Difference between Iodide and Iodine?

[Jace_242]

So I've had my fire shrimp for a few months and thus far he has looked extremely healthy and is comically energetic during feedings. I want to get an iodine supplement to help make sure he stays healthy during molts but the only thing I can find at my LFS is Iodide, does that have the same benefits or is it completely different?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Personally, I wouldn't add iodine. Here's a good article on why not...

Chemistry and the Aquarium

In a nutshell... it's just too easy to overdose and too hard to accurately measure.

Water changes on a regular basis at least every couple weeks should replenish the trace elements your shrimp needs to stay healthy.

PS... the article also explains the difference between iodine and iodide.

 

[austinsdad]

I second that emotion.

Water changes and your shrimp will do just fine. I've had mine for years without adding any of that.

 

[melosu58]

I also agree. PWC`s will supplement Iodine just fine. Read this. It has a good section devoted to Iodine.

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[catmel]

Yep agreed with the rest. I have several shrimp and hermits and molt perfectly fine with just PWCs

 

[Jace_242]

Thank you everyone, I'll stick to my routine water changes.

 

[Justin_Toronto]

I'm still interested to know the answer to the initial question... what's the difference between iodide and iodine? Why would anyone use iodide for a SW aquarium? I know iodine is often used to help with purple algae growth (i.e. the primary ingredient in Purple Up), what about iodide though?

 

[roka64]

They help with proper molting as well. I am not a chemist but I "think" they are kinda of the same thing with a possibly Oxygen thrown in the chemical formula (iodide). But I could be totally off, and it's been many years since I took chemistry.

 

[ccCapt]

I'm still interested to know the answer to the initial question... what's the difference between iodide and iodine?

Did you take the time to read the article that Kurt posted? Your answer is there, but it's not a simple explanation.
From the article........
"Iodine in the ocean takes a wide variety of forms, both organic and inorganic, and the iodine cycles between these various compounds are very complex and are still an active area of research. The nature of inorganic iodine in the oceans has been generally known for decades. The two predominate forms are iodate (IO3-, with the central iodine and three attached oxygen atoms; Figure 1) and iodide (I-). As a curiosity, note the huge size of the iodine atom compared to the oxygen atoms in iodate in Figure 1. Together these two iodine species usually add up to about 0.06 ppm total iodine (~0.5 mM), but the reported values vary over about a factor of 2. In surface seawater, iodate usually is the dominant form with typical iodate values in the 0.04 to 0.06 ppm iodine (0.3 – 0.5 mM).2,3 Likewise, iodide is usually present at lower concentrations, typically 0.01 to 0.02 ppm iodine (0.07 – 0.18 mM).2,3 "

I know iodine is often used to help with purple algae growth (i.e. the primary ingredient in Purple Up)

Interesting. Where did you come up with that?

 

[roka64]

Duh, I totally missed Kurt's link, thanks for the reminder!

 

[Leprichon]

Iodine

"PurpleUp" says it does contain iodine...but it doesnt have amounts or concentrations for any of its ingrediants...personally - I plan to buy a test kit for iodine (cheap I hope)...Ive heard that its depleted over time...I would guess that adding a little "PurpleUp" nearly every day (or at least toward the end of a water change cycle)o0ught to compensate for iodine (and prob other things as well) just fine (without buying any additional supplements etc...sry just saw this thread was rather old...just googled iodine vs iodide myself...

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Regular weekly or biweekly water changes should deal with iodine/iodide just fine.

[P.S. Wow... didn't realize how old this thread was! And the fact that I said the same thing a couple years ago! At least I'm consistent!]