newbie..is this normal??

here about ppl useing purpleup and stuff like that. what is that for

 

purple up is a way for you to give a company more money, if you are patient mother nature will gladly work wonders and give you all the coralline algae you desire.

 

so it is just a booster to speed things up, is what you are saying.

 

maybe it helps grow purple coralline on your LR? but i don't know the purpose of that

 

well allot of people like the way it looks, purple, pink , red, in the real reefs Coraline algae has been referred to as the reef builder because it grows in massive plates that corals and other organisms attach to and grow on.
just keep your mag, alk and cal in check and you'll have it growing all over.

 

what kind of test would i have to buy to test for that and what should the ranges be?

 

For good coraline growth youll need some exhisting coraline spores in your tank ... good flow is important and you'll want to keep your calcium at 400-480 PPM
Mag at 1350-1400 PPM
Alkalinity 8-10 PPM
PH 8.3
Strontium 10-16 PPM
Zero Phosphates and low Nitrate is also important for coraline growth

just your normal params for a healthy tank are what youre looking for ...

Purple up is just a bottle with these elements to help promote coraline growth, Iodine is also in Purple up ...

 

yes my water is very good. so then i should just keep up with it and let it do its own thing?