Iron and Iodidide test kits

[steve the plumb]

I just bought the seachem Iron and Iodide test kits.I am not crazy about them I find them to be kind of cheap.Does anyone reccomend another brand for these tests kits that they liked and found gave good readings.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

While I haven't tested any iodine test kits for a few years, I've not historically found them reliable enough to recommend.

Iron test kits don't test low enough, IMO, to be useful.

[steve the plumb]

ok I tested but got nothing.I will try to test for low levels I only tested for regular since I have been adding I assumed I would have gotten some reading.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Folks often detect little or no iodine unless they are actively dosing. I wouldn't typically expect to detect any iron in a marine system.

[steve the plumb]

I dose once a week as per direction.Both iron and iodine

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Did you try testing for iodine immediately after the dose mixes in? What are you dosing? Not all kits detect all iodine forms.

[steve the plumb]

Supposed to be good for inverts.Dose iron for calerpa growth.Is this a mistake.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I dose iron for macroalgae too. That is a good idea, IMO.

If I were to dose iodide, I'd pick a dosing schedule that added some, but did not necessarily dose enough to try to maintain a specific level as indicated by a testing kit. Say, dose an amount to push to 0.02 or 0.03 or 0.06 ppm Iodine once a week or so. Something like that.

[steve the plumb]

ok i usually dose both on sunday.I didn't dose today I will dose Monday and test after an hour.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

OK, let us know what you find. :)

[steve the plumb]

I dosed my tank today with Iodine and Iron.I used the reccomended amounts for both additives.I tested with the seachem test kits about 2 hours later.I followed directions and yet got no results for Iron and got what looked to be 0.1 for Iodine.It was kind of hard to tell colour changed for a second but was light, so I may not even have gotten a result form that test either.

[Ninong]

Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
Folks often detect little or no iodine unless they are actively dosing.

I have never dosed iodine and yet I always get readings of at least 0.06 ppm Iodide, usually 0.20 ppm. That's using Salifert's iodine test kit. For some reason I have never been able to get a reading on iodate. The manufacturer tells me that this is due to unspecified "interferences." Whatever that means.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I do not think that iron kits are capable of detecting the low levels that we dose (at least that I recommend dosing).

For iodide, do you mean 0.01 ppm? perhaps that is all the recommend amount boosts iodine in a single dose?

[steve the plumb]

yes it read 0.01 I dosed and tested but the test was hard to read(colour wise)I am not impressed with the test kit