Red Sea Salt - High Mo and Low K

sluicebox · Dec 23, 2013

I know that several of the MTRC members are using the Red Sea Salt because of price, availability, quick shipping from Pet Solutions, etc. I've never used anything else in my tanks.

But, I am experiencing a couple of issues with Mo concentrations of >0.3 ppm and K concentrations of <150 ppm in the newly mixed water. These concentrations have been confirmed by several tests sent to AWT over the last few months. Has anyone else noticed this? I thought bio-pellets might be the cause of reduced K but it is not. The K concentration noted above are the same in the newly mixed water that has never touched bio-pellets

I have started dosing Thrive K but it is not cheap. I do not know how to reduce the Mo concentrations. I've read that Mo concentrations above 0.12 are toxic and promote growth of cyano. My corals are doing OK in one of my tanks but the cyano is a problem in both tanks. (I know.....I maybe still overfeeding.)

Any comments, thoughts, or ideas?

ToXIc · Dec 23, 2013

hey Bob i was dosing KZ's k-balance but because of price i may start using the RSM k.

bknapp · Dec 23, 2013

I've been thinking of changing salts for a while, I've been using Red Sea since the tanks inception but feel there are better mixes out there.

pickupman66 · Dec 23, 2013

what is Mo?

NeveSSL · Dec 23, 2013

pickupman66 said:
what is Mo?

+1. I can't figure out what that is.

Brandon

sluicebox · Dec 23, 2013

NeveSSL said:
+1. I can't figure out what that is.

Brandon

Where did you guys put your periodic tables? Mo is molybdenum.

NeveSSL · Dec 23, 2013

I think I left mine in my high school locker! Haha!

Brandon

pickupman66 · Dec 23, 2013

seriously???

molybdenum how do you even test for that?

ToXIc · Dec 23, 2013

sluicebox said:
Where did you guys put your periodic tables? Mo is molybdenum.

bob you just broke this thread....

rcmike · Dec 23, 2013

How much Mo should it have? And should we also test for Larry and Curley?

.AcroKiller. · Dec 23, 2013

Look into seachem aquavitro fuel it has most of essential elements I add this to my Water twice a week

sluicebox · Dec 23, 2013

iiluisii said:
Look into seachem aquavitro fuel it has most of essential elements I add this to my Water twice a week

Luis,

That product contains Mo. I don't think that would help when the concentrations are already too high.

sluicebox · Dec 23, 2013

rcmike said:
How much Mo should it have? And should we also test for Larry and Curley?

NYUK, NYUK, NYUK!

From the AWT website:

Molybdenum (Mo not Moe) is found in many common additives and at highly elevated levels in most salt mixes and so a vast majority of reef tanks demonstrate a level 10 to 50 times higher than natural levels. 0.12 mg/L is the upper toxicity limit for Molybdenum, the point at which negative effects can begin to manifest themselves. You should suspend the use of any additives containing molybdenum. If your level is significantly higher than acceptable you may benefit from a partial water change to reduce this level, though your salt mix may be a contributor to the elevated level itself. Molybdenum is important for the biological processes of bacteria, and may be of some benefit to corals as well. High levels of molybdenum are known to encourage blooms of slime algae or cyanobacteria.

rcmike · Dec 23, 2013

I don't really know if I would trust their results and recommendations anyway. Here is a quote from Randy Holmes-Farley about them. From a quick search it seems they aren't the most accurate.

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I would not do anything about those high readings, aside from not using supplements that contain them.

I do not agree with their commentary, in some cases. In certain cases, it is simply ludicrous (like iodide being a strong oxidizer; it is not even a weak oxidizer; they are confusing iodine and iodide). My suggestion is to not take chemical advice from them if they make such simplistic mistakes.

I do not know if the value is accurate, as they have had certain testing problems in the past, but if real, the calcium is way, way too low.

pickupman66 · Dec 23, 2013

rcmike said:
How much Mo should it have? And should we also test for Larry and Curley?

Mike , you about killed me. I was eating my dinner when I read this. Was all I could do not to spit it across the table

rcmike · Dec 23, 2013

pickupman66 said:
Mike , you about killed me. I was eating my dinner when I read this. Was all I could do not to spit it across the table

It was the first thing that popped into my head. I couldn't resist.

Dowtish · Dec 24, 2013

I have never seen a single thread about this particular element. If it were truly an issue you would think somewhere along the way some of the more advanced reefers would have delved into deeper. Maybe I'm wrong and have just skipped over it, but it seems to me that if this, along with strontium being an actual parameter that we would need to test for I would have heard about it by now.

I think API makes a 3 stooges starter test kit though.:madgrin:

.AcroKiller. · Dec 24, 2013

Dowtish said:
I have never seen a single thread about this particular element. If it were truly an issue you would think somewhere along the way some of the more advanced reefers would have delved into deeper. Maybe I'm wrong and have just skipped over it, but it seems to me that if this, along with strontium being an actual parameter that we would need to test for I would have heard about it by now.

I think API makes a 3 stooges starter test kit though.:madgrin:

Well one think i can say is that I have notice the difference after dosing fuel,stronium and potassium