Iodine, Iodide and Iodate oh my...

[jill]

Hi Boomer,

Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to provide. I have only been involved in this “hobby” for about 18 months and am trying to learn as much as I can.

I want to confirm my understanding of what my iodide and iodate readings mean. I need to know if I should adjust or discontinue my “Aquavitro Vibrance” supplement OR should I try to correct high iodate by increasing phytoplankton “dosing” .

My iodide is .04 and my iodate is registering higher than .2

I have been dosing my 330 G mixed reef system with 7 mm Vibrance almost everyday for a about a year. I have done this because my Salifert Iodine test has continually read between 0-.05. I never measured for the iodate before today because there was no chart associated with it in the test and I’ve never heard anyone talk about it.

My tank parameters are as follows:
Temperature 77-79
pH (Pinpoint) 8-1 to 8-2
Specific Gravity (Pinpoint) 1.025
Nitrate (Elos test) 1
Nitrite (Elos test) 0
Ammonia (Elos test) color is hard to read but very close to 0
KH (Salifert test) 10
Calcium (Salifert test) 500
Mg (Salifert test) 1500
Strontium (Salifert test) not measurable so I’m going to start dosing it.

I currently use all Aquavitro products to dose calcium, mag and pH as well as the Vibrance for Iodine.
I use Tropic Marin Pro salt and RO.

I have a high bioload (Purple Tang, Valentini Puffer, Yellowheaded Sleeper Goby, 2 Heniochus, Purple Firefish, Lemonpeel Angel, Coral Beauty, Midas Blenny, 2 clowns with a RTBA.
I also have a pink anemone, 2 cardinal shrimps, zooanthids, leather coral, montipora, digitata, hammer coral, starbust, mushrooms, Clove polyp and acropora.

The reason I finally tested the iodate is because one of my digitata’s experienced RTN and almost all of it died for no apparent reason.

The high iodate reading prompted me to do some research and I am still not sure what to do. If I quit dosing my iodide will decrease to 0 but I am assuming my iodate will also decrease and I have read that excess iodate is dangerous.

I ordered an ORP probe and plan on learning about that when it comes and something is ticking in my brain that it may have something to do with this issue but I don’t understand.

Do you have some advice for me?

 

[Boomer]

Almost all "Iodine" in seawater is Iodate. Most reef tanks are not deficient in any form of "Iodine". I do not believe in supp'ing any "Iodine". Yes, excessive Iodate is dangerous. It causes shrimp and other crustaceans to go into an excessive molt patterns, which ends up killing them. Algae, if you want to grow them, do need Iodide more than Iodate but wil use either. The big issue here is most kits a are not for crap. With a test kit the Total I should not exceed 0.05 ppm,as kits usually read to low. That 0.05 is ~ NSW. Your Total I = 0.24. So, you are almost 5 x to much.

 

[lvsuckerfish]

Almost all "Iodine" in seawater is Iodate. Most reef tanks are not deficient in any form of "Iodine". I do not believe in supp'ing any "Iodine". Yes, excessive Iodate is dangerous. It causes shrimp and other crustaceans to go into an excessive molt patterns, which ends up killing them. Algae, if you want to grow them, do need Iodide more than Iodate but wil use either. The big issue here is most kits a are not for crap. With a test kit the Total I should not exceed 0.05 ppm,as kits usually read to low. That 0.05 is ~ NSW. Your Total I = 0.24. So, you are almost 5 x to much.

Boomer hit it on the head no test kits are worth a crap some people add a drop per week and thats on 100 plus gallons of water. I did for a while and did not see a difference in my system so i wasted money buying a Iodine. and still have it water changes will provide all you need for the system.

 

[jill]

Thank you so much Boomer. I'm done with Vibrance.

 

[07FocusST]

yikes, i better reconsider how i am dosing iodine!

 

[Xtremedave67]

Thanks Jill for bringing that up, I have vibrance I utilize as well.

 

[jill]

Hey - another thing on this issue Boomer - a few months ago I lost my coral banded shrimp for what I assumed was for no good reason. He had shed several times over the 6 months that I had him and I thought that was a good thing. Now I am wondering if maybe he was a victim of iodine overload...

 

[Boomer]

It may be jill hard to say. However, shedding /molting several times in 6 months is normal. The shrimp may of had just had a bad molt.