Iodine

Kigs! · Mar 31, 2008

Does anyone dose Iodine into their tank? If so, how often and how much?

fade2black · Mar 31, 2008

I don't. Water changes are fine for me. One less test kit to use too IMO. =)

reef-lover · Mar 31, 2008

I dose with lugols every 4th day. I use 1 drop per 20 gallons. works great.

SINNERMF · Mar 31, 2008

I use the Tropic Marin Iodine. Once a day. 1 drop per 20 gallons.

revhtree · Mar 31, 2008

What do you think the benefits are and do you see them to those that do dose?

Sorry Kigs for the extra questions...

Kigs! · Mar 31, 2008

No worries Rev, that was my next question in line actually.

reef-lover, and sinnermf; how big are your systems? also how heavy is your tank stocked?

charga · Mar 31, 2008

SINNERMF said:
I use the Tropic Marin Iodine. Once a day. 1 drop per 20 gallons.

Whoa....too much, it's 1 drop per 50 gallons. Read the side of the bottle.

Kigs! · Apr 1, 2008

coralnutz said:
I don't, and would never recommend people dose iodine.

1. It is fatal to different animals, and we don't know what those levels are even if you could get an accurate test.

2. Because the iodine is used up from the water column almost immediately, there is no way to accurately test or measure for it. It's a lot like phosphates, when you hear about those people with algae in their tank but their test kits all show 0. We know they have phospates because you have to have it for algae to grow, but since it's used up by the alae so fast there really isn't an accurate way to test.

Jeremy, have you used Iodine in the past and saw negative outcome? I thought it would be a bit different case than phosphate since Iodine is one of the essential elements for most softies, but I'm taking every precaution before using it...I did read many of the softie-dominated tank owners recommending dosing Iodine however.

On another note, I just got a big stain of Iodine on my pinky...how long does it usually take for this ugly stain to come out? :mad:

Paintguru · Apr 1, 2008

I put a drop or two of Lugols in my 92 gal every so often (maybe once a week if that). I can't say I see any effects one way or another.

rdvab · Apr 1, 2008

Not sure of the benefits.I have been putting a full eye dropper in once a month for about 4 years...240 gal.tankheavily stocked

Chong · Apr 1, 2008

Hey vince, I dose with iodine 1x a week and really havent noticed any bad effects from using it. I did notice though that my palys were alot bigger than others but not exactly sure if that is the reason.

Kigs! · Apr 1, 2008

I dosed 2 drops of Lugol's last night. Hopefully it will outweigh any negatives with more positives in the long run. Thank you for all the input guys

revhtree · Apr 1, 2008

Good Luck bro! Let us know how it goes.

Hey btw what are you having trouble with?

Kigs! · Apr 1, 2008

I'm slowly getting addicted to collecting yumas and rics - I just read in a thread by Flricordea that iodine helps/promote growth so I figured I'd give it a try. If it makes my palys and zoas bigger and healthier in the process, that'd be cool too

jeffsreef · Apr 14, 2008

I do one drop a week in my 55g.

Questin · Apr 14, 2008

I use Iodine and have been for years, but just a few drops at a time of Lugol. The main reason that I use iodine is to help out my shrimp. They need the iodine after they shed to help their new skin.

kurbs · Apr 14, 2008

I do one drop every Thursday.

Russellaqua · Apr 14, 2008

Dosing iodine once a week will definitely help softies and inverts. It's a trace element that is needed by them. Certainly high levels are toxic, but too low a level is nearly as bad. I tend to rely more on regular water changes for my iodine. Heavy protein skimming will quickly remove any iodine you add to the tank.

reef-lover · Apr 14, 2008

my softy tank is 40 gallons and is heavily stocked. I've been dosing iodine for about 6 months regularly,but, I also change 10% water a week. I notice, in my tank, iodine gets everything PLUMP, also I haven't lost a colony of zoas since I've been dosing, even the melting-prone caribbean blues seem to do real well. Just my experience.

saltwaternewb · Apr 14, 2008

I have always wanted to know about iodine too. I am going to have a zoa dominated tank and it will be invert heavy so they will benefit as well. I doubt that I would really need to dose though since my tank is only 10g so water changes should be enough.