Tom's Aussie Nano

[amphipod]

Xenia likely prefers more nutrients than other corals, I hear that happens sometimes with other corals also.

[Thomas898]

Definitely the case for that particular coral. Have just added two cups of new sand to the display, had been siphoning out a fair amount due to the cyano when the snails had died. The water is a little bit on the cloudy side, and some of the SPS are a bit pissed, hoping it doesn't take too long to clear back up. Rinsed it very thoroughly in RO water before hand.

[Thomas898]

Ooops... Was just wiping down glass after water change and accidentally knocked the long green SPS off the rock, I tried to glue it back down but in the process managed to cover a couple of MM of it's base in glue.. I'm fully expecting that portion to die, if it isn't dead already, but should this effect the rest of the piece?

[amphipod]

Sometimes I hear corals will get nasty infections after trauma, keep an eye out for jelly looking gunk on the coral, the bottom polyps will die. It is very likely since your tank is very healthy you won't encounter much more issues than a few smothered polyps.

[Thomas898]

Well the SPS base that got glued is definitely dead, but all the other polyps are opening up completely fine, what will it look like if the rest starts to die?

[amphipod]

Well the SPS base that got glued is definitely dead, but all the other polyps are opening up completely fine, what will it look like if the rest starts to die?

If the polyps start to die, the polyps will begin to change/ loose lots of color, and begin to rot, there will be more algae growing because the rotting polyps, then white skeleton will start to show. There likely will be some white films, or jelly like masses where dead polyps are. That would be the bacteria and fungi decomposing the polyp.

But like I said very unlikely

[Thomas898]

OK well here is a picture of it currently, thanks for the detailed description of what to look for if it all starts dying. White area is super glue not skeleton.

[amphipod]

Looks pretty good so far, just a little discoloration directly next to a few areas of the glue, keep an eye on this one but I think its fine.

Still better safe than sorry

[Thomas898]

Good news, the green SPS doesn't seem any worse today! No nearby polyps have started dying so hopefully it's going to be ok.

 

I was wondering also whether anyone on here doses potassium? I came across an old thread where a guy was reporting great success with it colouring up corals faster. When I ordered my last lot of tank goodies I ended up getting a free bottle of Brightwell Potassion and Strontion (still yet to use this one).

 

I've been dosing 3ml Potassion per day over the past two weeks to see whether or not it'd have any effect, and the bird nest frags have started colouring up a lot faster, the skeletons came mostly brown now are starting to turn green, the green monti which was becoming a tiny bit browned in one spot has gotten all of it's colour back and my green hammer which used to have a few pink tips now has a noticeable pink shimmer over nearly all the polyps. The salt I use mixes up potassium at 375ppm, slightly lower than NSW, so I figured dosing couldn't exactly hurt.

 

Anyone else dosing potassium with noticeable difference?

[jedimasterben]

I was wondering also whether anyone on here doses potassium? I came across an old thread where a guy was reporting great success with it colouring up corals faster. When I ordered my last lot of tank goodies I ended up getting a free bottle of Brightwell Potassion and Strontion (still yet to use this one).

 

I've been dosing 3ml Potassion per day over the past two weeks to see whether or not it'd have any effect, and the bird nest frags have started colouring up a lot faster, the skeletons came mostly brown now are starting to turn green, the green monti which was becoming a tiny bit browned in one spot has gotten all of it's colour back and my green hammer which used to have a few pink tips now has a noticeable pink shimmer over nearly all the polyps. The salt I use mixes up potassium at 375ppm, slightly lower than NSW, so I figured dosing couldn't exactly hurt.

 

Anyone else dosing potassium with noticeable difference?

 

Recommends around 2-3x NSW levels. What is your total water volume? The liquid Brightwell Potassion is a pretty weak solution, be glad you got it for free and didn't waste your money on it.

 

One mL of Potassion liquid will raise one gallon of water by 21ppm. If your total volume is ~15 gallons, then each mL of Potassion will raise potassium by 1.4ppm, which is not enough for any potassium test kit to read lol. If you are trying to raise it, I'd stick to a 20ppm dose per day or every other day at the most - potassium chloride burns inverts (not necessarily corals, but crabs, snails, etc). Too big of a dose, though, can affect fish - with a 400ppm dose, it burns them up, too

[Thomas898]

 

Recommends around 2-3x NSW levels. What is your total water volume? The liquid Brightwell Potassion is a pretty weak solution, be glad you got it for free and didn't waste your money on it.

 

One mL of Potassion liquid will raise one gallon of water by 21ppm. If your total volume is ~15 gallons, then each mL of Potassion will raise potassium by 1.4ppm, which is not enough for any potassium test kit to read lol. If you are trying to raise it, I'd stick to a 20ppm dose per day or every other day at the most - potassium chloride burns inverts (not necessarily corals, but crabs, snails, etc). Too big of a dose, though, can affect fish - with a 400ppm dose, it burns them up, too

Haha that bad hey? I'll consider myself lucky they screwed my order up and sent freebies

 

I have 18 gallon, so I would be adding 3.5ppm per day. I was previously adding 5.8ppm but decided to cut back on account of the not having a K test kit (cardinal sin of reefing, I know!) and not wanting to burn anything for the very reason you mentioned. Have not read much regarding how much potassium is used by corals and other livestock so I didn't want to over do it. I was just quite surprised especially with the hammer and monti coloration, and Potassion is the only thing that has changed with my routine.

 

Do you reckon a kit like Saliferts would be worth spending the money to test K?

[jedimasterben]

Haha that bad hey? I'll consider myself lucky they screwed my order up and sent freebies

 

I have 18 gallon, so I would be adding 3.5ppm per day. I was previously adding 5.8ppm but decided to cut back on account of the not having a K test kit (cardinal sin of reefing, I know!) and not wanting to burn anything for the very reason you mentioned. Have not read much regarding how much potassium is used by corals and other livestock so I didn't want to over do it. I was just quite surprised especially with the hammer and monti coloration, and Potassion is the only thing that has changed with my routine.

 

Do you reckon a kit like Saliferts would be worth spending the money to test K?

All the 'reef' potassium test kits use very similar reagents and the same basic procedure, and the test is, at best, aggravating lol. I wouldn't bother too much testing for it if you're dosing at 3.5ppm daily.

[metrokat]

I dose potassium.

[Thomas898]

All the 'reef' potassium test kits use very similar reagents and the same basic procedure, and the test is, at best, aggravating lol. I wouldn't bother too much testing for it if you're dosing at 3.5ppm daily.

Hmm. I didn't think I'd need it either, especially considering the salt doesn't mix up K too high. I may buy one later down the track just to be on the safe side though. Don't want to accidentally burn everything after all.. Thanks

 

I dose potassium.

Really? Tell me all about it please! Have you noticed any differences since dosing? How much do you dose per day? What brand? Your tanks looks awesome, so I'm assuming it helps to some degree

[jedimasterben]

Hmm. I didn't think I'd need it either, especially considering the salt doesn't mix up K too high. I may buy one later down the track just to be on the safe side though. Don't want to accidentally burn everything after all.. Thanks

The 'burning' really only comes from dosing too much too quickly. More than 50ppm per day will definitely do some damage, but 20ppm seems to have no ill effects

[metrokat]

I throw in some brightwell potassion and some Lugols almost daily. I don't keep a strict log of how much - except 5 drops of lugols. The potassion I just splash in. The blue and pink colors in my tank are pretty good.

 

It is possible that the amounts I throw in are not enough to get a reading, but I'm thinking it is enough to keep the levels from dropping too low.

[amphipod]

Good news, the green SPS doesn't seem any worse today! No nearby polyps have started dying so hopefully it's going to be ok.

 

I was wondering also whether anyone on here doses potassium? I came across an old thread where a guy was reporting great success with it colouring up corals faster. When I ordered my last lot of tank goodies I ended up getting a free bottle of Brightwell Potassion and Strontion (still yet to use this one).

 

I've been dosing 3ml Potassion per day over the past two weeks to see whether or not it'd have any effect, and the bird nest frags have started colouring up a lot faster, the skeletons came mostly brown now are starting to turn green, the green monti which was becoming a tiny bit browned in one spot has gotten all of it's colour back and my green hammer which used to have a few pink tips now has a noticeable pink shimmer over nearly all the polyps. The salt I use mixes up potassium at 375ppm, slightly lower than NSW, so I figured dosing couldn't exactly hurt.

 

Anyone else dosing potassium with noticeable difference?

that's good news

[Thomas898]

The 'burning' really only comes from dosing too much too quickly. More than 50ppm per day will definitely do some damage, but 20ppm seems to have no ill effects

Oh that's a relief, probably a good thing I'm using Brightwell then, I'd have to tip the whole bottle in to cause that much of an increase haha. Thanks for the information on K, really appreciated

 

I throw in some brightwell potassion and some Lugols almost daily. I don't keep a strict log of how much - except 5 drops of lugols. The potassion I just splash in. The blue and pink colors in my tank are pretty good.

 

It is possible that the amounts I throw in are not enough to get a reading, but I'm thinking it is enough to keep the levels from dropping too low.

Cool! How long have you been adding Potassion for? I was hoping that adding the amount I am would do the same for me as you in that it would just be enough to stop the levels from dropping too low.

[metrokat]

 

Cool! How long have you been adding Potassion for? I was hoping that adding the amount I am would do the same for me as you in that it would just be enough to stop the levels from dropping too low.

I've been dosing about a year

[TheKleinReef]

I use KZ's K-Balance for my potassium needs. Seems to be working just fine.

I used to use Elos's Potassium, both work fine.

 

I also test monthly with the Red Sea kit, just gotta make sure I set 60-70 minutes aside for the test.

[Thomas898]

I've been dosing about a year

Thanks for the info

 

I use KZ's K-Balance for my potassium needs. Seems to be working just fine.

I used to use Elos's Potassium, both work fine.

 

I also test monthly with the Red Sea kit, just gotta make sure I set 60-70 minutes aside for the test.

Ok so it seems like there are a few people dosing K then. How much do yours use in comparison to CA and ALK for example?

 

Well that seems like a fairly speedy process.. Think I'll just see if one of my LFS wants to test for me once a month!

[jedimasterben]

I very highly doubt that your LFS will have a test kit that they would use for K, much less use it for customers without paying them to do it (they're expensive and take quite a while to test)

[Thomas898]

I very highly doubt that your LFS will have a test kit that they would use for K, much less use it for customers without paying them to do it (they're expensive and take quite a while to test)

I knew you'd have to give me an answer I didn't want to hear at some point.. Damn it haha. I'll check to see if anyone local has a test kit if the LFS is a no go, I guess I would only need to test it the once to see whether the current dosing routine is adding too much

[hypostatic]

 

Recommends around 2-3x NSW levels. What is your total water volume? The liquid Brightwell Potassion is a pretty weak solution, be glad you got it for free and didn't waste your money on it.

 

One mL of Potassion liquid will raise one gallon of water by 21ppm. If your total volume is ~15 gallons, then each mL of Potassion will raise potassium by 1.4ppm, which is not enough for any potassium test kit to read lol. If you are trying to raise it, I'd stick to a 20ppm dose per day or every other day at the most - potassium chloride burns inverts (not necessarily corals, but crabs, snails, etc). Too big of a dose, though, can affect fish - with a 400ppm dose, it burns them up, too

 

The 'burning' really only comes from dosing too much too quickly. More than 50ppm per day will definitely do some damage, but 20ppm seems to have no ill effects

 

 

If I were to make my own KCl solution, how would this ppm business translate into molar concentrations? What molar stock solution would you recommend making for dosing K?

[jedimasterben]

If I were to make my own KCl solution, how would this ppm business translate into molar concentrations? What molar stock solution would you recommend making for dosing K?

You'll want to talk to jstn (an actual chemist) about that instead of me