How important is iodine? (1 Viewer)

[frankc]

My LPS corals are doing terrible. My 16-year-old Lobo which has lived through all kinds of conditions has receded to where you can see about 1/4" of skeleton on the edges. Even my candy cane colony is all of a sudden dying. I got a Triton test back today, and the only real notable thing that was off was the iodine was 0. Everything else was in the green range.

I had been having 0 nitrate for a long time, so a couple weeks ago I started dosing stump remover to keep it around 2.5-5. I really thought that was the problem, but the corals are continuing to decline. I had also gotten a little too generous with alk dosing and it had gotten to 8.7. It was pointed out to me that high alk and low nitrates is a bad combination, so I have been slowly adding a little diluted muriatic acid and it's down to 8.3 today, working to get it to 8 or just below.

Acros are doing ok. The 12 I got 2 weeks ago are doing well, except a couple of them have lost some tissue at the tips, which I think is due to the higher alk.

Just wondered if anyone had experienced major problems with low iodine, or if getting a better alk/nutrients balance is likely to fix the issue eventually.

 

[newtankguy]

can only speak from experience. my ICP test came back at .02 and ever since i've been doing about 2 drops daily for the last 2 weeks. and my sps have never looked better. not sure what role iodine plays in coral building/ health though. so just my opinion.

 

[webster1234]

I dose iodine. Have been for years. For my big tank, I dose 12 drops daily. I use the Brightwell because they are one of the only companies to put the concentration right on the bottle. Most of the other companies put something like "one cc raises 5 gallons of saltwater .02 ppm" or some gibberish like that. That's like a word problem from 8th grade math class. How can they expect anyone to figure that out. I don't have time for that. Like it's some sort of big trade secret. Iodine should be dosed daily though. That is also the reason I refuse to use Triton elements. They treat you like you're mentally challenged and can't figure out things for yourself. Ok, rant off.

It could be iodine but I also want to know what you are feeding your corals and how often. My lobo was showing skeleton also some time back and I started target feeding it and it came back. They only feed at night when the lights are out so I feed mine with a head lamp on. It's also possible your water is too clean and they are starving. Both my brains and my candy canes get to where they won't even extend their tentacles at night when they are starving.

I'd put my money on starvation first, iodine second.

Also, regarding your alk at 8.7, that's no big deal. I run mine at 9-10 and my LPS have never looked better or grown faster. I used to run it at 8 and the Red Sea people talked me into running it higher. I brought it up slowly and was pleased with the results. You just have to remember that if you increase your alk, it will depress your calcium so you have to add more calcium to keep the alk/calcium ratio in check.

And if you think about it logically, if my alk is at 8.0 and my doser runs dry, my alk is at 6 in 2 days, which drops my pH and stresses my fish and corals. If my alk is at 10 and the same happens, my alk drops to 8 and my pH barely budges.

 

[frankc]

I feed the corals a mix of Reef Roids, Oyster Feast, Microvert, Pytoplex, and sometimes some others. For the LPS I also then feed R.O.E. (fish eggs) or some other larger food. I try to target feed once a week, and lately I've been adding a second broadcast feed. I also use Red Sea Reef Energy A and B.

 

[Cody]

I dose iodine. Have been for years. For my big tank, I dose 12 drops daily. I use the Brightwell because they are one of the only companies to put the concentration right on the bottle. Most of the other companies put something like "one cc raises 5 gallons of saltwater .02 ppm" or some gibberish like that. That's like a word problem from 8th grade math class. How can they expect anyone to figure that out. I don't have time for that. Like it's some sort of big trade secret. Iodine should be dosed daily though. That is also the reason I refuse to use Triton elements. They treat you like you're mentally challenged and can't figure out things for yourself. Ok, rant off.

It could be iodine but I also want to know what you are feeding your corals and how often. My lobo was showing skeleton also some time back and I started target feeding it and it came back. They only feed at night when the lights are out so I feed mine with a head lamp on. It's also possible your water is too clean and they are starving. Both my brains and my candy canes get to where they won't even extend their tentacles at night when they are starving.

I'd put my money on starvation first, iodine second.

Also, regarding your alk at 8.7, that's no big deal. I run mine at 9-10 and my LPS have never looked better or grown faster. I used to run it at 8 and the Red Sea people talked me into running it higher. I brought it up slowly and was pleased with the results. You just have to remember that if you increase your alk, it will depress your calcium so you have to add more calcium to keep the alk/calcium ratio in check.

And if you think about it logically, if my alk is at 8.0 and my doser runs dry, my alk is at 6 in 2 days, which drops my pH and stresses my fish and corals. If my alk is at 10 and the same happens, my alk drops to 8 and my pH barely budges.

I use Brightwell for the exact same reason. I actually created a spreadsheet for most of their supplements to calculate for me. Anywho, I would look towards starvation as well, but rather, via nitrates or phosphates. Not sure if Triton tests for phosphorous, which you need to do the conversion after your results, but I am pretty sure they don't test for nitrates. Frank, what are your nitrates now? Also, when was the last time you tested and what were the results?

 

[frankc]

They actually do list both phosphorous and phosphates. They measured my phosphates at .026, which is quite a bit higher than I get with my Hanna ULR checker at .006. I tested nitrates today and it looked to be between 5 and 10 on the Salifert test.

 

[Cody]

They actually do list both phosphorous and phosphates. They measured my phosphates at .026, which is quite a bit higher than I get with my Hanna ULR checker at .006. I tested nitrates today and it looked to be between 5 and 10 on the Salifert test.

Gotcha. As far as iodine is concerned, I used to dose it, then I didn't. Didn't seem to make a difference either way. From what I understand, much like iron, it depletes very quickly and can be a challenge to maintain. If it were my tank, I'd probably wrote off the iodine as an issue and look towards something else. Most often than not, issues we have in our tank are much simpler than we try to make them out to be. Maybe a parasite? Anything stinging it? Eating enough? I'd look towards things like that.

 

[RR-MAN]

Hey Frank,

I don't think Alkalinity is the issue. I understand your logic regarding higher DKH and lower Nitrates but I don't think that's it especially if LPS are not doing well. Lots of reefers keep DKH between 8.5-9 including me. I keep it around 8.5 so your DKH at around 8.7 I don't think that will cause any issue.

If I were you I would not drop the alkalinity with acid...instead just stop dosing for a couple of days and you will reach your alkalinity level once corals consume some.


When it comes to iodine - I have never dosed in the past but in the new tank will be dosing couple of drops a day just because Webster (my mentor) said so, LMAO

My LPS corals are doing terrible. My 16-year-old Lobo which has lived through all kinds of conditions has receded to where you can see about 1/4" of skeleton on the edges. Even my candy cane colony is all of a sudden dying. I got a Triton test back today, and the only real notable thing that was off was the iodine was 0. Everything else was in the green range.

I had been having 0 nitrate for a long time, so a couple weeks ago I started dosing stump remover to keep it around 2.5-5. I really thought that was the problem, but the corals are continuing to decline. I had also gotten a little too generous with alk dosing and it had gotten to 8.7. It was pointed out to me that high alk and low nitrates is a bad combination, so I have been slowly adding a little diluted muriatic acid and it's down to 8.3 today, working to get it to 8 or just below.

Acros are doing ok. The 12 I got 2 weeks ago are doing well, except a couple of them have lost some tissue at the tips, which I think is due to the higher alk.

Just wondered if anyone had experienced major problems with low iodine, or if getting a better alk/nutrients balance is likely to fix the issue eventually.

 

[frankc]

Hey Frank,

I don't think Alkalinity is the issue. I understand your logic regarding higher DKH and lower Nitrates but I don't think that's it especially if LPS are not doing well. Lots of reefers keep DKH between 8.5-9 including me. I keep it around 8.5 so your DKH at around 8.7 I don't think that will cause any issue.

If I were you I would not drop the alkalinity with acid...instead just stop dosing for a couple of days and you will reach your alkalinity level once corals consume some.


When it comes to iodine - I have never dosed in the past but in the new tank will be dosing couple of drops a day just because Webster (my mentor) said so, LMAO

I tried the route of just not dosing for several days, but absolutely nothing was changing. I guess when corals are not doing well they don't use any alk. After yesterday's acid the alk is down to 8.064 today, so I am done with dosing acid. I picked up some of the Brightwell iodine today, so we'll see if anything good happens.

 

[PorpoiseHork]

Iodine plays a very important role in the metabolic functions of nearly all living organisms, this includes macro algae, fish, corals, and inverts alike. Every salt mix on the market has some level of iodine in it, and if your ICP test is reporting 0 then dosing is needed to bring it back into range. Other things to look at are magnesium and trace elements not being in an ideal range.

This is an excerpt from the following article about the importance and role of Iodine in a reef aquarium.

Iodine is a critical element for cellular function and the transfer of nutrients within cells. Larger organisms require Iodine for proper thyroid function, production of hormones, and regulating metabolism. Iodine is utilized by corals for the synthesis of pigments, which allow them to adapt to varying light conditions and provide their tissue with protection from UV radiation. Invertebrates with exoskeletons (primarily shrimp and crabs in the aquarium) incorporate iodine in to exoskeletons and require iodine for molting and forming new exoskeletons as they grow.

Source - Understanding the Role of Iodine in a Reef Aquarium

Here's a more in-depth article on the role iodine has in the reef tank.

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Iodine in Marine Aquaria: Part I

This first article will cover what is known about iodine in the oceans, including what forms it takes and how toxic these forms are, what organisms use it, how they obtain it, and what they use it for. It will also detail some issues around iodine measurement and what natural sources of iodine...

www.advancedaquarist.com

 

[frankc]

It looks like the tank was really starving for iodine. I got the Salifert test so I wouldn't overdose. Monday I dosed 5ml and could barely detect anything the next day. So I've been dosing 10ml every day since, and only seeing about .01 of iodide, which is what the Brightwell product contains, and 0 iodate. Finally yesterday I tested a few hours after dosing and got about .06 iodide. This morning I tested again before dosing and it was still between .03 and .06. The iodate is still undetectable, which seems strange because the iodide is supposed to be converted to iodate and that is supposed to be more stable.

The thing I really don't understand is the alk has climbed back up to 8.5. What the heck? I haven't dosed alk in weeks, so I have no idea how it went from 8.0 Monday to 8.5 yesterday and today.

As for the corals, there has not been much change. I target fed them Monday night, and it seemed like the Lobo was a little more enthusiastic about feeding than it had been, and the next day both Trachy's were a little puffier than they had been in a while. Since then the Lobo has receded a bit more, and there are more polyps gone on the candy cane.

I guess I should have skipped all that computer science nonsense in college and gotten a chemistry degree.

 

[webster1234]

That is strange that it keeps climbing without dosing any alkalinity. Are you sure your test kit isn't bad? That seems almost unthinkable. I have a nem tank with nothing but nems in it and I have to dose 15cc of alk (1g/10cc) a day or it falls to 5 dKh in a matter of a few days. And that is with NO corals. Only coralline and nems.
So if you haven't dosed alk in weeks, I would figure that out quickly. Its possible that your alk is actually in the gutter.
Try this, check your pH. If your alk it as high as you say, your pH should be at 8.2-8.4. If it's at 7.8 or lower, your alk isn't at 8.5 and your test kit is bad.
On a better note, once you figure this out, try running your alk at 9-10. I think you will like it. Don't sweat the 8.0 number.

 

[frankc]

It appears iodine is extremely important for gorgonians. My older one looked like it was losing the battle with algae and was likely to die. Right before I started dosing, it had gotten so bad that it never put out any polyps, and no matter how hard I blew it off with a turkey baster, I could not get it clean. After less than a week of dosing iodine, it sprang back to life. It sloughed off large amounts of tissue, revealing thicker, purple branches with loads of polyps. You can see some of the discarded material hanging off of it - the whole thing was the color of these pieces and not much thicker.

 

[frankc]

In spite of, or perhaps because of, whatever is going on in the tank, my nems have never looked better. There color has been really great lately. Before I started dosing iodine, they were keeping their tentacles much more compact, but with strong color. Since the dosing, they have elongated the tentacles again, but retained the strong color. They look a lot prettier in person than I was able to capture in the picture.

Thank goodness for a few bright spots in the tank. Now I'm also dealing with RTN. I lost one Acro completely last night, and one that's about half gone that I dipped in witch hazel then fragged the healthiest end to see if I can save it. Even my pink bird's nest is losing tissue. I have never dealt with such a nightmare where fish, LPS, and SPS were all dying at the same time for different reasons.

 

[Cody]

I just got an ICP test back and mine is .01. I have some brightwell iodine solution on hand, which is the absolute best brand for dosing these type of things. Easy to figure out calculations, and accurate concentrations. I'll go pick up a test kit and try boosting it up to .04.

 

[frankc]

It looks like the "mystery alk factory" has finally shut down. After weeks and weeks of being absolutely stable at 8.7 without me doing anything, it was down to 7.9 today despite a 10% water change last week with higher alk water (Reef Crystals). I still don't know what caused this. I read on another forum that you can get dead spots in a tank where the ph locally drops enough to dissolve some of the rock or sand. The other think I had thought of is when I had the parrot fish, it scraped off bits of rock and might have exposed an area that leached alk somehow, and now it is depleted. Whatever, back to dosing.

My candy cane and Turbinaria are recovering nicely, and a chalice that I thought was dead is coming back. Unfortunately, the Lobo and Trachys are continuing to decline. Acros are doing well, and the Gorgonian in the picture above is looking amazing.