iodine

[Salmon King]

There is talk going around that you shouldnt use iodine in reef tank.Any feed back appeciated

[justinl]

im against iodine myself. some people dose it in their tanks without even testing for it, which i think is just begging for trouble, but even if you do test for it... well it doesnt matter a whole lot imo. iodine is a very difficult ion to test for and unless you're using laboratory grade tests, our little hobby test kits are just too unreliable.

that and it can be quite harmful to marine arthropods. high levels of iodine can really screw up their molting cycle and if you raise levels of iodine right after a molt, it can quickly become toxic to them then. the salt we use mixed with the food we feed should provide plenty of iodine to whatever is in the tank.

I can understand quick iodine dips to kill nudis off of zoos when you initially put the frag in the tank, but regular dosing? ehhh, not something ill go for.

jmo. i know some people swear by the stuff.

[danny zubot]

I dose iodine based on the recommendation on the bottle. I don't test for it either. I agree that it's not the safest practice but by following the direction I've never experienced anything bad. I also use Kent's tech I formula as it is less prone to being skimmed out of the water right after dosing.

I have noticed that my shrimp molted more often once I began dosing. i also have more poylp extension with LPS and SPS.

[justinl]

while i cant and wont argue the reaction that corals have to iodine testing, i will say this. more frequent molting from arthropods just backs up my own claim (well not really mine, I got this from Dr. Roy Caldwell over on RC). molting is a VERY stressful time. think of it as giving birth... to yourself . during and after a molt is the most stressful time for an arthropod and during these times, they are highly vulnerable to pretty much any and everything (more so than usual at least). before molting they have to prepare by sucking nutrients from the old carapace and start growing a new carapace under the old. more frequent molts (to an unnatural degree that is induced by the iodine) doesnt allow them to prepare properly and can have negative results in the long term.

can you tell i love my inverts?

[danny zubot]

What would you say is too often for an invert to molt? I think my cleaner shrimp molted on a monthly basis until it reached it's current size. Now it molts every three months with the same iodine dosing regiment.

[justinl]

well to be completely honest i cant say. molting cycle gradually slows down (longer time between molts) as an animal ages, but it depends on a few factors. environment, size, and age obviously, but also species, and to a degree, the individual itself. i havent had a cleaner shrimp (just a couple peps) so i cant comment on your guy.... just those generalizations.

[danny zubot]

I sort of thought about those reasons as well. I'm curious to see if molting increases in frequency again after I upgrade to a larger tank?