffer, I read about it at the store cause I was like hmm what's the diff between marine buffer and reef buffer, mine just raises it with no other effects, reef buffer raises alk also

There is no reason what so ever for you to be buffering ph. Again I'd stop adding and start reading.

Don

 

[joker577]

I don't buffer all the time...only when I do water changes of larger proportions

 

[DonW]

I don't buffer all the time...only when I do water changes of larger proportions

Again still no need. Do them right and there will be no problem or need to buffer.

Don

 

[sihaya]

Again still no need. Do them right and there will be no problem or need to buffer.

Hmm... I don't know about that. I don't know too many people who don't need to add a little baking soda and/or calcium to their tanks at least every once in awhile.

 

[DonW]

Hmm... I don't know about that. I don't know too many people who don't need to add a little baking soda and/or calcium to their tanks at least every once in awhile.

Go back and read the thread, were discussing PH buffer.

Don

 

[sihaya]

SeaChem Marine Buffer is sodium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and potassium salts of carbonate, bicarbonate, chloride, sulfate, and borate. So, basically, it's baking soda with some added trace elements, magnesium and calcium.

I'm totally in agreement with you about the trace elements. However, I do think you can do proper water changes and still need to add calcium and/or carbonate/bicarbonate (and maybe even magnesium) from time to time.

 

[joker577]

So your saying all the other things like calc and kh will keep my Ph in check?

 

[sihaya]

So your saying all the other things like calc and kh will keep my Ph in check?

Alkalinity is (more or less) a measure of the water's buffer capacity (i.e. it's ability to resist changes in pH). Calcium will lower your alkalinity while carbonates/bicarbonates will raise it.

If your pH is low, it's probably because the oxygen levels in your tank are low (or your CO2 levels are high -- the two are related). In fact, it's almost poetic how much our tank's water chemistry is like that of our own blood.

 

[DonW]

So your saying all the other things like calc and kh will keep my Ph in check?

Basicly when you do a water change you need to make sure that the water that your using is balanced to begin with. PH will fall into place on its own. Some salts need some extras. For example Io needs a little ca and mg to bring it into balance with the typically high alk.
Using crap in a bottle that is all in one concoction is purely a waste of time money and effort. You have no clue what you adding in what amounts.

A typical water change of 80 gallons for me with IO would need the addition of 6 tbls of MG suppliment and 12 tbls of ca chloride. The ph will go up to 8.2 after 24 hrs of mixing. Now if I were to use the all in one bottle, there would be no possible way to balance the mixture.

Make more sense.
Don

 

[sihaya]

Using crap in a bottle that is all in one concoction is purely a waste of time money and effort. You have no clue what you adding in what amounts.

Now that I agree with. Though it seems convenient to have so much in one, it really isn't because you can't know what exactly you're doing. This is why I just use baking soda and calcium chloride (and/or kalk).