Dosing Iron in a Reef?

G

GraviT

Premium Member
Recently, my chaetomorpha has stopped growing and seems to be losing it's rich, green color..perhaps even dying. I used to pull out at least 4 to 5 handfuls during my monthly water changes, but that seems to be no more. After seeking advice on RC, Randy Holmes-Farley sent me these links on iron in reef aquaria:

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

I really hate adding things to the tank that I don't test for, but the only kits I've found locally are a bit on the expensive side, and according to Randy:
"I just recommend routine dosing of small amounts that won't likely show up on a test kit."

Question is, does anybody else here dose iron in their reef? I purchased some Kent Iron Suppliment this afternoon at Exotic Aquatics (thanks Ramin!) and am about to give it a shot. For those who do dose, do you test for it? What product do you use? I'm sitting here, looking at the bottle, trying to decide if I really want to take the plunge or not!
:roll:
 
jump, jump....

just kidding. I don't dose it but have been wondering myself. If you do I would be interested in hearing what you see. I dose everthing else why not 1 more :D

Great info on the links
 
Ok, started tonight. I just dosed 7ml directly into my refugium. I'll post progress/problems in this thread.
 
If you used Miracle Grow in your phyto culture, you'd get the iron those macros need. :D

Tpeck: I can't believe you were chanting that.
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One little problem, I don't dump phosphates...uhh...I mean....dose phytoplankton in my system! :p

I got a good laugh out of jump...jump..too! :lol:
 
Careful, Excess Iron can cause hair algae in FW tanks, I'd assume this is the case in SW as well.

Macro algaes are more into Ca then Iron from what I have read.
 
Iron is good if you have Xenia, I've heard. I didn't think chaeto used it - it's a plant? Not something I would dump into my garden, but then, there's iron in just about any blended additive, and I add phyto and other Kent products on a monthly basis.
 
Iron is a big part of freshwater plants. Vascular plants require iron to grow properly. If I'm not mistaken, claeto is not vascular and iron will do very little for it.
 
Not sure if it will help the chaeto or not, but the articles as well as advice directly from Randy Holmes-Farley indicate that it should.

My plan to monitor the chaeto growth for some time after the initial dose. I may or may not use any more after that.
 
I used to dose iron in my tank, but stopped. I really didn't notice a difference in the algae growth, except for the hairy stuff. I did notice that my carpet anemone and mushrooms seemed to shrink some if I accidentally added too much or too often. I would be careful, but see what happens.
 
I use iron about every two months, I used to have a tank with just a refugium and mangroves and the macro started shrinking, I was going crazy trying to find out what was wrong, and I finally tryed iron and that fixed it right up. Good luck with it,
 
Thanks! The iron does seem to be making a difference. My chaetomorpha does seem much more green since using it, and it does seem to be growing again.
 
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