Opinions on Iodine in reef tanks

[randy holmes-farley]

I'd like to solicit opinions from reefkeepers to gauge what the current sentiment around iodine is. So vote your opinion, please!

I'd like to include this opinion in a couple of articles that I'm putting together on iodine in reef tanks and the ocean.

TIA

 

[Anonymous]

I don't dose it because the tank seems happy without it, and it is difficult to test. I'll look forward to reading the article when it comes out.

 

[snowman5373]

I use Iodide From what Ive been told its safer and contains a complex so your corals wont over eat it.

 

[Marcosreef]

I'd like to include this opinion in a couple of articles that I'm putting together on iodine in reef tanks and the ocean.

I look forward to it!

Thanks Randy!

Marco

 

[Eduardo Cavalcanti]

i've read a time ago that tanks heavily populated withsoft corals could consume all iodine present in the natural sea water in 2 days. after reading this, i did some research about it and find that xenias and mushs would grow much faster if iodine was dosed, so i started to put in my tank, in the levels that the producer tells. after some time, my xenias did go crazy. they just didn't stop spreading in every corner of the reef.
but them i've read another article that said that high levels of iodine could kill crustaceans and clams. i really wanted to buy a clam, so i stoped using it in the tank, like a month ago. since that, my xenias aren't growing that much, but at least my clam it's not dead. ahahaha.
seriously, if someone told me that iodine can do no harm to my Tridacna crocea, i would definitly dose it again

 

[randy holmes-farley]

I've never heard anyone suggest that it is harmful to clams, but I suppose that if you overdose it, it may be harmful to most organisms.

Anyway, thanks for the opinions so far.

 

[Eduardo Cavalcanti]

randy, in one of his articles, daniel knop did put a letter of someone who had lost 8 clams and so on. in one part he (the guy) sad: I did accidentally overdose the tank with iodine. I had a level of about 0.12 parts per million for a while.

in the answer, daniel sad:Regarding the clam losses — I don’t think you’re experiencing predation. From what you say, it could either be linked to the iodine overdosing or it must have a different cause. Provided you don’t have heavy metals or some other toxic substances in the water, I would try to focus on any changes you recently made to your setup.

i think that was the first time i heard about iodine afecting in a negative way some reef inhabitant. later, i heard a friend of mine telling that every time he dosed, iodine, his shrimps changed their exosqueletum. this would probably happens because the iodine would concentrate in it, making harm to the critter. i don´t know if is true or not, but here i´ve noticed this too.

 

[wombat1]

FWIW, in the Marine Reef Aquarium Handbook by Goldstein he notes that strontium supplements may adversely affect clams also. I add no supplements, but make a 10% water change once a week.
Looking forward to the article Randy!

 

[Eduardo Cavalcanti]

this issue is really controversial. i already read in another place that iodine was good for clams, and that really helped them to grow faster.

 

[Will C1]

i read a loong time ago that iodine would help my xenia and help my crabs to shed. i have been adding luginols soultion 2 drops a week in my 90 for 4 years with no adverse affects on my clams or corals and no crab loss at all. i dident even know it was controversial i have been adding it religiously like my calcuim.....oh well im not gonna stop now i think i works well.

 

[GnG]

I think some people in this discussion may be confusing two issues. Supplementing iodine vs, overdosing iodine. Many of the supplements we add can be toxic if overdosed. A good analogy is vitamin E and many of the other fat soluble vitamins that humans require. At high levels they can be toxic. Iodine is chemically similar to Chlorine and can be an oxidizer at high levels. Iodine is required by all organisms, including humans. Without it we develop a disease called Ricketts. Originally this was not a problem because we mainly used evaporated sea salt. Today we use purified mined salt that has potassium iodide addeed to it. Based on my research, clams do require some iodine. I suppose whether you add iodine depends on what sort of critters you have in your tanks. If you have a lot of soft corals that are using up your iodine quickly you probably do need to use an iodine supplent. Check the labels on your supplemnents to see if they contain iodine. If you are not interested in rapid growth of things like Xenias, then you probably don't want to add a lot of iodine. The iodine youa re getting from water changes may be sufficient for your system. I have heard from my LFS that iodine is rapidly converted to iodate which is not as readily used by critters. I don't have any concrete information on this and would be interested if someone has a reference to this.

Personally, I have a lot of xenias, mushrooms, and clove polyps in my tanks that soak the stuff up. I've trade about $100/month (wholesale value) worth of xenias to my LFS for supplies and livestock in the last 3-4 months. Crustaceans require iodine for molting.

I have been adding Lugol's solution to my tanks containing clams for several months and have not noticed any problems. Lugol's is a mixture of iodine and potassium iodide. I add 1 drop per 50/gal. twice a week. I'm getting some additional iodine from 10% water changes every 2 weeks and other trace element supplements.

 

[reefphreak]

I does iodine with Lugol's solution and test regularly to maintian natural levels.