Why Don't We Talk About Potassium?

[sbash]

I brought this up in the general forum and didn't get anywhere, then it occurred to me to try here instead...

I'm looking into getting some Vibrant Sea, but the reviews are mixed with it...

I have to mix up about 150 gallons for a new build, BUT I should have enough Kent Marine left for that. So Vibrant Sea would really just be for topping up the Kent mix, as well as water changes. To get the Kent salt I want, I have about a 40 minute drive (80 round trip). Amazon sells Vibrant Sea, but the potassium is through the roof, and the pH is a tad high:

Is the potassium at this level going to be a big issue? What consequences come from high potassium?

 

[ScottR]

I brought this up in the general forum and didn't get anywhere, then it occurred to me to try here instead...

I'm looking into getting some Vibrant Sea, but the reviews are mixed with it...

I have to mix up about 150 gallons for a new build, BUT I should have enough Kent Marine left for that. So Vibrant Sea would really just be for topping up the Kent mix, as well as water changes. To get the Kent salt I want, I have about a 40 minute drive (80 round trip). Amazon sells Vibrant Sea, but the potassium is through the roof, and the pH is a tad high:

Is the potassium at this level going to be a big issue? What consequences come from high potassium?

Interesting question. I’m following along. I believe - don’t quote me - ca, mg and alk build the skeleton. Corals use potassium to transport nutrients and potassium is also found inside the skeleton. But low levels of ca in your water would cause skeletons to deteriorate whereas you can probably have lower than needed levels of potassium and your corals won’t be happy - but probably won’t deteriorate as fast. WC should be enough to replace potassium.

Hoping an expert can weigh in. I’m no marine biologist.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

We do talk about potassium, and just about every element. [emoji23]

Some folks report that unnaturally elevated potassium causes color improvements for them. I don’t know if this is true or not, but if you experiment with elevating potassium, I’d adjust it slowly over time. Potassium is one of the primary ions that most cells use to regulate the flow of water and other materials across their cell membranes. Sudden changes are likely undesirable.

 

[lapin]

I recall a thread once about feeding bananas to reef fish for just this reason

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I recall a thread once about feeding bananas to reef fish for just this reason

Yes, and we showed it at the time that it is not an especially useful way to boost potassium in the water. It would take large numbers to boost potassium substantially.

There’s about 400 mg in one banana. That’s the same as in 1 liter of seawater, so to boost potassium by 40 mg, you need to add one for every 10 liters of tank water volume.

 

[sbash]

Yes, and we showed it at the time that it is not an especially useful way to boost potassium in the water. It would take large numbers to boost potassium substantially.

There’s about 400 mg in one banana. That’s the same as in 1 liter of seawater, so to boost potassium by 40 mg, you need to add one for every 10 liters of tank water volume.

lol, that is a lot of bananas!

So, all said and done, what is with the Vibrant Sea's boosted potassium formula; will it cause any issues for me?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I doubt it will cause problems if you introduce it slowly. Whether there is any benefit, I do not know.

 

[Dkeller_nc]

There have been a few reports of elevated potassium levels harming SPS corals. I honestly don't remember what those levels were, but you might be cautious with that reef salt if you're also using other products that contain potassium, such as potassium phosphate products (like Seachem Flourish).

 

[sbash]

I doubt it will cause problems if you introduce it slowly. Whether there is any benefit, I do not know.

Thanks, that is good to know, it should be a slow transition.

There have been a few reports of elevated potassium levels harming SPS corals. I honestly don't remember what those levels were, but you might be cautious with that reef salt if you're also using other products that contain potassium, such as potassium phosphate products (like Seachem Flourish).

Hmmm... so Seachem seems to think higher potassium is a good thing... Thanks, I'll see if i can dig some of those reports up...

 

[doodledreads]

I have been using AF Kalium (their name for pottasium additive), one drop for my 25g tank. My corals are doing very well, I noticed vivid colors on some. I cannot however, correlate this to Kalium dosing, as I also started dosing iodine, installed a new ATS, and improved my husbandary skills. I did read that pottasium could improve the reds and pinks of the corals, where as Iodine improves the blues and violet pigments and Fe improves greens (which makes sense as I used to dose Fe to fresh water planted tanks).

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

The first rule of Potassium is, you do not talk about Potassium!

 

[sbash]

I have been using AF Kalium (their name for pottasium additive), one drop for my 25g tank. My corals are doing very well, I noticed vivid colors on some. I cannot however, correlate this to Kalium dosing, as I also started dosing iodine, installed a new ATS, and improved my husbandary skills. I did read that pottasium could improve the reds and pinks of the corals, where as Iodine improves the blues and violet pigments and Fe improves greens (which makes sense as I used to dose Fe to fresh water planted tanks).

Interesting, what level do you keep your potassium at then?

 

[doodledreads]

Around 420 ppm based on red sea. I rarely test it though.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I add Small dose of potassium by Brightwell daily

 

[WallyB]

I just use PURE Food Grade KCL crystals that you can get a various suppliers.

And use this calculator to bring up Potassium by slow dosing/drip (Max 5 ppm increase per day) ....... (when needed)...... to my Desired Target (which for me is around 400 ppm=Natural Sea Water Level)

https://www.ultimatereef.net/pages/pot_supplement/

 

[Dkeller_nc]

One aspect of dosing potassium, along with any other inorganic compound that may be accumulated in a reef, is that it's wise to actually test for it. IIRC, Randy noted some issues with the accuracy of potassium hobbyist test kits, but even if a particular one gives a low/high reading, it's still good to know where you're starting from, and what level the test says you're at so that you can correlate the levels with what's going on with your corals.

 

[Righteous]

I’ve been dosing potassium based in Triton tests. I’m currently testing about once every 1-2 months. In my tank potassium seems to get depleted fairly consistently. I’ve got a large refugium, which may contribute to its uptake. Changing water doesn’t keep up with uptake either if I want to maintain NSW levels. Overall growth and health seems to be better when dosing, though I’m also dosing a few other traces (iodine, zinc, etc) to maintain NSW, though in much smaller amounts.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

lol, that is a lot of bananas!

So, all said and done, what is with the Vibrant Sea's boosted potassium formula; will it cause any issues for me?

You could always fill the bare spots with bananas while waiting for the colonies to fill in!

 

[Stigigemla]

To me with low Potassium the corals are getting problems. I have had reports of 340, 320 and 300. First loss of color then necrosis.
At high potassium level the fishes are getting problems. @Lasse have reported it but I have seen more. I believe at around 600 some fish species will die.
Some Potassium tests are very difficult to do. I prefer Salifert and Triton.
I wouldnt by a salt that high in potassium. There are so many better brands.

 

[|sCRIBe|]

I have been experimenting with potassium for a few months. I noticed my level dropping down and at one point was 320-330. I use pohls kbalance by kz but this wasn’t strong enough so I got kbalance strong and this has worked. Currently while bring up the potassium I have noticed the bubblegum Montipora has brighter red polyps. There was a lecture video by someone known that mistakenly raised the level to 3x or 4x recommended and got some awesome colors but after the previous comment about fish I don’t know if that’s wise.