'New' iron source..
- Thread starter Samala
- Start date
graveyardworm
Premium Member
Hmmm, guess I should read dosing instructions again, although I think I'll keep it at 8 drops per day for now and see what happens, just to be on the safe side.
Just checked and my bottle says " Directions - Add one teaspoon or 5 ml per 50 gallons (200 liters) of tank capacity every week or 8 drops each day"
I take that to mean 8 drops per day regardless of capacity ( maybe someone else can clear this up because it doesnt seem very clear), and I wouldnt do any dosing without a test kit to verify that an OD is not occurring.
Just checked and my bottle says " Directions - Add one teaspoon or 5 ml per 50 gallons (200 liters) of tank capacity every week or 8 drops each day"
I take that to mean 8 drops per day regardless of capacity ( maybe someone else can clear this up because it doesnt seem very clear), and I wouldnt do any dosing without a test kit to verify that an OD is not occurring.
I purchased the Kents iron and a Seachem test kit. Seachem caims that their kit can measure iron down to .01 which is what their instructions state as NSW levels.
They would be wrong then. Surface sewater iron levels are on the order of 0.000006 ppm.
First Iron Article: Macroalgae and Dosing Recommendations
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/chem.htm
Second Iron Article: Iron: A Look at Organisms Other than Macroalgae
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/chem.htm
They would be wrong then. Surface sewater iron levels are on the order of 0.000006 ppm.
First Iron Article: Macroalgae and Dosing Recommendations
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/chem.htm
Second Iron Article: Iron: A Look at Organisms Other than Macroalgae
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/chem.htm
graveyardworm
Premium Member
Thanks for the correction with the NSW level, now it looks as though I have some reading to do.
Maybe I should've been more specific, the Seachems stated NSW level is .01 mg/L. Does that make more sense? I noticed in the first article it lists NSW levels at ( .1nM ) or ( 0.000006 ppm ). Maybe I should spend a little more time in your forum.
Maybe I should've been more specific, the Seachems stated NSW level is .01 mg/L. Does that make more sense? I noticed in the first article it lists NSW levels at ( .1nM ) or ( 0.000006 ppm ). Maybe I should spend a little more time in your forum.
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My dosing recommendation is below 0.01 ppm, so that is why I conclude that kits are not useful for monitoring dosing of iron.
Maybe I should spend a little more time in your forum.
We're open 24/7.
Maybe I should spend a little more time in your forum.
We're open 24/7.
graveyardworm
Premium Member
I would like to correct previous statement. I just called Kent marine for their suggested dosing of Iron supplement. They told me that it was 8 drops per 50 gallons per day. If you go to their website http://www.kentmarine.com/saltwater/ir.html and check the dosing instructions it states that if your growing caulerpa or other macro that 3 times the recommended dosage is safe.
3D-Reef
New member
Well, with all this dosing...every night...I'm sorry..I guess I need too confess.I put in some laterite in system #1 and put miracle mud in system #2 to see what happens.
That was a week or so ago and so far I've noticed that the laterite is giving better results than the mud.Which is a surprise to me.But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised,clay will pull out po4 and give off Fe.(from what I've read)
So maybe I just didn't put enough mud in to do the job.I only put in 10 lbs of MM.It would have been more...it's just that it's(MM) so darn expencive$$$.
Maybe this summer I can get some more.
Clay
That was a week or so ago and so far I've noticed that the laterite is giving better results than the mud.Which is a surprise to me.But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised,clay will pull out po4 and give off Fe.(from what I've read)
So maybe I just didn't put enough mud in to do the job.I only put in 10 lbs of MM.It would have been more...it's just that it's(MM) so darn expencive$$$.
Maybe this summer I can get some more. Clay
Ok so here's the question. We make calcium reactors, kalkwaser reactors etc.
I want to experiment with iron dosing. I have read all the material form Randy and others in the field along with many other articles. We talk about Kent's and Seachem products and the attachment of iron molecules for the benifit of marine plants. So i was thinking....sometimes to much in this hobby.
Ironex reactors?
Can this work?
Your thoughts....
IronEx II was also performed in the equatorial waters of the Pacific about 800 miles west of the Galapagos Islands. It was also done by MLML, and with additional help from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. IronEx II was much different from IronEx I, because instead of dumping in all of the iron at once, the iron was added continuously over a week's time. This eliminated the problem of the iron immediately sinking to the ocean floors. Close to 1000 pounds of iron was added over this week. This increased the surface water iron concentrations by 100 parts per trillion. Within a week two million pounds of additional phytoplankton had grown. Concentrations of chlorophyll were increased by a factor between 30 and 40. This increase was so great, it caused the waters to turn green. Increased concentrations of chlorophyll means an increased productivity of the phytoplankton, and therefore more carbon dioxide removed from the air. This fertilization caused a growth in phytoplankton, which in turn caused an additional 2.3 million kg of carbon dioxide to be absorbed by the phytoplankton. At ten days into the experiment the concentration of carbon dioxide had gone down by 20%! Needless to say, IronEx II was a great success. Further in depth results have not yet been published, but another project is already being worked on, IronEx III.
--------------------
Bottoms up!
I want to experiment with iron dosing. I have read all the material form Randy and others in the field along with many other articles. We talk about Kent's and Seachem products and the attachment of iron molecules for the benifit of marine plants. So i was thinking....sometimes to much in this hobby.
Ironex reactors?
Can this work?
Your thoughts....
IronEx II was also performed in the equatorial waters of the Pacific about 800 miles west of the Galapagos Islands. It was also done by MLML, and with additional help from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. IronEx II was much different from IronEx I, because instead of dumping in all of the iron at once, the iron was added continuously over a week's time. This eliminated the problem of the iron immediately sinking to the ocean floors. Close to 1000 pounds of iron was added over this week. This increased the surface water iron concentrations by 100 parts per trillion. Within a week two million pounds of additional phytoplankton had grown. Concentrations of chlorophyll were increased by a factor between 30 and 40. This increase was so great, it caused the waters to turn green. Increased concentrations of chlorophyll means an increased productivity of the phytoplankton, and therefore more carbon dioxide removed from the air. This fertilization caused a growth in phytoplankton, which in turn caused an additional 2.3 million kg of carbon dioxide to be absorbed by the phytoplankton. At ten days into the experiment the concentration of carbon dioxide had gone down by 20%! Needless to say, IronEx II was a great success. Further in depth results have not yet been published, but another project is already being worked on, IronEx III.
--------------------
Bottoms up!
Samala
New member
Do you have any links to this IronEx? Or is that a shortened form for an iron experiment?
I think you're referring to the iron supplementation experiments that were performed. Wasnt the vast majority of phytoplankton stimulated found to be diatoms? There was quite a lot of fallout from the results suggesting we should look at the molecular mechanics of iron uptake in them.. I seem to remember reading papers on the responsible genes and related proteins and their place in frustule formation.
So.. bottom line.. you're wondering about an iron reactor for salt tank?
>Sarah
I think you're referring to the iron supplementation experiments that were performed. Wasnt the vast majority of phytoplankton stimulated found to be diatoms? There was quite a lot of fallout from the results suggesting we should look at the molecular mechanics of iron uptake in them.. I seem to remember reading papers on the responsible genes and related proteins and their place in frustule formation.
So.. bottom line.. you're wondering about an iron reactor for salt tank?
>Sarah
graveyardworm
Premium Member
Are you suggesting that excess iron will cause a diatom outbreak? Cause I've got some wicked diatoms going in my lagoon tank right now which I attributed to possibly overfeeding. Perhaps I've been dosing too much iron although I did just test with sechem kit and got an undetectable reading, after which I of coarse dosed some more iron, going by the instructions on my Kents iron.
I base my dosing of iron on the appearance of excess diatom growth on the glass. When I get diatoms growing faster than I like, I back off the dosage to the point that diatom growth is acceptable.
BTW, IIRC the IronEx used ferrous sulfate. Sarah, a google search will yield plenty of reading. I also think they were discussed in Randy's forum at one point.
BTW, IIRC the IronEx used ferrous sulfate. Sarah, a google search will yield plenty of reading. I also think they were discussed in Randy's forum at one point.
Samala
New member
Ahh yes, the inimitable Google. Good advice Bill. 
I'll have to do some more reading.
And, David, like Bill.. when I get lots of diatoms, I back off on iron. I thought we had mentioned this link before, and I know we'd mentioned the iron supplementation in the open ocean when we were doing it. I wasnt aware it was called IronEx though. Or perhaps I've just forgotten.
>Sarah
I'll have to do some more reading. And, David, like Bill.. when I get lots of diatoms, I back off on iron. I thought we had mentioned this link before, and I know we'd mentioned the iron supplementation in the open ocean when we were doing it. I wasnt aware it was called IronEx though. Or perhaps I've just forgotten.
>Sarah
Samala
New member
Sweet grief what a lively thread that one was! I'm glad I wasnt around at that time, being safely cloistered in the land of freshwater plant tanks back then.
I'm guessing you never got your proposal approved to go ahead with several 10g tanks with similar communities and assess for P, N, Fe?
>Sarah
I'm guessing you never got your proposal approved to go ahead with several 10g tanks with similar communities and assess for P, N, Fe?
>Sarah
piercho
New member
The history: Ron Shimek was writing a series of articles about metal accumulation in reef tanks, and metal contribution from SSW. He got a lot of questioning about the methods he used to get his data, with Randy Farley being one of the hard questioners. So Dr Shimek was returning the favor to Dr Farley by going to Farley's forum and questioning his article, I guess. Anyway, those Ron Shimek articles were published in Reefkeeping and can still be accessed there.
Silica and diatoms, OK. Iron and diatoms? I'm having a problem accepting that observation as being a causal relationship.
Silica and diatoms, OK. Iron and diatoms? I'm having a problem accepting that observation as being a causal relationship.
Ryanqk
Active member
LOL @ Paul, i had a nail in my overflow box for a while never noticed anything. It rusted until i found it and pulled it out.... I assume since he has several feet of rusty chain in his tank it doesnt really do much. I suppose that this doesnt count as dosing iron eh? lol
Ryan
Ryan
