From my post elsewhere
Based on tests there is no real depletion of K+, except in those systems where Zeolites are used ( see below). Some have claimed that a needle-wheel operated skimmer lowers K+ and not a pinwheel. But I only see claims. When I told this to Ken Feldman he had a good laugh. Many just like to jack up K+ as it makes corals brighter, does not = corals need it but makes them more blue. It is a reefer that wants it not the coral. However, any living thing I know of needs some K+. Allot of this you need to add x, y or z is from manufactures selling products and as of yet do not have a leg to stand on, just marketing hype. That is what marketers do sell stuff where they know there is no real data on it and make claims. If I showed you and I can, that corals also uptake Uranium in their skeletons does that me to have a Ur additive. They also have Lithium and Barium and many other ions in their skeleton.
For corals and many other carbonate producers that carbonate skeleton, test, shell, is a dumpster for ions they pick up and do not need and just dump them in the "skeleton". That is why many of these ions are in direct portion to what is found in surrounding column water. Matter of fact, they are so precise that they are used in Paleoclimatolgy and Paleothermometry studies of accident corals and the environments they use to live in. People need to get off this kick of Coral Skeleton and look at the Coral Tissue needs.
Corals really have two growth rates and they are not always equal, Coral growth, as in Skeletal Growth and Coral Growth and is Soft Tissue Growth. Just because a Coral Skeleton has very good growth does not really = Coral Tissue is also at a good Growth. That accelerated Skeletal Growth may produce a thinner soft tissue making it more prone to wave impact, taring it or make the Skeletal Density to low, making the Coral branch more subject to breaking/fragile to debris and wave action energy.
there are some now experimenting with it for stronger faster coral growth
I do not buy into that at all Says who and based on what and do not say so says the Zeovit guys. Don't get me wrong, that reefers do not find out some very interesting things, they have but to often is is way out of the ball park and assumptions, where in reality "we" may be adding x, which is not needed but directly affects y, which is needed. And we need to solve for y with using x, as x is not a good thing.
A good example is Shrimp and the misunderstood claim we need to add Iodine as they need it for their molt cycle. Shrimp do not take Iodine from the water column but from foods. When you jack up the Iodine level it has to high a gradient which causes excessive amounts of Iodine to diffuse into the shrimp. This in return causes the shrimp to go into excessive molt cycles, which ends up killing them, as they have expended all their energy in molting, which is controlled allot by iodine.
On the same note, Zenia and their pulsating. Lets think out side the box here for a second. How about the reason they pulsate more, when you are adding Iodine, is they DO NOT like it and are increasing the water currents around them by pulsating, so there is LESS Iodine uptake or it is acting as an irritant to them. Zenia usually pulsate for one reason, the water column current is to slow, so they can speed it up by pulsating, take in more food and are able to rid itself of unwanted mucus and waste. You put them in a better current the pulsating usually stops, as it is suppose to, as they do not need it.
and
What is your opinion though of zeo users seeing drops in K+ because of accelerated coral growth and color and not the zeolites being the main cause?
I say this because some of the people using other methods of probiotics that do not use zeolite are also seeing drops in K+?
Keep in mind Zeo users typically add additional heavy metals, vitamins, amino acids, carbon sources..........etc which all are known to have effects on coral. How one can decipher the effects of individual additives or the combination of these additives is beyond me
You says that K+ is making corals grow faster in that soup is due to K+ ? How do they know it is not the bacteria that are using the K+ and the corals feed on the bacteria and the increased bacteria, which has noting to do with them needing K+, is what is causing them to grow faster. Again who says that if coral grows faster or very fast that is good for coral and is a healthy thing ?
and
Incorporation of Potassium in Scleractinian Coral Aragonite: Preliminary X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy
Pingitore, N. E.; Villalobos, J.; Cruz-Jimenez, G.; Wellington, G. M.
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2001, abstract #V41B-04
Initial examination of potassium K-edge XANES (x-ray absorption near-edge structure) suggests that the bulk of the potassium in these corals neither substitutes for calcium in the aragonite structure nor is present as a discrete potassium carbonate phase. The potassium might be bound to chlorine as a potassium chloride phase or as a substitute for sodium in the sodium chloride phase believed to be present in these corals. Thus far we have examined 5 coral specimens, including the taxa Porites lutea,Porites lobata, and Pavona gigantea, all collected live in the Pacific from Galapagos and the Gulf of Panama, and Montastrea annularis, collected from the Pleistocene of Marie Galante, Guadeloupe, in the Caribbean.The concentration of potassium in scleractinian coral aragonite is low, typically 100 ppm or less. This compromises the quality of the spectra obtained from x-ray absorption spectroscopy and necessitates long counting times. The experiments also are limited to the region within less than 400 eV above the K K-edge (3.607 KeV) due to the appearance of the overwhelming Ca K-edge at 4.038 KeV. The weak photons from potassium K-fluorescence further complicate data acquisition and compromise data quality. The XANES spectra of the best of our samples did not appear to match the spectrum from a potassium carbonate standard. Comparison of the K XANES spectra to those of Ca in coral aragonite did not suggest similar atomic environments around the potassium; therefore the potassium probably does not substitute for calcium. The potassium may be present in a chloride phase. We anticipate collecting additional data with longer counting times to resolve these uncertainties. Data were collected at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory in fluorescence mode on beam line 4-1 using a helium pathway to our Lytle detector. A potassium carbonate standard was used as an energy reference.
Some things they do seem to be true based on sup's added but lighting can also cause color shifts.
SPS coral coloration
Yellow
Nitrate and/or PO4 reduction is most important, either through technical means such as nitrate/phosphate reducers or biologically through DSB, Carbon dosing and/or water changes and fuges.
Greens
Greens would be the next easiest color to tweak. Most green coloration can be achieved through the addition of an Iron Concentrate.
Blues and some purples
This is mainly for blues but I have found is can also have an effect on purples. The supplement for this is Potassium Iodide Concentrate.
Reds/Pinks and some Purples
Primarily for coloring reds and pinks in Montiporas, Pocilloporas, Birdsnest, other Stys and Seriatoporas. The supplement is Potassium (not potassium iodide).
Purples
Probably one of the hardest coloration of all acroporas from my experience since it is a combination of several variables.
Increased water clarify will first effect SPS tips but not the complete base.
Second being lighting. From my observations of my own tank and others, purples seem to love 420-440nm range light spectrum, those found in actinics and 20K halides.
Third, supplements such as Iodide and Potassium
These color changes are something that is just seen and not measured. I have no issue agreeing that if you start to dump in various sup's raising ion x to a high level you will see color changes. This does not mean, again, the coral need it, it is you want or need it I will say this one last time, just because some ion is in a coral skeleton does not mean it needs it. Many of those ions are wastes and deposit in the skeleton as wastes. That skeleton is more like a toilet for corals.
So, based on this The concentration of potassium in scleractinian coral aragonite is low, typically 100 ppm or less and of course many like to go by what is in the coral Skeleton, which for the most part is nonsense. But they say so, so, we need them, I guess, to start to add these so the coral can grow better based on mostly gibberish nonsense of it is in the coral skeleton thus corals need it.
Silica= 750 ppm mean
Boron = 75 ppm mean
Titanium = 70 ppm
and we are going to need some Manganese, Barium and Uranium
Edit:
Sorry, I spaced it out here, they are going to need some Lead also ~ 50 ppm. The other 3 above maybe 10 ppm each and crap loads of Iron maybe 500 ppm it is less then Silica.
A head of time:
"What you talk'n bout Boomer we do not want to be adding Silica to our tanks."
Note:
All living things need some K+
