is Potassium required for reef???? Help??

[albert_dao]

Son of a... I had a WICKED reply with molar masses and everything here and the stupid browser screwed up. Anyway, here's a dumbed down version... God...

Originally Posted by sphelps

And exactly how does this product produce "vivid blue coloration"?

If you're looking for a scientific explanation, that's beyond my realm of knowledge. But here's what happens:

You add it to a ULN tank, your acros get super blue. /end

Originally Posted by sphelps

It is after all simply potassium iodide so obviously it adds both potassium and iodide so how can one say it won't help maintain both potassium and iodide levels?

When you look at a product like Potassium Iodide, you should be reading it as Iodide. Period. We're talking about an inorganic compound (K+I−) where the potassium is pretty much irrelevant.

Originally Posted by sphelps

You can't use it to raise levels but with regular water changes it must help maintain K levels, to say otherwise simply doesn't make sense. Also how can you overdose on iodide by following proper dosing directions? K is +1 and Iodide is -1 so close to equal amounts are added.

Iodide is found in NSW at concentrations of 0.06 mg/L
Potassium occurs at 0.4 g/L or 400 mg/L

The water changes (assume a salt that isn't chronically low in potassium) is what helps maintain your levels, not potassium iodide. If you droped even 1% potassium and tried to level it off with PIF, you're going to poision stuff.