Is Dosing iodine and strontium necessary?

I have been researching and wanted to get a consensus from everyone. Is dosing iodine and strontium a necessity for a reef tank, and is the benefit noticable.

Necessary? No
Beneficial? Maybe

I wouldn't consider dosing strontium, it plays such a small role that it can be replenished by water changes. Many people believe that it is worthless to dose it.

Iodine sort of falls along those same lines, another minute trace element that doesn't need to be dosed, however It can help with coral coloration.

One thing to note, it can be dangerous because the amount that is needed is so low that you can easily overdose and cause major problems.

One thing that is for sure.... If you are going to dose it you want to test for it.

I don't know about noticeable, but from what I have read, no. All you need to do is make sure your alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium are good, with regular water changes. Everything should be in the saltmix that you need. Or so I have heard, and do.

I dose iodine on some occasions because I have a pair of coral banded shrimp but I don't think its necessary. I don't dose strontium because of what they said above.

If you want some iodine, I do have some I can give you.

I remember Paul commenting on dosing strontium, and the phrase of him selling swamp land or ocean front property was mentioned. I believe he made an argument that it's not necessary, it takes the place of the calcium in the skeletal structure and weakens the coral.


I do dose lugals 2 drops a day (125g) and I am very happy with my corals colors.

Didn't he say something like, once calcium is used up then it uses the stronium?

I don't know. I'm definitely not a chemist bit he said that the molecular structure of calc and strontium are very similar and that strontium can easily take the place of calcium. it would male sense that once calcium is spent strontium fills in for it. let's have the subject matter expert chime in.

Hey Paul!!

I believe I read that somewhere but if your calcium levels are high then there is no need?

nikecivic wrote:I believe I read that somewhere but if your calcium levels are high then there is no need?

I think that's what he was talking about.

sisterlimonpot wrote:I remember Paul commenting on dosing strontium, and the phrase of him selling swamp land or ocean front property was mentioned. I believe he made an argument that it's not necessary, it takes the place of the calcium in the skeletal structure and weakens the coral.


I do dose lugals 2 drops a day (125g) and I am very happy with my corals colors.

what is lugals??

Sorry for the misspelling, lugol's iodine is a compilation of various iodines and iodides that are present in a reef tank at minute levels.

here is the literature from brightwell as to what it is and how it works:
"Overview Brightwell Aquatics Lugol?s is an extremely powerful iodine solution. It should only be used by advanced reef aquarists to dose iodine as well as to create a dip for corals and their allies.The importance of iodine in a reef aquarium cannot be overstated. Presence of iodine is vital to hermatypic invertebrates (i.e., corals, clams, and their allies that harbor zooxanthellae) because it is used to detoxify excess oxygen produced by zooxanthellae. This oxygen irritates sensitive tissue. Corals and clams that appear to shrivel or close under intense lighting are attempting to shade their zooxanthellae crop to reduce the rate of oxygen production. Iodine (as the iodide ion) essentially bonds with oxygen to form non-toxic iodate, relieving the need to shield zooxanthellae and enabling the host organism to open fully. The predominant form of iodine in seawater is iodide. The natural seawater concentration of all iodine species combined is approximately 0.06 ppm, classifying it as a minor element. Even in this small concentration, iodine is required for survival of fishes, crustaceans, macroalgae and kelp, and hermatypic invertebrates alike. Iodine binds rapidly with latent organic material and is passively removed by aggressive protein skimming and the use of organic-adsorption products such as activated carbon and specialty resins. The combined biological and chemical depletion of iodine necessitate that its concentration be monitored and the aquarium supplemented as needed. The rate at which iodine is extracted from the water is determined by the stocking density of reef-building livestock, type of lighting, and other biological, physical, and chemical conditions. Once the rate of iodine uptake in the aquarium has been determined, the proper dosing rate of this product can be easily calculated.Instructions and GuidelinesDetermine the iodine concentration in the aquarium using an accurate test kit before supplementing."