What do you use for iodine dosing??

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Has the hypothesis that trace levels of iodine are important for proper crustacean molting been disproven, or is it still up in the air?

IMO, it is a myth, perhaps based on the fact that elevated levels can sometimes make them molt.

I kept shrimp and crabs just fine without adding any, and there's no recognition of any importance of iodine in shrimp aquaculture that I have ever seen.

 

[wattson]

Has the hypothesis that trace levels of iodine are important for proper crustacean molting been disproven, or is it still up in the air?

sometimes when I dose Iodide,,I see shrimp /pod moults blowing around in my tanks..so I would think your idea is correct..I see an immediate reaction in my palys and zoas when I dose..I even dose Iodide after a water change,,10 percent or less water change

 

[Cory]

Iodide gets rapidly taken up by algae. I'm just not sure anything we usually keep actually benefits from it.

Yeah I havent found much evidence yet. I read a few statements about gorgonians and black corals needing it. Something to do with it found as thyroxidine or something.

 

[Scorpius]

I saw no discernible difference in dosing vs. not dosing iodine. Your results and mileage may vary.

 

[leicaguy]

I use Triton Iodine

 

[madweazl]

My tank has shown zero iodine on each of the three Triton tests I've done and it hasn't had any correlation to anything in the tank (my shrimp still shed about once a month without issue too so I dont think it helps them any either). For what it's worth, colors have been just fine in my SPS dominant reef with P/PO4 readings of 0/0, 16/.048, and 3.3/.010. I typically have 0 nitrates and have dosed up 5ppm and haven't noted any differences there either. I think much of this gets blown way out of proportion on the forum but I'm only one user so take it for that's worth.

Edit: I take that back, my iodine readings were 0, 11, and 0.

 

[Cory]

Just because it' zero doesn't mean it's not being used.

 

[BigJohnny]

I had the same issue and bought tritons iodine so I could just dose based on their recommendations. It's overpriced though (matters less if you have a smaller tank and barely need to use any, will last forever on my 90g). I only dosed it back to recommended levels based on their instructions, but have not been dosing their recommended maintenance dose because I'm not running the triton method and they have no way of knowing what my tank needs anyway lol. I plan on getting another test in a month and checking again to try and get a baseline. I probably wouldn't start a maintenance dose unless I saw relatively consistent drops over time.

Btw, in addition to other natural processes that consume iodine, triton says activated carbon absorbs it. Just fyi

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yeah I havent found much evidence yet. I read a few statements about gorgonians and black corals needing it. Something to do with it found as thyroxidine or something.

Yes, that is true. I discuss it here:

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Iodine in Marine Aquaria: Part I ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/chem.htm

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Iodine In Reef Tanks 2: Effects On Macroalgae Growth ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/april2003/chem.htm

 

[RussiReef]

I use TRITON iodine per there instructions. But honestly see no differentes

 

[Scott.h]

What do you think it does?

Not sure if it's true, but it's supposed to help with base/tip recession on sps, as well as more vivid colors. Seems pretty plausible to me over the last 6 months since I've been adding it. The new frags seem to get more vivid after purchasing them also. I know my propagator doesn't use it.

I use seachem iodide. (I'd prefer triton so I know the strength, but already had the other). Once a week I dose 1/2 to 1 ml in 100 gallons.

Crappy cell phone doesn't do it justice.

 

[BigJohnny]

I will say that David Saxby and Mike Paletta both dose iodine because they believe it prevents bleaching/tissue recession at the base of of acropora. I personally am against dosing anything blindly but I see no harm in making sure it's at least at nsw levels. I personally have never had tissue recession or bleaching at the base of acropora though, so maybe I'd try it if I did! My acros have always either done great or rtn.

 

[rkpetersen]

My acros have always either done great or rtn.

This is perhaps the most accurate, amusing, and tragic thing I've read on this forum this week. ;Shifty

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I certainly agree there’s no harm in dosing to nsw levels of iodide. [emoji3]

 

[rosshamsandwich]

Why does iodine if left out in the open turn from brown to clear?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Why does iodine if left out in the open turn from brown to clear?

There are many forms of iodine. I2 is the main one that is colored, but I- (iodide) and iodate (IO3-) are colorless.

If I2 reacts with something like an organic molecule, it will generally become colorless. That's actually an old fashioned lab test for carbon-carbon double bonds:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodine_value

 

[rosshamsandwich]

This is the answer I was looking for! Thank you, Randy! You're the best!

 

[rosshamsandwich]

There are many forms of iodine. I2 is the main one that is colored, but I- (iodide) and iodate (IO3-) are colorless.

If I2 reacts with something like an organic molecule, it will generally become colorless. That's actually an old fashioned lab test for carbon-carbon double bonds:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodine_value

Okay so to build on this. Once it has reacted to organic molecules in the aquarium water, does it then become rendered ineffective or unusable for our corals?