How to make z n p more hardy?

A. grandis · Feb 20, 2012

Wcreef said:
When you guys say to use lugols sparingly what does that mean? Sorry if If this is a stupid question...

Your question is not stupid! :smile:
Lugol's is a " concentrate" solution and needs to be administrated carefully in any reef tank. We can't have a gallonage/drops formula for it's use simply because every system is different. The main facts to have in mind are: total volume of the system, use of skimmer, lights and chemistry.
Algae will take advantage of iodine to grow and Lugol's will help them a lot in that aspect. So if you dose too much, you won't be happy.
The bioload in the system (mainly soft corals) will play with the need of iodine, many say.
Your skimmer will remove iodine too, so...
If you go slow you can determinate the needs of your system's inhabitants.

Remember: in reefing good things take a while to show, but the bad things are fast as light to take place. :nerd:

You have other options to add iodine to your tank. Lugol's is one of them.

Grandis.

A. grandis · Feb 20, 2012

Wcreef said:
I only have a 50 gallon tank with a 40g sump....it's not huge. Nothing but a bunch of zoos and ricordea. You guys think it would be a good idea to dose lugols? Maybe a drop or two a week?

Yep, 1 drop a week to begin with.

Grandis.

Wcreef · Feb 20, 2012

Sweet I'll try it out thanks for the tip

---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.094402,-117.957119

A. grandis · Feb 20, 2012

You're welcome, Wcreef.
You can keep the skimmer on or not while dosing...
Some times I turn the skimmer off to clean and take advantage to dose additives. That way I don't need to turn return pump off. Up to you.
You can add it to the display where there is high water flow, far from the overflow, not in the sump.
If you just want to dose without turning skimmer/return pump off, no problem at all.

I'll keep coming here to check for more tips from others... :neutral:

Grandis.