KI versus Lugol's for Xenia

[tinyreef]

a post (about OD'ing iodine/iodide) re-triggered a thought i've been having about xenia and iodine.

 

for a while i've been pondering a possible connection between methyl iodide (iodomethane/CH3I) and xenia. i think the smell is that (btw very toxic! ). is it an indicator, a nutrient, or by-product of the xenia or its environment? i'm thinking a indicator/by-product nowadays.

 

getting to the point: "Has anyone noticed good sustained (>1 yr) xenia growth with only KI supplementing?" -OR- "If you don't use KI or lugol's at all do you run your tank 'dirtier' or with significant algae?"

 

just wondering if someone noticed good continual growth with only KI supplementing, not "no supplementing" but rather specifically KI vs. lugol's. i suspect lugol's is the 'winner' between the two but OD issues can foul that up easily. anecdotal stories seem to point to lugol's but always in bits and pieces.

 

my guess is that lugol's free iodine form may be easier to form CH3I than KI. the formation of CH3I may then be a food source for certain bacteria, which in turn is a possible food source for xenia. xenia may be a bacterivore. the nutrient-rich environment they're sometimes found in may be conducive to those bacteria, which in turn consume (or produce) CH3I. (i know, a lotta maybe's)

[Reefmaniac]

Xenia and Anthelia spp. both need iodine supplementation to thrive. I used a regular ole iodine, until I read about Lugol's. 1 drop per 10 gallons every couple of days. I bought a bottle at the drug store and started using it. In no time, my Xenia EXPLODED with growth.

[tinyreef]

yes, that's what i've usually heard/experienced, that the free iodine seems to promote growth much faster than iodide forms. that's part of what i suspect on the methyl iodide connection.

 

i believe the iodide form may be harder to breakup ( K+ I- ions) and be utilized by the xenia or bacteria. just like how nitrate/nitrite/ammonia is consumed/utilized by bene bacteria, i'm thinking the iodomethane may be used by a bacteria which is in turn consumed by the xenia(?).

 

i'm just thinking maybe there's something else missing and KI can work just as well and the bacteria or iodomethane isn't even involved. antecdotal info always seems to favor lugol's/free iodine. thanks for the input!

[Reefmaniac]

NP, glad to be of service.

[mattie]

Hey T

 

i have noticed in the past when i had forgot to dose w/ iodine the xenia had stoped or slowed growth but after dosing w tech-I there is usally a rapid growth ( the xenia would swell to full size within 2 hours ) followed by a very small bloom in the sand of diatoms ( dusty brown algea & maybe on th rock just that i can't see it ) that ussally disapates by the next day or so. i have really limited my iodine dosing becouse other suppliments that i use (coral-vite and essential elements ) list iodine in the solution even some of the enhanced foods list it

that may not be exactly what you were looking for but it's my iodine experinces

hth

[tinyreef]

one question mat, could the diatoms have actually been cyanobacteria instead or are you sure it was diatoms? just trying to link in bacteria/nutrient levels.

 

the slime from xenia (and other corals too) are very probiotic. i'm thinking the revival of the xenia from tech I (i believe there's some lugol's in there besides the chelated iodide they admit to) created more slime and maybe led to the cyano resurgence before your system's biofilter kicked back in. a couple of maybe's in there, true.

[nanocat]

My xenia is doing fine without any iodine dosing, but I do use NSW and change 2.5g weekly. I imagine there's sufficient ioding in the salt water. I feed Liquidlife phytoplankton 3 times a week.

[mattie]

well it's hard to say becouse it never grew in enough to see if it was cyano it was light brown and just dusted the sand bed where the light was not as strong i've had cyano in the past and it was darker and coated things kinda thickly.

becouse it clears up after a few days i just assumed it was an algea bloom caused by a slight overdose of iodine. i do not own a test kit for iodine but i have had the water tested at the LFS and the iodine always tested okay so i assumed i was keeping things in check

[mrabolli]

I have super thriving Xenia and I dont use Iodine. I do have a 2.5 gallon and Xenia normally does real well in nano's. I do have a fairly high nutreint tank but not too much.

[Fant]

Doesnt lugols convert into IO3- when added to seawater. I know lugols is a mixture of I2 and I-. From my limited understanding the I- quickly bonds to some O and forms the IO3-, i would say this is the form more readily used by xenia, as it is chemically similiar to ntirate and could likely utilize the same or similiar chemical pathway. However the I2 in lugols is the form thats the antibacterial agent, and why its been used in medecine for decades. Anyone know what ratio lugols is of I2:I-?

[tinyreef]

that's a good point, fant. i was also thinking of iodate but i thought it bonds too strongly to K or dissipates to atmosphere (where i think a lot of the 'skimming out iodine' goes in actuality). on a side note, i suspect it's one of the other parts of Tech I, besides lugol's.

 

it's just the antecdotal info i've always heard that lugol's seems to outperform KI. that was what i was mainly interested in. i'm sure many people have success with or without iodine in any form too. i was just concentrating on one aspect first.

 

that's a very good point with iodate tho. it could still be the form being utilized (preferred) by some type of symbiont bacteria, much like nitrate as you suggested. and the methyl iodide is merely the by-product (if found at all). that would more logically follow such a (typical?) bacterial process, i would ASSuME.