K-Balance Concentration

[Pikeman]

On Jan 4th, G Alexander posted a graph from a study by Dr. Shimek's showing the potassium concentration of various salt mixes vs. NSW. A quick overview of that graph indicated that the potassium concentration of the various salt mixes was approximately 80 - 110ppm less than the NSW concentration.

Premising a 100ppm potassium deficiency in a 200gal system, one would need...

100mg/l K+ x 200g x 3.8l/g x 1 gr/mg = 76 grams of K+ to achieve NSW conc.

Given this amount, I was wondering what the potassium concentration is of the K-balance, and whether a 250ml bottle was sufficient, if dosed regularly, to bring my tanks K levels back to NSW concentrations???

Jeff

[CAReefer]

Excellent question Jeff. I would like to know as well. Another thing to consider is how fast is the K depleted in the system? Is it depleted by the corals equal to the other elements such as Mg and Sr?

[Orion76]

In order to make a correct formula you'd need to know your tank's Potassium level. Assuming corals use up Potassium it will be much lower in your tank than it is in a batch of freshly made salt water.

[Pikeman]

Agree... In a sense, the calculated value I illustrated would be the minimum level required. Ongoing nutrient depletion via organic growth in the tank + skimmer losses would only aggravate the problem. That's why I'm wondering if my 250ml bottle of K Balance is sufficeint to get the job done.

[G.Alexander]

However we will know the actual potassium concentration only if we have a test kit available. Korallenzucht did some tests and they showed a heavy stocked 1000 liter (260 gallons) SPS tank consumes about 1 – 2 ml of the K-Balance elements daily.

Until there is a test kit available, I would recommend to adjust the daily potassium dosage to the above named quantity, if the potassium leak evidences are fixed. If the tank is stocked weaker, a lower daily dosage should be used.

Maybe a test kit will be available soon ?

G.Alexander

[fkadir]

I hope a test kit will be available soon.

Alexander, So its safe to say that a 500L heavily stocked SPS tank would be consuming about 0.5ml-1ml of K?

What are the signs of overdose again?

[G.Alexander]

Farish, yes this is a save dosage if we assume the salt mixes contain less potassium. Overdose can be noticed if corals slow loose tissue from the tips.

G.Alexander

[G.Alexander]

I like to add this recommendation is used if there are no further signs of a potassium leak It is not a fix in the case of a leak, just the normal daily consumption of a heavy stocked SPS tank, based at the korallenzucht tests.

G.Alexander

[Aged Salt]

Hi all, I use a combination of Oceanic & IO, both lower than NSW levels with respect to K+ ion, therefore, I dose K-B 2ml daily in my 300g system. I've noticed an earlier sign of excess before tissue-tip loss to be a heavy light tan to brown sandy accumulation on the Tunze's, Tunze's submerged electircal cords, Seaswirls spout & panes. It differs from zeo-excess in being more granular & loosely attached, almost like a diatomaceous settlement, as opposed to the thickened brown-green film which is more attached to the surfaces. Bob

[mshur]

bob,
u saying with 2ml per in ur system,u were overdosing k+?....
i remeber alexander dose 5ml per gal ...weekly..

mike

[Aged Salt]

Hi Mike, sorry for the deleted info--I noticed excess K-B signs at 5ml daily, therefore, I reduced my quantity by 50%[~2-3ml/day] w/o the fine tannish deposits as mentioned above. Initially, I recommend dosing 1ml/25g net for 3 consecutive days to increase the K+ concentration, then, either 1ml/50g net 2x's/wk. or 1ml/100g net daily[the latter is my current dosing method & works perfectly]. Mike the K+ deficiency, of course, is dependent on it's concentration in our saltmix, it's metabolic utilization in our reefs, the bioload of our reef & % of weekly WC's performed. Bob

[mshur]

HI Bob,
i"ve been dosing k+ for about 6 weeks now...i see only positive effect on my corals...no questions about,, even at first when i was dosing 3 ml daily i didnt notice any o.d. signs. now i am dosing 20ml per week for 150g total water value... so far no o.d. signs either... but,like u mention before,each tank is different))

mike

[jake2045]

OK A newbie ? What are some of the effects of dosing K-Balance to your systems?

[G.Alexander]

Jake, natural seawater has a potassium concentration around 380 mg so the level is similar to calcium for example. Until now nobody took care about this level but since I have had a potassium leak in my system, I know how important this element is. K-Balance contains several potassium & potassium similar elements which can be dosed with the product. Until now a test kit working well in saltwater is not available but as long as you notice the indices of a leak you can use the corals as a reference for the dosage. Tests have shown a heavier 300 gallon system needs about 1 ml K-Balance daily to balance the consumption.

Here you can find general information about the product:

http://www.zeovit.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4027

G.Alexander

[Ifferfish]

I am in the first stage of Zeovit. At what point would one decide to add something like this to there system?