KCI Potassium Chloride As A Coral Dip

[ScottB]

So my guess is this dip will be effective against red and black bugs? I've never had either thankfully but also don't want them. @ScottB I've used melafix as well. I wonder if KCl would be better for things other than AEFW?

From what I have read, KCl will NOT kill red/black/white parasitic copepods -- although I find that hard to believe given how quickly it kills everything else.

I am still trying to confirm whether or not I have any of these critters.

Anybody think this is red bug or white bug? This is 400X so these buggers are small, guessing maybe like 40-50 microns?

(Ignore the speeding small cell amphidinium. Look at the barely moving thing with ciliates.)

 

[drawman]

From what I have read, KCl will NOT kill red/black/white parasitic copepods -- although I find that hard to believe given how quickly it kills everything else.

I am still trying to confirm whether or not I have any of these critters.

Anybody think this is red bug or white bug? This is 400X so these buggers are small, guessing maybe like 40-50 microns?

(Ignore the speeding small cell amphidinium. Look at the barely moving thing with ciliates.)

It would be nice for those of us with scopes/magnification (and those who have confirmed pests) to band together to do kill tests that are repeatable (I know identification is always the problem here and there may be multiple species that are clinically described as one in the hobby). It does seem odd that it would kill other pods so quickly and have no effect. Is this your dip of choice at the moment?

 

[ScottB]

It would be nice for those of us with scopes/magnification (and those who have confirmed pests) to band together to do kill tests that are repeatable (I know identification is always the problem here and there may be multiple species that are clinically described as one in the hobby). It does seem odd that it would kill other pods so quickly and have no effect. Is this your dip of choice at the moment?

KCl is my dip of choice for AEFW for sure. It takes no time at all to kill aefw dead dead dead. 5 minute dip is overkill; AEFW begin to dissolve before then.

The test dip with Interceptor was to determine whether or not I have red/white bugs, a question which remains outstanding for me.

 

[pigmo]

we saw a recent post that @FarmerTy and @najer both use potassium chloride too.

Post in thread 'FarmerTy's 215-gallon SPS Tank' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/farmertys-215-gallon-sps-tank.207702/post-8564471

we bought a bottle of polyp lab primer, it was so freakin expensive, like $40 to make like ~5 gallons of dip.

we're moving to amazon powder

yes, don't see why this thread is not more popular! thanks for the clarity @ScottB

https://reefbuilders.com/2021/04/21...ed-to-effectively-treat-brown-jelly-ciliates/

 

[FarmerTy]

we saw a recent post that @FarmerTy and @najer both use potassium chloride too.

Post in thread 'FarmerTy's 215-gallon SPS Tank' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/farmertys-215-gallon-sps-tank.207702/post-8564471

we bought a bottle of polyp lab primer, it was so freakin expensive, like $40 to make like ~5 gallons of dip.

we're moving to amazon powder

yes, don't see why this thread is not more popular! thanks for the clarity @ScottB

https://reefbuilders.com/2021/04/21...ed-to-effectively-treat-brown-jelly-ciliates/

I’ve been using it as my dip of choice since 2015. Works wonders... nukes everything... and if you buy it as water softener pellets at Home Depot, it’s like a lifetime supply for most for about $40. I still have the same bag I’ve been using for 6 years now and I would guess I dip a lot more than the average hobbyist.

Now black, white, and gray “bugs” I’m not 100% sure on. I saw some white bugs in my backup/Qt system and nuked the tank with 8x interceptor twice... a week apart. Never saw them again but I suspect they came in on my mariculture colonies. That means they survived the KCl dip. At least that’s my current theory right now.

It’s funny you linked that article on brown jelly ciliates as my buddy and I were just talking about that last week after he imported a bunch of mari colonies and they came in with this brown jelly on some of them and it set off a chain reaction in his tank and killed almost all of the new additions as well as other pieces in his system. I told him about the brown jelly being ciliates from the reefbuilder article and how reef primer worked to kill them. I also said it’s just potassium salts.

So the theory was I’ve never encountered this brown jelly ciliate because I use KCl on everything coming in and we now know it’s effective against brown jelly ciliates. Makes it and even better dip than I imagined before.

 

[pigmo]

@FarmerTy could you share which bag you use and dosage? ;Clown

and have you ever dipped a nem in it lol?

Water Softener Salt - Water Softeners - The Home Depot

Get free shipping on qualified Water Softener Salt products or Buy Online Pick Up in Store today in the Plumbing Department.

www.homedepot.com

 

[FarmerTy]

@FarmerTy could you share which bag you use and dosage? ;Clown

and have you ever dipped a nem in it lol?

Water Softener Salt - Water Softeners - The Home Depot

Get free shipping on qualified Water Softener Salt products or Buy Online Pick Up in Store today in the Plumbing Department.

www.homedepot.com

Never did a nem but never felt the need. I’m also like 90% acros.

What I got exactly is in this thread as well as my method.

Triple dip - combo

So, I've been having fun prophylactically dipping all my SPS before gluing everything to their final spots. The reason I've decided to do this you ask? Well, I've decided my relaxed dipping methods without QT for corals is going to end now. I have too much money in livestock at this point to...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Coronus]

This is what I ended up buying after a-lot of research. $18 for 2.2 pounds which I dip in batches of 2-3 cups of water. Its high purity and food grade. It will last me quite a while. What I like most is its responsibly safe. I have dipped only acros so far but a few Homewreckers , Strawberry shortcake, Red Dragon, and 3 Orange Passions made it out great. The dip killed some mini serpent stars, copepods, amphipods in a matter of 20-30 seconds. The corals seemed unaffected.
I used a 1/4 teaspoon of powder mixed in 2 cups of tank water. Dip for 2 minutes.

 

[FarmerTy]

Here’s 40 lbs of it for $30. I’ve been using a bag for 6 years now and still have 1/3 of the bag. Main downside for getting it bulk like this is granule size is random... small pieces and big pieces. I just crush and use.

For those worried about purity, it’s just being used for a dip. You’ll use it for 10-15 mins and toss it all away. If you were dosing your tank potassium chloride to raise potassium, I could understand using a more pure source. I’ve used this for 6 years with predominately acro frags and can’t contribute losing any frags to using it. We’re talking thousands of frags and hundreds of colonies dipped in it and everything was fine. I can only speak for acros as that’s what I use it for.

 

[Coronus]

I would love to use this as a way to mix a 1 gallon stock solution of Potassium to dose the tank when I need to raise potassium @Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I recommend food grade when using it to boost potassium, which is cheap enough. Iherb is a common brand.

Use this calculator:

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

Some brands:

https://www.iherb.com/pr/Now-Foods-Potassium-Chloride-Powder-8-oz-227-g/777

 

[The Opinionated Reefer]

A few months back, I thought this was an interesting video on the topic.

Could you use reef primer with this method?

Also, has anyone else tried it? I have AEFW and I am not prepared to break all the encrusted acro's off the rock work and dip them. This would effectively destroy my tank.

 

[DrZoidburg]

KCl make sense to me its used in lethal injections. I don't know what it would do to coral though.

 

[DrZoidburg]

@FarmerTy That's a pretty good source it has to be if used in drinking water. Its also what I use.

 

[madlos123]

Have anyone tried this dip for other corals?
I tried it with torch, pocillopora, anacopora without any problem.

 

[ScottB]

Have anyone tried this dip for other corals?
I tried it with torch, pocillopora, anacopora without any problem.

My montis did not like it and the MENS I had at the time were not bothered by KCl.

It is my exclusive dip for acros, but that is it for me so far.

 

[SamsReef]

Have anyone tried this dip for other corals?
I tried it with torch, pocillopora, anacopora without any problem.

KCL dip works wonders on acros and Zoas. Some LPS, it is divastating. My Todd’s torch starting blistering and disintegrating in KCL saltwater…do not use KCL saltwater with Todd’s torch.

Sam

 

[robanister]

My sps love antibiotics...lol considering a kcl dip with amoxacillin for future dips.

 

[ScottB]

KCL dip works wonders on acros and Zoas. Some LPS, it is divastating. My Todd’s torch starting blistering and disintegrating in KCL saltwater…do not use KCL saltwater with Todd’s torch.

Sam

Yes. Any fleshy types I would avoid KCl. Duncan, torches.

 

[AquaLogic]

we saw a recent post that @FarmerTy and @najer both use potassium chloride too.

Post in thread 'FarmerTy's 215-gallon SPS Tank' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/farmertys-215-gallon-sps-tank.207702/post-8564471

we bought a bottle of polyp lab primer, it was so freakin expensive, like $40 to make like ~5 gallons of dip.

we're moving to amazon powder

yes, don't see why this thread is not more popular! thanks for the clarity @ScottB

https://reefbuilders.com/2021/04/21...ed-to-effectively-treat-brown-jelly-ciliates/

Just to be safe, which potassium salt is in Primer? Which powder would I need to get to replicate it? It is far too expensive for what it is.

-Edit- Never mind, figured it out!