Bad Accident! Help!

Yup. Im sure it is very likley that with proper water changes dosing iodine is not needed...but does it really hurt to? Also what if somthing changes with the water being added (use a different salt). But i do know people that dont dose anything. In my opinion this is similar to the argument of doing water changes....some people think that keeping the chemistry of a tank is needed and the only way to do this is to keep the same water in it...alot of 2 sided arguments.

 

Where did you get the idea that everyone doses Iodine?
Maybe everyone around you, but it's certainly not the case with the majority of reefers on large forums, and it's certainly not the case with the majority of hobbyists around where I live.

 

I've never added iodine to my tank. With out an test kit that I feel adiquately tests for it, I'm not going to add it.

J

 

I meant everyone in a reef tank, you misinterpreted my information. Pay more attention.

 

Hmm This thread is really divided. Ok, well here is one question. For the people that dont dose iodine, do you dose anything else? Also do you test your iodine? Is there iodine in your water change water? Because, i dont see reasoning behind not dosing if your tank isnt getting it somewhere else....there is iodine in the ocean and from what i know if you just put a coral in a tank with no supplements at all...it wont be very happy...but hey i could be wrong.

 

Have you found an accurate Iodine test kit? I haven't

J

 

How do you determine if a test kit is accurate? I use salifert and it does what it is made to do. I dont think a company would still be in business if their test kits were not accurate. You say you have not found an accurate test kit, what does that mean? How do you know it is not accurate?

 

Well, over the last 12 years, I've found a lot of test kits that don't measure up to needed standards and all those companies are still in business.
My personal preferences are Salifert and Seachem.
I am not qualified to determine the capabilities of iodine test kits, but enough people that do, have posted on many boards, and written articles in the online magazines enough times that I accept their findings that problems exist in accurately testing iodine.
Iodine is in the salt water you do water changes with, and, is in the foods that you feed the tank as well. (most other trace elements are added this way as well)
I don't add other traces; I merely top up each night with kalkwasser to replace calcium and alkalinity.
When I first got a computer some years back, I found a lot of people espousing the needs for many things that I had not done or used over all the years I'd been reefing up till that point. One point was that many said trace elements and iodine were needed.
I didn't have a problem in all my earlier years, and, a person I respect quite highly for his chemical knowledge in aquaria, Randy Holmes-Farley, quit dosing iodine because he found no evidence to support the need for dosing it, so I've never bothered to dose trace or iodine.

 

I dose Iodine with my kalk. I also test my iodine levels every week, and for some reason they are always zero. I'm using a Seachem test, the reference works and is always right.

I am assuming it gets used up very quickly.