Red Sea Iron Test Resulting in 0.0

[Schraufabagel]

I have a 25 gallon AIO with a refugium in the middle chamber. The amount of chaeto is probably the size of several softballs now. Yesterday, I dosed 2.5 mL of Brightwell Aquatics Ferrion, 1 mL of Red Sea Trace Colors Iron+, and performed a 15% water change. Prior to that I hadn't done a water change in 2 weeks due to treating fluconazole for my bryopsis problem. Now the bryopsis is almost completely gone. I also dose 1.5 mL of Brightwell Aquatics ChaetoGro daily per their advanced dosing.

Yesterday my Red Sea Iron test resulted in 0.0 before I dosed or did a water change, which is why I did that after. Today I tested again and the Red Sea Iron test was still 0.0. Is there a reason this might be happening? Is the chaeto taking it up as fast as it's being dosed?

 

[Miami Reef]

I have a 25 gallon AIO with a refugium in the middle chamber. The amount of chaeto is probably the size of several softballs now. Yesterday, I dosed 2.5 mL of Brightwell Aquatics Ferrion, 1 mL of Red Sea Trace Colors Iron+, and performed a 15% water change. Prior to that I hadn't done a water change in 2 weeks due to treating fluconazole for my bryopsis problem. Now the bryopsis is almost completely gone.

Yesterday my Red Sea Iron test resulted in 0.0 before I dosed or did a water change, which is why I did that after. Today I tested again and the Red Sea Iron test was still 0.0. Is there a reason this might be happening? Is the chaeto taking it up as fast as it's being dosed?

Red Sea cannot test at the trace levels we are supposed to keep iron. They can only go as low as 0.0 but not as low as 0.00009 for example.

An ICP test would be ideal. Better yet - as long as your cheato is growing you are good. When the cheato start to dull out or if growth is stalled - look at nitrates and phosphates first, see if lighting can be improved…THEN consider the trace elements.

If you are dosing the Red Sea iron, you are good. I personally prefer cheato gro from brightwell because it’s an all in one for Chaeto (trace element dosing) and I think it’s more concentrated which saves money.

 

[MnFish1]

I have a 25 gallon AIO with a refugium in the middle chamber. The amount of chaeto is probably the size of several softballs now. Yesterday, I dosed 2.5 mL of Brightwell Aquatics Ferrion, 1 mL of Red Sea Trace Colors Iron+, and performed a 15% water change. Prior to that I hadn't done a water change in 2 weeks due to treating fluconazole for my bryopsis problem. Now the bryopsis is almost completely gone. I also dose 1.5 mL of Brightwell Aquatics ChaetoGro daily per their advanced dosing.

Yesterday my Red Sea Iron test resulted in 0.0 before I dosed or did a water change, which is why I did that after. Today I tested again and the Red Sea Iron test was still 0.0. Is there a reason this might be happening? Is the chaeto taking it up as fast as it's being dosed?

1. Its difficult to measure iron in a reef tank - especially if 'things' are taking it up. According to some - its not worth it. Why are you dosing it?
2. Your test may be bad?
3. You might be doing the test incorrectly?
4. Your level of iron may be lower than what the test can detect?
5. You did not dose the Iron correctly for your tank size?
6. The Chaeto utilized all the iron.

Note - I'm not trying to be mean - Its just common that tests especially for trace elements are hard to interpret and do. And - if you want to dose it - as Miami Reef said - an ICP test would be best. I personally have never dosed it - including when I had a chaeto reactor.

 

[Schraufabagel]

1. Its difficult to measure iron in a reef tank - especially if 'things' are taking it up. According to some - its not worth it. Why are you dosing it?
2. Your test may be bad?
3. You might be doing the test incorrectly?
4. Your level of iron may be lower than what the test can detect?
5. You did not dose the Iron correctly for your tank size?
6. The Chaeto utilized all the iron.

Note - I'm not trying to be mean - Its just common that tests especially for trace elements are hard to interpret and do. And - if you want to dose it - as Miami Reef said - an ICP test would be best. I personally have never dosed it - including when I had a chaeto reactor.

My guess is it's probably undetectable then. Only reason I dosed was because I thought the test was telling me it was depleted. I've considered doing an ICP test, and maybe now would be a good time. Do you have a brand you would recommend for that?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There's no concern (IMO) being below the Red Sea recommendation (100 ug/L) or detection levels.

Here's what I got for my dosing and measurement by ICP:

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.

 

[MnFish1]

My guess is it's probably undetectable then. Only reason I dosed was because I thought the test was telling me it was depleted. I've considered doing an ICP test, and maybe now would be a good time. Do you have a brand you would recommend for that?

I have never done one. Perhaps @Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Miami Reef]

I have never done one. Perhaps @Randy Holmes-Farley

Randy likes all ICP tests except for ICP.com I think.

I think Randy personally used Triton. He will have to confirm this though.

I did an ATI ICP test and my iron, zinc etc were undetectable. I’m dosing the cheato gro now.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

When I used Triton, they were the only hobby ICP company available (there were some high end labs like ENC, but I never used them), and they provided it for free in interest of full disclosure.

 

[MnFish1]

When I used Triton, they were the only hobby ICP company available (there were some high end labs like ENC, but I never used them), and they provided it for free in interest of full disclosure.

what would your recommendation be - with regarding - iron dosing in general?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

what would your recommendation be - with regarding - iron dosing in general?

Dosing some amount is often desirable, IMO. Maintaining any specific detectable level is unnecessary, IMO.

 

[Schraufabagel]

Dosing some amount if often desirable, IMO. Maintaining any specific detectable level is unnecessary, IMO.

I’ll just keep going with my regular dosing of chaetogro and the Red Sea trace colors per calcium uptake