dzhuo
Active member
I would just stop the potassium and MB7 dosing.
1. It's very uncommon to see tanks with depleted potassium as Dr. Ron Shimek done the study in It's (in) The Water. Not only that but most tanks had elevated potassium to being with. A lot of marin animals (although I can't say for sure if this apply to corals) also obtain significant portion of potassium (as well as lots of minor trace elements such as iodine, etc) directly from the food and bacteria they eat; not from the water column. I can imagine keep dosing potassium will significant further raise potassium level way beyond NSW level. Although I am not aware of any study or such that indicate high potassium is stress to corals, I can't say it's natural or helpful for the corals either. At the minimum, it seems like you are basically wasting effort dosing it. Do you know your potassium level and why you need to dose it?
2. I am not so certain about adding MB7 would or wouldn't help a reef tank. A few points I take from "Feature Article: Bacterial Counts in Reef Aquarium Water: Baseline Values and Modulation by Carbon Dosing, Protein Skimming, and Granular Activated Carbon Filtration" suggests that reef tanks are in fact carbon limited for bacteria grow. However, adding carbon source does not always produce a linear bacteria grow. For example, this study (iirc) shows that after a day or 2 of adding carbon, bacteria population no longer grows as expected. The author thus suspect that although our tanks are carbon limited, there are other factors and keep dosing carbon beyond a certain point yells no benefit. Another major concern from this study is that because of predation (this is an assumption from the author), most water bound bacteria is being quickly consumed. I imagine MB7 is a solution where certain types of bacteria is kept? Do you know what solution it's? Does the manufacture suggests adding MB7 as a constant supplement?
I made this comment in your other thread and I still suspect your $15 eBay 20K bulb might be another factor. I remember you mention that you have a PAR meter to check the bulb against a Phoenix 14K but are there anyone else locally using this bulb? Also, would it be possible to have someone local taking a few photos of your tank? I am interested to see the "real" coloration of your SPS.
1. It's very uncommon to see tanks with depleted potassium as Dr. Ron Shimek done the study in It's (in) The Water. Not only that but most tanks had elevated potassium to being with. A lot of marin animals (although I can't say for sure if this apply to corals) also obtain significant portion of potassium (as well as lots of minor trace elements such as iodine, etc) directly from the food and bacteria they eat; not from the water column. I can imagine keep dosing potassium will significant further raise potassium level way beyond NSW level. Although I am not aware of any study or such that indicate high potassium is stress to corals, I can't say it's natural or helpful for the corals either. At the minimum, it seems like you are basically wasting effort dosing it. Do you know your potassium level and why you need to dose it?
2. I am not so certain about adding MB7 would or wouldn't help a reef tank. A few points I take from "Feature Article: Bacterial Counts in Reef Aquarium Water: Baseline Values and Modulation by Carbon Dosing, Protein Skimming, and Granular Activated Carbon Filtration" suggests that reef tanks are in fact carbon limited for bacteria grow. However, adding carbon source does not always produce a linear bacteria grow. For example, this study (iirc) shows that after a day or 2 of adding carbon, bacteria population no longer grows as expected. The author thus suspect that although our tanks are carbon limited, there are other factors and keep dosing carbon beyond a certain point yells no benefit. Another major concern from this study is that because of predation (this is an assumption from the author), most water bound bacteria is being quickly consumed. I imagine MB7 is a solution where certain types of bacteria is kept? Do you know what solution it's? Does the manufacture suggests adding MB7 as a constant supplement?
I made this comment in your other thread and I still suspect your $15 eBay 20K bulb might be another factor. I remember you mention that you have a PAR meter to check the bulb against a Phoenix 14K but are there anyone else locally using this bulb? Also, would it be possible to have someone local taking a few photos of your tank? I am interested to see the "real" coloration of your SPS.
