bridun22ajl
New member
whats a good potassium kit. preferably something that isnt horribly hard to read.
good potassium test kit? salifert?
- Thread starter bridun22ajl
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Todd March
Premium Member
I think that KZ and Fauna Marine are about the only common hobbyist test kits for potassium around. And both have terrible reputations for being hard to read, particularly the KZ kit.
I've not seen good evidence that the hobby kits are accurate, but they may be. Unfortunately, we've seen RC members who had a test kit result, who then dosed a known potassium amount, and did not see the expected rise. That has me somewhat concerned, although it may not be any worse than other types of hobby kits. 
bridun22ajl
New member
so if the kits are so bad how do people add potassium with out making it too high or keeping it too low? should i just forget the test kit and add the recommended dose on the bottle?
HighlandReefer
Team RC
If you are doing regular water changes, then this should maintain the correct levels of potassium in most cases. Fish foods should help to supplement the potassium also. Why do you think your potassium levels are low?
bridun22ajl
New member
well ive been reading a lot in the sps forum about potassium and how its more important then most people think. one of the things brightwell recommends is potassium for the neozeo so i was wondering what people are using
so if the kits are so bad how do people add potassium with out making it too high or keeping it too low? should i just forget the test kit and add the recommended dose on the bottle?
I've never added it and that is one of the reasons why. I wish there was a reliable way to test, but I'm not yet convinced (although I also cannot prove the current tests are inaccurate).
FWIW, there is no historical evidence that potassium gets substantially depleted in typical reef tanks, and there is evidence that it does not in many. It is seemingly only with the advent of the bacterial growth strategies of nutrient reduction. The presumed reason is that the growing bacteria consume an unusually large amount of potassium, relative to other organisms in the tank (like fish, macroalgae, corals, etc).
So unless you are driving a lot of bacterial growth, I see no clear evidence that you need to worry about potassium. I don't, but maybe that will be proven wrong long term.
If you do drive bacterial growth, then perhaps potassium is a concern. I wish there were more useful information on it and how to measure it, but there isn't. So you are left with a lot of guesswork.
one of the things brightwell recommends is potassium for the neozeo so i was wondering what people are using
Well, that is certainly not convincing since they also recommend a lot of other things that they sell that I know for certain to be useless. But it might be true, especially when driving bacteria as that product does.
I've never added it and that is one of the reasons why. I wish there was a reliable way to test, but I'm not yet convinced (although I also cannot prove the current tests are inaccurate).
FWIW, there is no historical evidence that potassium gets substantially depleted in typical reef tanks, and there is evidence that it does not in many. It is seemingly only with the advent of the bacterial growth strategies of nutrient reduction. The presumed reason is that the growing bacteria consume an unusually large amount of potassium, relative to other organisms in the tank (like fish, macroalgae, corals, etc).
So unless you are driving a lot of bacterial growth, I see no clear evidence that you need to worry about potassium. I don't, but maybe that will be proven wrong long term.
If you do drive bacterial growth, then perhaps potassium is a concern. I wish there were more useful information on it and how to measure it, but there isn't. So you are left with a lot of guesswork.
one of the things brightwell recommends is potassium for the neozeo so i was wondering what people are using
Well, that is certainly not convincing since they also recommend a lot of other things that they sell that I know for certain to be useless. But it might be true, especially when driving bacteria as that product does.
