who doses w/ iodide and strontium

[rebar]

I have mostly softies and my zoos have not beeing doing well, so i went to a lcoal fish store and told my i have to be dosing with strontium, iodide, and calcium (if needed), so i bought strontium and iodide stuff to dose.
- are these both necessary?

- also, i tested for iodide and seems to have a lot. they suggest .02 and i have .2 according to my salfert kit (which i purchased from a friendly manhattan reefer)

Any thoughts?

 

[NYreefNoob]

supl

really you dont need to dose any of the above if you dont have sps, you can dose the alk and calcium, and mag. i dose the iodide and pot once a month in a small dosage. check all your parameter, any temp flux ? flat worms ect ? how ofter do you do water changes, and zoa's are funny will do great for a long time, then not open or start to melt or ect

 

[OctaviousMonk]

Iodine is a great thing to keep track of. Inverts build thier shells from the stuff, so I monitor and dose when needed; and I find I get greater softy growth with higher iodine levels. As for the rest I seem to do fine with regular weekly 10 gallon water changes (in a 72 gallon tank), and of course 2 part dosing.

 

[rebar]

how about strontium?

the guy at new world aquarium said it's a must, but i havn't heard much about it. is this necessary for things other than sps?

 

[NYreefNoob]

dosing

no it isnt and if he is giving you that type of info i would avoid his store, or ask him why it is important for a softies tank and see what his response is

 

[Deanos]

There's an article stickyied in the Reefs for Beginners forum which addresses your questions. Tell us what you think after you've read it :Up_to_som

 

[rebar]

that's a very good article. it does provide and answer for the iodide and strantium questions - not needed.

It also highlights the need to get my Alk in order.

but it leads to another questions. it says: "Nearly all coral reef aquaria need calcium and alkalinity supplementation because they are what hard corals, coralline algae and even some soft corals use to deposit calcium carbonate structures such as skeletons and spicules."

However, my Ca is about 470, so should i also be adding MORE calc? This what i'm trying to figure out.

 

[Deanos]

Excerpt from article: Maintaining the calcium level is one of the most important aspects of coral reef aquarium husbandry. Most reef aquarists try to maintain approximately natural levels of calcium in their aquaria (~420 ppm). It does not appear that boosting the calcium concentration above natural levels enhances calcification (i.e., skeletal growth) in most corals. I suggest that aquarists maintain a calcium level between about 380 and 450 ppm.

 

[rebar]

so i guess the answer to to try to lower calc and the solution might be by increasing alc, which is quite low in my tank (meq/L = 1.71, dKH = 4.8)

I will post with the outcomes of my intervention soon.

thanks

 

[Deanos]

so i guess the answer to to try to lower calc and the solution might be by increasing alc

No. Read this article first, then report back with your intentions:

Solving calcium and alkalinity problems

 

[Wes]

so i guess the answer to to try to lower calc and the solution might be by increasing alc, which is quite low in my tank (meq/L = 1.71, dKH = 4.8)

I will post with the outcomes of my intervention soon.

thanks

holy crap thats low!

 

[thepudge]

Dosed Kent Iodine and Strontium every week for the past 4 years. Don't know if it helps, but nothing's dying, and now I'm afraid to stop

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Never dose anything that you don't test for.

 

[Wes]

i never dose iodine or strontium.

 

[pjewett]

the guy at new world aquarium said it's a must, but i havn't heard much about it. is this necessary for things other than sps?

hysterical. i was just in there tonight and was told the very same thing. british accent?

 

[alrha]

LFS are generally motivated by profit - selling you more products may be a reason to suggest dosing them. Always be sure to research unbiased views (as you have done here) to be sure.