Iodine Dosing / Test Kit

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

@Randy Holmes-Farley julian sprung theorized in one of his books that corals use traces like zinc and iodide to oxidize harmful byproduct radicals of photosynthesis, and that possibly there is an antioxidant effect when iodide is converted over to iodate in corals tissue ?

Does this sound feasible to you? chemistry wise?

Iodide can be an antioxidant. Is that happening in corals and is it significant? I have no idea.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Supposedly iodine or iodide (can't recall) is needed to help them molt.

As far as I’m concerned, that is a myth based on misunderstandings. Many folks who have kept crabs and shrimp with and without iodine dosing have seen no difference in their survival or molting.

if you dose iodine as I2 (potentially toxic) and see a shrimp molt, is that a sign it was needed, or a sign that it shed its shell to get rid of the toxin?

 

[hllb]

As far as I’m concerned, that is a myth based on misunderstandings. Many folks who have kept crabs and shrimp with and without iodine dosing have seen no difference in their survival or molting.

if you dose iodine as I2 (potentially toxic) and see a shrimp molt, is that a sign it was needed, or a sign that it shed its shell to get rid of the toxin?

I didn’t say you needed to DOSE it, just that it’s needed. Salt mix likely has enough in it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I didn’t say you needed to DOSE it, just that it’s needed. Salt mix likely has enough in it.

Iodine is very rapidly depleted from reef tank water, from natural levels to less than 10% of those levels in a few days in many tanks (including mine). So salt mixes are really not important in this context unless you change a lot of water.

A better argument is the large amount of iodine in fish foods meeting the demand. I certainly cannot rule that out, but if it’s true, then supplemental iodine is potentially not needed (even if there is a need for iodine, which has not been reported in the scientific literature).

 

[NowGlazeIT]

great read

 

[Juan Andrés Botero R]

Iodine is very rapidly depleted from reef tank water, from natural levels to less than 10% of those levels in a few days in many tanks (including mine). So salt mixes are really not important in this context unless you change a lot of water.

A better argument is the large amount of iodine in fish foods meeting the demand. I certainly cannot rule that out, but if it’s true, then supplemental iodine is potentially not needed (even if there is a need for iodine, which has not been reported in the scientific literature).

I do test and dose Iodine, I keep it at 0.06ppm, when it gets lower 0.04ppm the crabs and shrimp do not molts well, and an overdose will kill them and will have nasty effects in tank ( I remember my first aquarium, I dose reef complete that has iodine, and my shrimp died, i did not found why until I read somewhere about the effects of iodine on invertebrates. I am a believer of the importance of iodine on the reef aquarium, some consume it, and some others do not, it depends on the set up. My aquarium consumes 0.01ppm/month! and I dose it with the daily equivalent of the Seachem reef complete to provide the rest of the micro-elements to the reef, assuming that they are consumed in those proportions.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I do test and dose Iodine, I keep it at 0.06ppm, when it gets lower 0.04ppm the crabs and shrimp do not molts well, and an overdose will kill them and will have nasty effects in tank ( I remember my first aquarium, I dose reef complete that has iodine, and my shrimp died, i did not found why until I read somewhere about the effects of iodine on invertebrates. I am a believer of the importance of iodine on the reef aquarium, some consume it, and some others do not, it depends on the set up. My aquarium consumes 0.01ppm/month! and I dose it with the daily equivalent of the Seachem reef complete to provide the rest of the micro-elements to the reef, assuming that they are consumed in those proportions.

your tank consumed only 0.01 ppm per month? Mine consumed that is less than a day.

I Have never seen in the scientific literature any claimed need for iodine by inverts for any reason. Only reefers seem to make that claim. Even commercial aquaculture of shrimp doesn’t claim a need for iodine. That doesn’t make it not true, but it seems to support the no dosing need that many have found.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I do test and dose Iodine, I keep it at 0.06ppm, when it gets lower 0.04ppm the crabs and shrimp do not molts well, and an overdose will kill them and will have nasty effects in tank ( I remember my first aquarium, I dose reef complete that has iodine, and my shrimp died, i did not found why until I read somewhere about the effects of iodine on invertebrates. I am a believer of the importance of iodine on the reef aquarium, some consume it, and some others do not, it depends on the set up. My aquarium consumes 0.01ppm/month! and I dose it with the daily equivalent of the Seachem reef complete to provide the rest of the micro-elements to the reef, assuming that they are consumed in those proportions.

if you dose a product that contains many elements, maybe those other elements are what is needed.