good thread
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I want to treat just in case, but a 40lb bag? Sheesh, anyone wanna split a bag in SD?
Thanks for the thread!
*edit* Wait, 1 pound per gallon?
1lb KCL for every 50 gallons tank volume
Sorry bout that now I see where the confusion set in....Thank you for clarifying.
I recognize that AEFW can be a very serious issue for some folks, so what seems like a pretty extreme measure might be appropriate for some situations.
FWIW, this is a massive burst of potassium, and might be toxic to many creatures. It takes the normal 400 ppm to about 1660 ppm.
There are not many studies of potassium toxicity in marine creatures that I have seen because it would be a highly unusual event for it to become greatly elevated.
But assuming it kills both worms and fish, and causes corals to slime, I'd guess that it may kill a lot of creatures in the tank and folks might want to remove as many creatures as possible. Unfortunately, it may be the not easy to remove things (like other worms) that may be hit the hardest.
The subsequent water changes should be effective at bringing down the potassium as it won't appreciably bind to surfaces the way phosphate does. I think it might be an open question whether repeated treatments are better than one extended treatment time, but if it works, it seems a good way to go.
I read this treatment on a different forum over the weekend. Great thread, BTW.
I don't have any AEWF or red bugs but I wanted to test the spike and drop in K on a frag.
This past Sunday, I made a fresh cut of my red tabling milli. Here it is just after cutting:
I then computed that I need one teaspoon of KCl per 1/2 gallon of tank water, that was already at 390 ppm, to get it to about 1600 ppm.
I mixed the water in a bucket with Brightwell's Potassion-P, placed some in a plastic bag and dropped the frag in it:
I floated this in the tank so that the change in water temperature wouldn't be an issue.
After the 30 minute dip, I put it on a plug and took this picture:
It looked like there were no issues. (Note that this acro's growth tips are white, that's not bleaching.)
Here's a picture of it yesterday, roughly 24 hours after the dip:
Still looking great!
I understand that it is a half pound KCl per gallon, not half teaspoon. On another forum discussing this subject:DFW wrote: "Are you saying that you would add 100 pounds of KCl to a tank that has 100 gallons of water? And then drain all of the water and replace with fresh salt water?"
Laser wrote: "works out to 1lb of KCL for every 50 gallons tank volume, let sit in tank 30 minutes, then commence with the water changes."
How long does it normally takes for them to hatch? Die you cursed pest eggs!
From everything that I have ready the common belief currently is 14 days. Kate Rowlison is doing extensive research on exactly that question so I have been actively trying to get in touch with her. If anyone knows how to reach her please have her contact me to discuss.
That being said I becoming a bit concerned with the eggs---I.E. the bottom left one in the zoom-- as you can see what may be tentacles sticking out? Maybe I am getting a bit paranoid watching these booogers too long....
Mr. Saltwater Tank, a.k.a. Mark Callahan, interviewed her. Maybe it's easier to get in touch with him to get in touch with her.
If it's 1 pound for 50 gallons, it's 1/50 of a pound per gallon or 1/100 of a pound per 1/2 gallon. .01 pounds is equivalent to 4.5 grams and using the following reference, 4.5 grams of KCl equals 1 teaspoon.
Mass-Volume Equivalents of Common Chemical Solids