Iodine?

Ya,
but by only being 31 you missed all the fun with things like undergravel filter plates, crushed coral, reverse flow filter plates, monstrous air pumps like the old Silent Giants and lift tubes, normal output T-12 fluorescent lights then HO fluorescents and later VHO's, the first skimmers like the Red Sea Berlins and Sea Clones, metal trim on your aquariums instead of plastic and some really ugly looking silicone sealant jobs. My first tanks corners looked so bad I made wooden trim pieces to cover the glass edges to hide it.

Then we had the first generation of pumps like the hot and noisy Little Giants and Rainbow Lifeguard Quiet Ones, canister filters, wet/drys with drip plates and DLS media, Berlin method sand beds and so much more.

Times have really changed but it was neat to see some of the old equipment and methods so you better understand why some of todays stuff is so much better. I get a kick out of looking at many of my old tank photographs made with my 35mm camera and real film. One thing I really miss is the reef club meetings we used to have. This was before the internet and personal computers were popular or affordable and word of mouth was the best way to pass info on. Our local club was around for about 25 years until about 5 years ago when it finally gave up since they were not able to get the support of the LFS since everyone was buying online or fragging and trading corals, most of the LFS folded up too.

I guess there is good and bad in progress.

 

disclaimer: by the folks been in the longest, I did not mean a blanket statement. Some of you will know who/what threads I'm talking about. I had certain examples in mind when I said it. I'm not pointing them out.

 

I also don't have to "see" a million dollars on my checking account statement for it to be there. I swear it is!

In all reality, you can't judge the "overall" health of the system with iodine and without iodine when no change is visible.

I've also heard quite a few stories of people whose tanks crash because of an iodine overdose. I also know a few people, on these boards, who don't dose iodine and don't even do water changes, yet have shrimp and crabs that do perfectly fine in the tank. They're definitely one of the organisms typically associated with benefits from iodine dosing. My opinion is that they molt in response to the sudden water parameter change when iodine is introduced, not because they actually need it to molt.

 

You only have to do a search on the Reef Central's chemistry forum and you will find a pile of threads where Randy has posted that he no longer uses iodine and hasn't for quite some time now. Randy states that the only thing he feels needs iodine supplements was a certain rare type of gorgonian which I don't remember just which one(s).
There is no dispute that iodine is used by many reef things, but there is no proof that most reef things need supplementation beyond what they are getting.
I haven't used any in seventeen years now so all of my tanks haven't needed it.
Obviously for people like me who succeed without dosing anything, it must be taken care of by the additions of food which almost all contain iodine compounds.
While I don't do water changes more than about every 4 to 7 weeks, it works out to approximately 8% a week average.

 

AZDesertRat you forgot the old slate bottom tanks that were heavy as sin!!!

 

Another read, just for "kicks and giggles";
Iodine: A Great Investment for a Saltwater Aquarium - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

 

Basically it comes down to your beliefs and who you choose to be qualified to help you in your decisions.
Facts are, that adding iodine to your tank doesn't appear to cause problems unless overdosed, and NOT adding iodine to your tank also doesn't appear to cause any problems. (with the exception of the special gorgonians as per Randy H-F.)
The link supplied in the above post is not written by anyone with any qualifications applying to the hobby, and makes statements that there is no proof for.
It is no better than you or I posting our beliefs on a site for others to see and having others agree or disagree with.
With few exceptions, reefing hobbyists are not qualified to make the statements many articles have.
It's a given that many life forms in our tanks uptake iodine from the water.
It is not a given that they all need as much as they take in an there are no studies I know of that prove one way or the other.
I have NO problem with anyone dosing iodine to their tanks as obviously it is their right to do so, same as ones not dosing.
I only have a problem with someone saying you NEED to dose iodine in your tanks when in fact there is no proof in almost all circumstances, that the life forms in most tanks need more than they get without dosing.