iodine testing/levels please help

onefish2fish

an iodine test kit and i believe kents iodine supplement should be at my house today in the mail, what should be a good level of iodine in my system?

if it helps, its a 46 gal bow with xenia, candy cane, 2 small zoa colonies, green star polyp and purple mushrooms.. i have 2 peppermint shrimp, 5 scarlet hermit crabs, 5-10 blue legged hermits, 10 nassarius snails, 5 cerith snails, 5 turbo snails

last test results taken(2 days ago) i believe were:
amonia,nitrite,nitrate: 0ppm
pH: 8.1
cal:500
dkh: 10
temp:79 F
SG:1.022


anyways i dont know if that helps or not so i added it anyways, but what should my iodine test read to be considered safe/benificial for my system.. thanks

SKAustin

Iodine is a complicated subject. Supplementation is generally not recommended. According to Mr Randy Holmes-Farley, there is no evidence in scientific literature that any of these animals require iodine. Iodine has a large number of naturally occurring forms, some of these forms are toxic, and all of these forms can mutually convert into one another. Commercially available test kits only detect a small subset of the available forms of iodine. Furthermore, Iodine already enters your system through other means such as trace element supplements and food. Additional supplementation may serve only to overdose your system.

nonetheless, if you choose to supplement iodine, the recommended levels are 0.02 - 0.04 ppm of iodide

Kellsindell

hey onefish, did the iodine do anything to your tank beneficial or otherwise?

SKAustin

Here are a few articles to Help understand the supplementation in marine aquaria.

The “How To” Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners,
Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented


Iodine in Marine Aquaria: Part I




Iodine in Reef Tanks 2: Effects on Macroalgal Growth



I did dose iodine in my tank for a short time (few months) without any noticible positives or negatives. I have stopped dosing iodine for about 6 months now and have noticed no negative impacts from doing so.

Kellsindell

that's about what i've heard before too. though i've heard that it's great to use for fragging, but i have no personal exp with it.

SKAustin

Ive used Lugol's form of Iodine as an antibacterial Dip. It seemed to work well for that purpose. Lugol's suggests that it can be used as a supplement, but it is highly recommended against, as it contains the toxic, I2 form of iodine.

Kellsindell

makes sense. perhaps i should start emplementing that for my sps in the future. thanks.