Quality Salt Mixes should NOT have any N03 or P04 in it...No, if anything they should be reduced. The salt mix should not contain NO3 or PO4 except maybe in very trace amounts.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Quality Salt Mixes should NOT have any N03 or P04 in it...No, if anything they should be reduced. The salt mix should not contain NO3 or PO4 except maybe in very trace amounts.
How much and how long of an interval do you perform water changes? At your tank size if you do 50% once a week that should give you enough trace elements along with 2 parts dosing. Along with that aminos once or twice a week with boardcast feeding should be able to give you good colors.
Recently, Potassium was at 300ppm and of course other minor elements were low as well. As I don´t believe I can replace every single trace element or even test for it, I always do a couple of big water changes and then I increase my dosing of trace elements. So far, during the past few years this method has worked for me and I think it is just the normal process of a higher demand of elements as sps corals keep on growing and get more demanding.
What foods were you feeding and were you rinsing them?
Potassium is a balance between food inputs and organism uptake, and there is no inherent reason that it should get depleted, so when people observe significant depletion, I try to see if there is any sort of rational reason to help explain it.
Potassium is a balance between food inputs and organism uptake, and there is no inherent reason that it should get depleted, so when people observe significant depletion, I try to see if there is any sort of rational reason to help explain it.
My tank depletes K at an average rate of 5.7ppm per day. I don't have an explanation, there are many theories, one which may be consistent for me is the use of needle wheel skimmers
My tank depletes K at an average rate of 5.7ppm per day. I don't have an explanation, there are many theories, one which may be consistent for me is the use of needle wheel skimmers
The suggestion of skimming depleting K was tossed around as a common factor with tanks running ULNS a few years ago. I respect your advice, unfortunately I don't have the knowledge to contribute a theory. May be sharing details of my experiences can help.
I have only been testing K for a few years.
System 1, 500L net, full zeovit ULNS system. used 10ml of 100,000ppm K solution per day.
System 2, same as above, using carbon dosing, used the same volume of K
System 3, current system, uses the same volume of K, yet water volume is only 170L net
Al 3 systems are very different in methodology, and to some extent, water parameters, all used the same skimmer, dosing of 3 part + K. the first two passed many many additives, chemical and organic
My current tank has no media, no GFO, no Flocculants, no binders, no carbon dosing, completely bare. I dose Alk, Ca, Mg and K solutions to maintain 6.5 - 7 dKh Alk. 395 - 410ppm Ca. 1300ppm Mg. 400ppm K
I feed some reef pearls, some nori and 1 cube of frozen unrinsed brine or mysis (Ocean Nutrition) daily. Nothing else is added other than RODI and NSW (for past 4 months, I do experiment from time to time.)
My nutrients levels are generally undetectable. I use UV but K depletion has been the same when turned off. The display is bare bottom, very minimal rock and lots of SPS.
I have observed reductions and loss of colour in some SPS, not many, when K has been lower than 360ppm which have regained colour quickly with K correction.
I have witnessed tip burn on 3 colonies when dosing K too quickly. More likely due to localised concentrations than a change in level, as I have since raised K by 20ppm over 12 hours with very gradual dosing with out issue, (ableit only the one occasion).
A question in my mind, if K levels influence pigmentation, is it though consumption, a reactive response or a transport mechanism?
Or were my observations on several occasions coincidental (possible).
Assuming Salifert K test is actually testing K, K clearly depletes and I believe my calculations are accurate, in which case, it has to be going some where.
May be I could test some skimmate for K, and test some NSW water used to defrost frozen food for changes in K.
I use NSW, which gives Salifert a reading of 390ppmThat's certainly bigger than normal water changes might account for, but I think for some people, water changes with a mix slightly lower than the tank (due to low K in mix or less than 35 ppt salinity) may be a factor in K depletion. It could account for maybe 4 ppm each 10% water change.
Thanks.
What 3 part are you using?
That can also be a way that K is depleted if it does not contain enough K. The reason is that the salinity rises, and when you correct back to normal salinity, K is pushed down along with everything else.