Raising Potassium?
- Thread starter jake2045
- Start date
It might be OK, but it might foam a lot and the surfactant might not be desirable for organisms.
I don't know. Probably not. Just being cautious. 
bryndle0313
New member
Just a thought but I'd contemplated muriate of potash... see an old post I found on fins.actwin.com
["My mistake!! The bag says "Muriate of Potash" (soluble potash (K2O), 60%, , Chlorine, not more that 48%). This is the fertilizer I obtained from the garden section of the hardware store. As you say, Webster says that potash is "potassium carbonate, esp. from wood ashes"; The dictionary also says muriate means "chloride of", as in muriatic acid (HCl or hydrochloric acid). From the percentage of K and Cl, I am pretty sure the salt I have is Potassium Chloride, KCl. This is a salt mined in the western US.
The bag of MURIATE of Potash (KCl) cost $2.00 for 4 pounds, and I have been using this agricultural grade fertilizer in my tanks for years. I have not worried about the small impurites (~ 1 %), supposedly mostly NaCl. Regular water changes will handle most impurities. And my philosophy is that anything from the ground (and uncontaminated with pesticides, PCBs, heavy metals, etc) should be OK to add into an aquarium which gets water changes. Never had any problems with fish or plants in those tanks (except for my difficulty with C. affinis; is it possible??)]
["My mistake!! The bag says "Muriate of Potash" (soluble potash (K2O), 60%, , Chlorine, not more that 48%). This is the fertilizer I obtained from the garden section of the hardware store. As you say, Webster says that potash is "potassium carbonate, esp. from wood ashes"; The dictionary also says muriate means "chloride of", as in muriatic acid (HCl or hydrochloric acid). From the percentage of K and Cl, I am pretty sure the salt I have is Potassium Chloride, KCl. This is a salt mined in the western US.
The bag of MURIATE of Potash (KCl) cost $2.00 for 4 pounds, and I have been using this agricultural grade fertilizer in my tanks for years. I have not worried about the small impurites (~ 1 %), supposedly mostly NaCl. Regular water changes will handle most impurities. And my philosophy is that anything from the ground (and uncontaminated with pesticides, PCBs, heavy metals, etc) should be OK to add into an aquarium which gets water changes. Never had any problems with fish or plants in those tanks (except for my difficulty with C. affinis; is it possible??)]
You've been adding it for years for what purpose? Potassium? How did you know how much was useful?
bryndle0313
New member
Sorry, twas a quick post on the subject... I have not actually used it (yet). That was an excript from an old actwin thread where I believe they were discussing using it in planted freshwater tanks. That said, I've investigated a bit further and it seems (MSDS as information source) as though muriate of potash is 95-100% KCL with small/trace amounts of NaCL, CaCL/MgCL (or sulfates of said) making up the difference where KCL is not 100%. I've posted below example info from one MSDS I located.
Just a thought but one could dissolve this in rodi and decant after letting it settle a bit (if in fact there was anything to settle out). This stuff is dirt cheap at the local harware store (~$3-4 for like 3lbs.) and it appears as though any impurities would not be of concern based on what those are (NaCL, CaCL/Mg/CL).
2. COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS
Exposure Guideline
Component %
Weight Limits Agency Type
Potassium Chloride
CAS No. 7447-40-7 95 â€"œ 99.5 NE OSHA
Sodium Chloride
CAS No. 7647-14-5 0.3 â€"œ 3.7 NE OSHA
Calcium and Magnesium Chlorides
and Sulfates
CAS No. Various
0.2 â€"œ 1.3 NE OSHA
Just a thought but one could dissolve this in rodi and decant after letting it settle a bit (if in fact there was anything to settle out). This stuff is dirt cheap at the local harware store (~$3-4 for like 3lbs.) and it appears as though any impurities would not be of concern based on what those are (NaCL, CaCL/Mg/CL).
2. COMPOSITION/INFORMATION ON INGREDIENTS
Exposure Guideline
Component %
Weight Limits Agency Type
Potassium Chloride
CAS No. 7447-40-7 95 â€"œ 99.5 NE OSHA
Sodium Chloride
CAS No. 7647-14-5 0.3 â€"œ 3.7 NE OSHA
Calcium and Magnesium Chlorides
and Sulfates
CAS No. Various
0.2 â€"œ 1.3 NE OSHA
I can't comment on the purity, and wouldn't rely on an MSDS for suitable impurity information (they only need to flake rather high concentration components), but it might be a fine additive.
