Iodide

[dandydan]

Hi,

On my latesty system where all usual parameters measured good we lost Hermits, mainly redlegs and shrimps only,
Alveopora, Trumpets plus Softies and Fish all doing well.

We added Seachem Iodide and using a Salifert testkit measure .05 iodide but Iodine and Iodate measure 0,

Any advice would be appreciated as we will not add any more Shrimps or Hermits till we believe we have cracked the problem?

Ph 8.0/8.1 (could be more as water is slightly yellow) Nitrate 0, Ca 410 dKh 9.6 SG1023, due to heavy coraline growth and possibly the Caulerpa mud system, we Dose with Aragamilk, or Sea Buffer or Bio Calcium or Reef Advantage, - I like to hedge all my bets.

Thanks
Dam

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I do not see any reason to think iodine is the concern. I never add any, and I do not believe that supplemental iodine is necessary for any of those organisms.

Perhaps the water is contaminated with copper or something else. Are you using tap water?

I'd ditch the Aragamight as well, although it is just not useful as opposed to a potential cause of your problems.

Iodine in Marine Aquaria: Part I
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/chem.htm

Iodine in Reef Tanks 2: Effects on Macroalgae Growth
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/april2003/chem.htm

Calcium Carbonate as a Supplement (Aragamight)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/july2002/chem.htm

 

[dandydan]

Randy,
Thanks much for the advice, 15 years ago I was quite happy with undergravel, just the basic tests and everything was fine, now with all these high tech measurements, my front room is more like a laboratory, and the worry correspondingly increases.

i Have now ditched the Iodide, and I have been using Carbon for the last few days,

I do use RO and De ionise, TDS at present=3.

Thanks

 

[dandydan]

PS
In Hull UK here we have a very large Salt Aquarium 'Submarium' named the Deep,
The Bioligists there could not understand why I lost Hermits and Shrimps and nothing else.

Have spent hours with red torch and no predators noticed.

Thanks again

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

A TDS of 3 ppm may suggest it is time to replace the DI resins:


Reverse Osmosis/Deionization Systems to Purify Tap Water for Reef Aquaria
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/rhf/index.htm


You might try running a polyfilter for a few days and see if it changes color, indicating the presence of copper or other toxic metals. A copper test kit is not useful unless the levels are very high.

 

[dandydan]

Thanks Randy,
Polyfilter now in a canister and running.

All Corals showing signs of growth, and Coralline eating me out of house and home.

Hopefully Polyfilter will sort it, - whatever it is. Would I still have heavy Coralline growth with copper traces?
As you said my Copper test kit shows nothing.

Thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not sure how prone coralline is to copper issues, but snails, hermits, and shrimp seem more so, at least by visual appearances.

 

[dandydan]

Thanks Randy

I'll give it a week and try again.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome.

Good luck!