Potassium chloride or potassium sulphate?

[kipper31]

Which would be better for potassium doseing.The chemicals are tech or pure grade.I have been using seachem potassium iodide but the the potassium side isn't keeping up without raiseing my iodine levels to much?
Tanks pretty heavy stocked so I'm trying to increase,my blues seem to be a bit washed out.

[ivans75]

Why do you think you re lacking potassium? Your tank is heavy stocked, with? Have you tested your water for potassium?

[ivans75]

Btw if you wanna raise up the potassium level, u better use KCL Kalium Chloride or potassium chloride, or if u dont mind to spend a bit more, get K-Balance zeovit. Cheers

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Potassium iodide is, as you found, not a suitable choice. It raises iodide more than potassium, and there is so little iodide in seawater that boosting potassium with it drives iodide way too high.

Either potassium sulfate or chloride is perfectly fine. Neither will substantially mess with the chloride to sulfate ratio since the amount added is small relative to the natural levels of chloride and sulfate, but if I were forced to pick a "better" one, it would be the chloride because there is naturally more chloride in seawater.

FWIW, I'm not sure one can ascribe particular color issues to specific ions in the water, but it is easy enough to measure and dose, or if you want to just wing it, dose some and see what happens. Let us know what you find. :)

[ivans75]

Potassium iodide is, as you found, not a suitable choice. It raises iodide more than potassium, and there is so little iodide in seawater that boosting potassium with it drives iodide way too high.

Either potassium sulfate or chloride is perfectly fine. Neither will substantially mess with the chloride to sulfate ratio since the amount added is small relative to the natural levels of chloride and sulfate, but if I were forced to pick a "better" one, it would be the chloride because there is naturally more chloride in seawater.

I am always scared with the word sulphate as my understanding is that it contains sulfur, is this correct? Yes my reasoning of using chloride because the sea water contains about 2 percent of chloride by mass and its the 3rd most abundant element and sulfur has only 0.09 percent mas of 35 ppt seawater.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Chloride (Cl-) is the most abundent ion in seawater at 19,000 ppm. Sulfate (SO4--) is third (after sodium) at 2700 ppm. Adding a bit to either is not a big deal.

This has more:

What is seawater
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/rhf/index.php

Figure 3. Relative concentration of ions in seawater by weight.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-11/rhf/images/Figure3.jpg

[ivans75]

Yeah I read that article, it's just that I am afraid adding more than adequate sulfate will affect pH (reducing more likely) is that scientifically accurate or not?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No, adding sulfate won't impact pH. :)

[kipper31]

Thanks guys looks like chlorides the go.Ivan the tanks heavly stocked with sps.The main reason im doseing is ive gone from weekly to fortnightly water changes because i had no nitrate or phos.I was at the point of turning my skimmer of at night but still no nutrients.I am now rotateing to 10kg piles of base rock from my sump on a monthly basis.This has phos sitting around 0.05 hanna.The reason i just dont go out and buy zeovit k is that just tn easy.I get more satisfaction buying raw ingredents and mixing my own.Il put a photo up when i get home so u can see what i mean by heavy stocked.:)

[kipper31]

Heres a photo as why the potassium question.I keep reading potassium is for blues and thats the one colour that i just cant seem to get to realy shine.Thanks for all replys.:thumbsup:
Right side
http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt304/kipper31au/SAM_9887.jpg
Left side
http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/tt304/kipper31au/SAM_9886.jpg

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Great, let us know it if seems to help coloration for you (or not). I've rarely seen anyone actually demonstrate benefits without confounding it with lots of other changes. :)

[ivans75]

awesome tank!!! Ive seen that big starfish so many times here in the wild they re very abundant in thousand islands area here

[ivans75]

No, adding sulfate won't impact pH. :)

ah good to know thanks alot

[kipper31]

Randy why are so there so many posts about it helping with blues etc,I've done a bit of research and it seems to be general idea behind people using it etc.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Have you seen any convincing before and after pictures from people you trust?

People have a lot of ideas of things that are, in reality, not true.

When I talk to people who are published experts on coral coloration, they do not seem to think that specific supplements can be tied to specific coral colors or lack thereof. The most common idea among these folks is that elevated nutrients browns corals due to increased zoox, and depleted zoox brings out colors as zeovit is known for, and that light intensity and UV can alter coral colors due to protective pigments and fluorescence. That's about the limit of color coloration adjusting.

While I do not know if that is the case here, some of these sorts of ideas get spurred by supplement resellers, who obviouslly have a vested interest in getting folks thinking about using supplements.

That all said, I do not know for sure it isn't important, just that I have not seen convincing evidence of potassium dosing alone altering coral colors. I also do not think it is depleted very often. My tank wasn't when I tested it, and at the time I was dosing organic carbon as heavily as most anyone. Some of the early potassium kits seemed to read low, IMO.

[kipper31]

Thanks Randy i tend to agree with you,shops selling product.Il give the potassium chloride a go and report back.Do you have any other idea why just my blue sps seem to be washed out?Every other colour seems bright and vibrient.Thanks again for your replys.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Could be lighting issues, but I'm not really very knowledgeable on SPS colors. :)

[ivans75]

Have you seen any convincing before and after pictures from people you trust?

People have a lot of ideas of things that are, in reality, not true.

When I talk to people who are published experts on coral coloration, they do not seem to think that specific supplements can be tied to specific coral colors or lack thereof. The most common idea among these folks is that elevated nutrients browns corals due to increased zoox, and depleted zoox brings out colors as zeovit is known for, and that light intensity and UV can alter coral colors due to protective pigments and fluorescence. That's about the limit of color coloration adjusting.

While I do not know if that is the case here, some of these sorts of ideas get spurred by supplement resellers, who obviouslly have a vested interest in getting folks thinking about using supplements.

That all said, I do not know for sure it isn't important, just that I have not seen convincing evidence of potassium dosing alone altering coral colors. I also do not think it is depleted very often. My tank wasn't when I tested it, and at the time I was dosing organic carbon as heavily as most anyone. Some of the early potassium kits seemed to read low, IMO.

This is well said...

I often hear about x for color and y for whatever....without scientific background, it is very hard to determine. Manufacturers of marine hobby chemicals often advertise their product for this and that and so little we as a customer can actually understand WHAT's behind such claim. We only trust the x product or x chemical because the big company makes them or someone simply said so...

just do your normal water change, choose the best salt that has everything or use natural sea water. Test your water regularly and react accordingly.

[wayne in norway]

I would suggest your problem with the blue colouring is your lighting colour mix is so heavy on red, and that colour (redpurple) is dominating the image.

The reason I would not buy the zeo potassium product is that it's so mind-bendingly expensive compared to KCl.

[kipper31]

Lighting is two 250 mh 15000 k,geiseman aqua pink,geiseman acintic plus,ati aqua blue special ,ati blue plus.
Do you men the colours are makeing the blue look washed out or do you mean not the right light spectrum to promote blue?

[wayne in norway]

The former - the colour mix you have is exaggerating the pink/purple of the coralline. How does it look if you take out the purple and the Blue sp., running only the blue plus and actinic.

Also , which 15K MH?

Of course this is all aesthetics, and you do have a nice clean, algae free, tank to work with. Personally I'd use the MH , 3 BLue Plus and a pink, but they key word here is 'persobnally'