Portein Skimmer gets rid of Iodine & other Important Trace Elements!!!???

[moy]

Alright, im just getting into the reef side of saltwater, so i need your advise.
I heard that when you "feed" iodine and other trace elements to your corals, you need to turn off your protein skimmer for a while, otherwise the portein skimmer would skim it right out!!
Is this true?
Do you have to turn off your Protein skimmer when giving iodine and other trace elements to your corals??
If so, how long do you have to leave the protein skimmer off??
Please help!!

 

[@knight]

the skimmer will pull out organic waste. the reason the instructions tell you to disable the skimmer is that some additives can foam and pull them out that way. as far as trace elements, there should be no worries there, as they are not organic.

 

[@knight]

oh, as for how long to leave it off, that depends on the product, usually 30 min to an hour will suffice, but you should follow the directions to the letter.

 

[burnnspy]

@knight is correct, skimming only removes organic material to any extent.
Now on the other hand carbon can remove Iodine and other trace elements.
BurnNSpy

 

[fishinchick]

OMG I never even considered that factor!! thank you for bringing it up. So what do you reccomend? Removing charcol? Turning off protein skimmer? Yikes!

 

[moy]

So let me get this straight guys!
When i feed my corals IODINE and OTHER TRACE ELEMENTS i should turn off my Mechanical Filter (which of course has carbon) and my protein skimmer, so that they can benefit from the solutions??!
CORRECT???
I havent read any instructions so far to turn the filters off, someone told me, so there is NO time limit. So just want to make sure.
What would you guys suggest, how long should i turn off my Filter and Portein Skimmer when i give IODINE and other Trace Elements??

 

[burnnspy]

Corals dont eat iodine or trace elements. They utilize it on a continous basis.
Turning off the filter won't make a difference.
I run my skimmer 24-7 and have never used carbon, I don't see a need for it.
BurnNSpy

 

[@knight]

i took my carbon pads out and my tank actually improved. If i see the water start to get bad, i will put it back in for a day or 2, but I have not done that in a few mos.
you really dont need carbon