Lowering potassium

[Reef Fever]

So somehow my potassium creeped up to 450. I have been beating my head against the wall for months trying to figure out why acros were experiencing necrosis despite my major params being ideal. Finally got a test kit and tested my potassium. I was adding a little bit without monitoring it (in addition to water changes). bad idea, i know...but i digress. Aside from water changes how should i go about lowering potassium? stop water changes for awhile, or do a large water change?

For fun params are as follows:

Alk: 8dkh
Cal:410
Mg:1330
No3:1.7
Nh3:0
No2:0.005
po4:0.03
Cu:0
Cl2:0
Temp:77.1
SG: 1.026
K:450

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There is no good way aside from water changes.

Had you been adding potassium?

I don't think 450 ppm is Iikely causing necrosis, but how did you measure it?

Did you measure some new salt mix?

 

[Reef Fever]

Yes i was adding some potassium here and there without actually measuring it.

I recently decided to invest in a potassium kit (red sea) and thats where I got the reading from. The necrosis has been very slow so I was making the assumption the elevated potassium, albeit not extremely high, was enough to irritate the coral. Pests are completely ruled out as its not only acros, but a seriatopora as well. My caps have faded some, which I was thinking would be a sign of low potassium, but maybe it has the same effect at elevated levels as well?

My original thought was water changes; but anything in the maintenance realm (10-15%) and I would think it would maintain the potassium level, no? i am probably wrong though, just my thoughts.

Originally I attributed this to a delayed response from moving my tank, but it has been about 6 mos. now. Aside from a bacterial infection that may be lingering or something..this is my only idea?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I wouldn't do anything except normal water changes, which will slowly bring it back to the level in the new salt water. But if you really want to bring it down fast, more water changes are likely the best way. Certain zeolites may reduce potassium slightly, but that will be expensive and require a lot of testing as there's no stated dose as that is not their normal purpose.

 

[evolved]

I doubt 450 is causing you any harm on it's own. Some aquaculture shops have ran K at much higher levels with success.

 

[Av8Bluewater]

My K is in that range. Would like for it to go down myself but I'm skeptical of that test kit. I have the same test kit. Very hard to see the purple change to blue.

 

[RobbieMVFC]

Potassium is something that I also have to dose , but only do so after testing .
A lot of people will say with regular WC you wont need to dose However I do a 10% WC every week with a 15-20 once a month.
and I still need to dose it. each tank is different and every element should only be dosed after testing.

P.S I doubt that that's the cause of your issue.

 

[Reef Fever]

While 450 May not be detrimental, I have no idea what the level was at before I upped my water changes and stopped dosing. Chances are it was much higher, and with every water change the necrosis seems to slow that much more. It is possible its something else but what would have me stumped. I've got poly pads in there in case it's something I can't test for, and aside from a bacterial infection I have no clue. But I doubt a bacterial infection. Would be this slow, for this long. I'm fully open to ideas/suggestions though

 

[Keithcorals]

So somehow my potassium creeped up to 450. I have been beating my head against the wall for months trying to figure out why acros were experiencing necrosis despite my major params being ideal. Finally got a test kit and tested my potassium. I was adding a little bit without monitoring it (in addition to water changes). bad idea, i know...but i digress. Aside from water changes how should i go about lowering potassium? stop water changes for awhile, or do a large water change?

For fun params are as follows:

Alk: 8dkh
Cal:410
Mg:1330
No3:1.7
Nh3:0
No2:0.005
po4:0.03
Cu:0
Cl2:0
Temp:77.1
SG: 1.026
K:450

I don't know if this helps but I've had almost the exact same thing happen to me I got burnt tips and stn on a lot of my acros. My potassium was at 490 and with water changes I got it down to 450 but am still having problems. I have/had two tanks plumbed into one sump but after trying to fix the problem for almost two months I got a second sump and split the two tanks. I replaced 100% of the water in one of the tanks so the potassium in that one is now ~400. The coral I've put in that system seems to be doing better than the other but I'm still having some losses in that one as well. At this point I'm thinking with some recovering and others still not doing well that if it was the potassium that caused the problem it may take a while to fully see the amount of damage done. Any chance your acros were extruding there feeding filaments? All my other parameters are and have been where I like them and have kept them for a very long time with great success.

 

[Reef Fever]

I don't know if this helps but I've had almost the exact same thing happen to me I got burnt tips and stn on a lot of my acros. My potassium was at 490 and with water changes I got it down to 450 but am still having problems. I have/had two tanks plumbed into one sump but after trying to fix the problem for almost two months I got a second sump and split the two tanks. I replaced 100% of the water in one of the tanks so the potassium in that one is now ~400. The coral I've put in that system seems to be doing better than the other but I'm still having some losses in that one as well. At this point I'm thinking with some recovering and others still not doing well that if it was the potassium that caused the problem it may take a while to fully see the amount of damage done. Any chance your acros were extruding there feeding filaments? All my other parameters are and have been where I like them and have kept them for a very long time with great success.

Yea, on more than one occasion I saw mesenterial filaments on a few acros. Its become extremely frustrating. I also have little to no PE on a lot of acros. There are maybe a handful whose PE is unaffected, but the colors aren't as great as they used to be. Colors across the board are pretty washed out, monti caps are all pretty pale too.

 

[Keithcorals]

This really sounds like exactly what has happened to my tank. There may be something else along with the potassium that causes it because people clame that they have levels this high without a problem but it seems unlikely both of our tanks have had the same problem and the only thing out of the norm in both is the potasium. It hasn't effected the few other typs of coral in the tank a few zoas and lps. I'm going to reduce the level in the tank that is still on the high side over the next few days with water changes and hope for the best. Please post an update if things start to come around after you get your K back to normal.