KCI Potassium Chloride As A Coral Dip

[Sallstrom]

Old thread but I would like to bring it back to life

Just found lab grade potassium chloride from another experiment and would like to test it as a dip against AEFW and red bugs.
How do you mix it and for how long do you dip?
I've read 1500-1600ppm K for 5 minutes. Is that a good start or is it better to start at a lower concentration perhaps?

Thanks in advance!

 

[MentalNote]

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

 

[Coronus]

What a smart way to deal with them.

 

[Coronus]

I wanted to start trying this as a dip but could never find a formula or concentration to use.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'd be a bit wary of assuming the potassium is having that effect. It might, but a simple salinity shift might get them, as might impurities in the potassium product which maty change from supplier to supplier.

 

[dragon99]

How significant is the salinity shift of 3g KCl / 1L of water? It looks like it might be around 4ppt, does that sound right?

I'd love to read more of this article, but can't find a freely available version

Effects of potassium concentration and osmotic pressure of sea water on the cell-turgor pressure of Chaetomorpha linum - Marine Biology

The unicellular littoral alga Chaetomorpha linum is especially capable of maintaining its cell-turgor constant by regulation of the internal osmotic pressure, when the salinity of the sea water is altered. The decrease or increase of the external potassium concentration is seen to be an...

link.springer.com

" The decrease or increase of the external potassium concentration is seen to be an important cause of this turgor regulation"

 

[Sallstrom]

Now we've tested two concentrations of K, made of KCl mixed with tank saltwater. The product used is this:

Potassium chloride ≥99%, GPR RECTAPUR®

CAS: 7447-40-7 MDL: MFCD00011360 EINECS: 231-211-8

uk.vwr.com

The first test we did was yesterday, with 1g per litre (4g per gallon). We dipped five different species of Acropora. I wanted to see how they reacted and if anything would fall off.
So in this dip gammarus, seastars and small tube worms died or got paralysed after just a few seconds. I could not find any AEFW, but I were not expecting any. "Unfortunately" we don't have that much AEFW at the moment
I looked like this dip were pretty potent, so I just dipped maximum 3 minutes. Acropora echinata I just dipped for 20-30 seconds. All of the corals looks okay today. The Acropora echinata didn't look happy right after the dip, but better today.

Today we tried a bit lower concentration. 0,75g per litre(3g per gallon). Sea stars, brittle stars, gammarus etc fell off, but were still alive after 10+ minutes. I dipped three species for five minutes, and they were all fine after one hour back in the tank.

So the first dip, right me if I'm wrong, I think we had about 940 ppm K.
The secong dip about 800 ppm K.
The K in the tank water was at 416 ppm two weeks ago when we sent in ICP tests to Triton Lab. So thats the number I've just for calculation.

I will do more tests since we got a lot of corals and have had lots of AEFW

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Now we've tested two concentrations of K, made of KCl mixed with tank saltwater. The product used is this:

Potassium chloride ≥99%, GPR RECTAPUR®

CAS: 7447-40-7 MDL: MFCD00011360 EINECS: 231-211-8

uk.vwr.com

The first test we did was yesterday, with 1g per litre (4g per gallon). We dipped five different species of Acropora. I wanted to see how they reacted and if anything would fall off.
So in this dip gammarus, seastars and small tube worms died or got paralysed after just a few seconds. I could not find any AEFW, but I were not expecting any. "Unfortunately" we don't have that much AEFW at the moment
I looked like this dip were pretty potent, so I just dipped maximum 3 minutes. Acropora echinata I just dipped for 20-30 seconds. All of the corals looks okay today. The Acropora echinata didn't look happy right after the dip, but better today.

Today we tried a bit lower concentration. 0,75g per litre(3g per gallon). Sea stars, brittle stars, gammarus etc fell off, but were still alive after 10+ minutes. I dipped three species for five minutes, and they were all fine after one hour back in the tank.

So the first dip, right me if I'm wrong, I think we had about 940 ppm K.
The secong dip about 800 ppm K.
The K in the tank water was at 416 ppm two weeks ago when we sent in ICP tests to Triton Lab. So thats the number I've just for calculation.

I will do more tests since we got a lot of corals and have had lots of AEFW

Those K+ values look correct, yes.

 

[TexasTodd]

How does this correlate to 2 Table spoons of Potassium Chloride per 1 gallon of tank water? This is what I've read on other threads for a 10 minute dip for AEFW.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How does this correlate to 2 Table spoons of Potassium Chloride per 1 gallon of tank water? This is what I've read on other threads for a 10 minute dip for AEFW.

That is very roughly 15 grams of potassium dissolved in 3.78 L of water, or about 4,000 ppm (plus whatever potassium is in the tank water initially).

 

[TexasTodd]

That is very roughly 15 grams of potassium dissolved in 3.78 L of water, or about 4,000 ppm (plus whatever potassium is in the tank water initially).

So others are using it for a 10 minute dip at 4x+ what @Sallstrom is? Just making sure I'm on the same page, thanks Randy.

 

[Sallstrom]

So others are using it for a 10 minute dip at 4x+ what @Sallstrom is? Just making sure I'm on the same page, thanks Randy.

4000ppm K sounds like a lot. What I've seen people try is from K at 800 to 1600 ppm.

Could it be some other type of K compound they use @Randy Holmes-Farley ?

 

[Saltees]

Recalled seeing a video on the subject matter. KCl for AEFW...3 gram with 1 liter of tank water and dip for 30 minutes.

 

[TexasTodd]

@shane backer could you comment please?

 

[najer]

I use half a teaspoon (kitchen measure) per litre for 10 minutes but I use supermarket "Lo Salt" which is only 55%, I bought the wrong test kit that won't read that high. ;Facepalm
Mixed as stiff as you can it is great for aiptasia, 1 ml syringe from a test kit in the mouth!

 

[TexasTodd]

I think I saw reefers in the U.S. using Now potassium chloride powder from Amazon. I tried to post a link but it didn't work.

It sounds a lot better than using Bayer if corals can take it!

Todd

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So others are using it for a 10 minute dip at 4x+ what @Sallstrom is? Just making sure I'm on the same page, thanks Randy.

I do not know anything about the suitability of potassium chloride as a dip for corals, or what levels might be useful. Yes, that level is higher than what is posted earlier in the thread.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

4000ppm K sounds like a lot. What I've seen people try is from K at 800 to 1600 ppm.

Could it be some other type of K compound they use @Randy Holmes-Farley ?

I have no idea what folks use, but no potassium salt is going to be 5x lower in potassium content than KCl.

 

[EMeyer]

How does this correlate to 2 Table spoons of Potassium Chloride per 1 gallon of tank water? This is what I've read on other threads for a 10 minute dip for AEFW.

This is a bit higher than what I use (2 tsp per gallon at about 30 minutes). It kills most visible inverts quite quickly (starfish, crustaceans). I've not encountered AEFW yet so I can't speak to that. I will say, it kills montipora eating nudibranchs at this dosage BUT you still have to blow them off to dislodge them.

I'm a little surprised this thread hasnt seen more support. This is widely used in my local reefing circles. Personally I don't use any of the mystery dips or known insecticides on my corals... KCl is observably potent stuff and since both ions are already abundant in seawater, any residual carry over from the dip will not have significant effects on water chemistry.

 

[ScottB]

Discovered aefw early June in my frag system -- thankfully not my DT. Here is how it went with KCL.

I used Bayer for years, but grew tired of the work to safely handle the stuff. As said already, it is also a chore to see what pests if any are removed. I've also used melaleuca (tea tree oil) and it does OK getting them to release. The AEFW certainly don't like it, but they don't die even hours later.

Then at the suggestion of @shane backer I tried 2 tbls per gallon KCI and can tell you it kills AEFW. I dipped about 5 minutes under heavy basting with a powerhead. Left in the tub, aefw actually begin to come apart or shrivel. Pods are dead almost immediately.

The first dip revealed 30-40 large worms (1/4 to 1/2"). Each week there would be fewer and they would be smaller.

For the eggs, I either cut/remount or superglued over them.

It took me 8 weeks of weekly dipping to knock them pretty much out. I now dip once a month and haven't found anything since August. Interestingly, my AEFW had clear preferences for certain acros like my classic tricolor and raspberry milli. Adjacent frag/colonies they never seemed to touch.

As to harshness for coral of this dip, well I did lose a couple smaller frags like my Event Horizon milli and an Oregon tort but they were a bit compromised. My opinion would be that Bayer is more gentle and CoralRX is harsher than KCL.