Goniopora and dosing Mn and I

[Fishguy_8]

Looking into adding a Goni to my tank and watched a video where Julian Sprung said he believed there was a close tie to dosing Iodine and Manganese. Is there a reliable test kit for these elements, and ranges to stay in safely to avoid algae blooms, and what product is recommended to maintain these levels. Thanks!

 

[UCF Alum]

You don’t need to dose either of these to keep goniopora. I don’t, don’t feed them either and keep three of them successfully for several years.

 

[GCL]

I’ve been dosing both recently after watching the same video. I have a goni that has been struggling, although probably for other reasons. If I remember correctly, he specifies that it’s an issue if using a refugium or algae reactor. I haven’t noticed much of a difference so far but am keeping an especially close eye on my gonis. I would think that if you’re doing regular water changes that it shouldn’t be necessary. I just wanted to give it a try, as I have been trying everything to keep my struggling Goni alive, being that it is a favorite and one of my first corals.

 

[GCL]

Also, I believe the video references Iron and Mn. I would have to rewatch it to be certain though.

 

[Fishguy_8]

Also, I believe the video references Iron and Mn. I would have to rewatch it to be certain though.

It does I had iodine on my mind as I was also watching a video on fragging zoas and people were doing an iodine bath to help with healing. I meant iron here. Thanks for the catch.

 

[BeejReef]

If you're a 10% water changer, I'd just send out an icp test every 4-6 months. Trace elements do trend up or down and can deplete or reach undesirable concentrations, but it really takes some time unless you have a wild imbalance.

I would have bet you good money that my icp test was gonna show a lack of iron and iodine bc I run an outsized fuge.
My iron was WAY high.. lol.

Two icp's a year probly cost you less than three or four specialty test kits, and certainly costs less than a few specialty test kits and dosing the wrong stuff.

 

[Butuz]

I have two gonis doing great. I do 10% weekly water changes (reefer 250, 65g), dose AquForest 1,2,3 PLUS Tropic Marin A and K trace (2ml per day each), HOWEVER when I do quarterly ICP rests from ATI, they show lack of Mg, Iodine and Vanadium. So these and other corals definitely consume them. I have been dosing these 3 elements manually every other week, 0.3ml each. i dont think you can rely on water changes alone, again, I am seeing them deplete even with trace elements added FYI, I use Tropic Marin Pro bio salt.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I do not know about goniopora effects, but both manganese and iron are rapidly depleted. There’s no good way or need to test for iron at natural levels. It depletes so fast they just dosing some is likely the best bet. Manganese at natural levels can be detected by icp, but if you test and do not dose it, it will likely be low.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

From an article of mine:

Manganese (Mn). Triton can just barely detect the natural level of manganese (0.17 µg/L) since their LOD is 0.12 µg/L. Detecting none suggests it may be depleted, and is another possibility for dosing, but I have less confidence that this one is really seriously depleted since it is so close to the LOD. But Mn is biologically important and I will consider it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Iron (Fe). The natural iron level varies a lot with depth, but surface seawater may have only 0.006 µg/L. The Triton LOD = 0.3 µg/L. I dose iron, and when I dose it I boost iron to roughly 1-2 µg/L, which would be detectable. This sample was taken more than a week after the last iron dosing, and none was detected as it gets depleted in the meanwhile. I’ve not yet seen a Triton test result for a real aquarium sample that had detectable iron, but that doesn’t mean these tanks are necessarily deficient. Iron is also a case where the form is critical, and ICP cannot distinguish form. Binding to organic matteR, for example, can alter the bioavailability of iron.