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You already state it. It is no problem to find iodine with ICP-OES, so it is very easy to fine tune this element. Where is the problem? The problem is with the elements that usually stay below detection levels.Let’s take iodine for example. Most ICP’s I’ve seen with AFR show depleted levels and sometimes elevated levels which can be bad for a tank. This is a problem, because you are unable to fine tune that element.
Iodine is not precipitated in carbonates like most trace metals, so there is no fixed ratio, but I never told to treat iodine the same way. Iodine supply must be fine tuned according to ICP analyses. Nevertheless, there are recommendations to dose iodide for decades, I think from Wilkens already.
To be bad for a tank, iodine concentrations must be quite high, at least more than double the natural concentration. It is not too difficult to adjust the concentration between 50 and 100 ppb with ICP-OES analyses from time to time.
Please see my article here and do something for my Researchegate stats. It is not my first detailed article on this theme and I think they still are quite good. Trace elements mixes based on these formulas are still sold.
Depends whether you have a tank for algae or for corals. Corals do not need a high iron supply. Overdosing iron has rather adverse effects to corals, at least at low phosphate concentrations and algae competing for nutrients with corals. Manganese is different and we have higher manganese concentrations than iron concentrations in our trace element mixes. A regular supply will fulfil the needs of corals no matter whether the metal is long term stable and detectable by ICP-OES.Look at Iron and Manganese for example. What if you have a large refugium with Marco algae?
Both are also in our trace element mixes and AFR. Although I experimentally have done no or very little water changes in two of our systems for some time now, boron is long term stable at 4 to 4.5 ppm supplied with AFR only.I see elements like Fluoride & Boron get depleted very quickly…how do you address those? Or do you trust the bottle and hope they’re in normal ranges? Fluoride specifically needs to be loaded initially until it hits a saturation point which in most systems will never happen with AFR.
Besides all this, water changes have to be good for something, don't they? If you think you have low manganese and iron concentrations ...