Peroxide saves my Tank! With pics to Prove It!

[fishrme]

i use a 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide in my swimming pool ...i can brag on it enough for that ...if you have a pool you should try it ...my water is sparkling clear ...no fumes at all ...it like swimming in well water ..i love it ..its non toxic and is great for the environment ...you can water your plants with it ...the water from your pool when you backwash is great for plants ...this is a copy on what it says for the uses for the food grade peroxide for plants ...this comes in my paperwork for uses it says ..plants like h202in two ways first it oxygenates the soil and second it kills microorganisms..fungus and bacteria harmful to plants ...i know when i backwash my pool the grass is always greener and nothing dies from where the water comes out ....but if i was yall i would use the food grade ...it is highly consintrated and pure ...so a little goes a longs ways ...you can also use this to clean your filter sock for your aquarium ..soak and was in it ...it will come out super bright ..sterilized and ready to go ...make sure you delute it ..dont use full strength

[Reef Miser]

To Burnofvengance:

 

I did systemic dosing at the very beginning and found that it pissed off my corals, and killed my xenia. I too was at the point of breaking down my tank and taking a break from the hobby. I didn't care what died (or almost didn't care ) At first glance it seems like maybe your tank is worth taking the risk for systemic treatment. However, I don't really recommend whole tank dosing. I found that it killed xenia, others have found that it stressed anemones and has killed/stressed a couple other corals as listed in this thread. If this is a last ditch effort and you really think it is do or die (and don't care if there are a couple casualties of war), you could move ahead with dosing the whole tank. I don't really have a dose that I would recommend though. I did it a couple of times ( maybe 10mL per day for about 25 gallons of water) but stopped after a couple of days when my corals were really unhappy. I was experimenting at that point without any input or others experience, so I didn't want to push it too far. Additionally, I only saw results where I had squirted the algae directly with the peroxide underwater. Other algae in the tank was generally unaffected. I would steer clear of dosing unless you have no other choice. ( rocks are attached to each other, too big, etc.) But for me I would do the following:

 

Do a 4-5 gallon water change. Add about a 1/2 to 1 cup of peroxide (3%) to the bucket of old water. Soak some but not all of your rocks for about 3-5 minutes. Then put them back in the display. You are going to start seeing the algae die-off the next day and become completely white over the next several days. As the algae starts to die, keep blasting the rocks with a turkey baster and try to get as much detritus off your rocks as possible and into your filtering system. Get the dirt out of your tank. You will be amazed at how much junk comes off and was caught at the base of the algae. I would keep repeating this procedure every 5-10 days until all of your rocks are treated. Once you get the initial "bush" of the algae killed off, you may need repeat treatments to get the "roots" killed. There is the potential for massive die-off of pods and worms as well as the algae itself during dips. All that means nutrients and junk in your water that you don't want. That is why I recommend only doing some of your rocks at a time, as well as not doing systemic dosing. I also recommend (though there may be strong opposition from others on this site) to vacuum out your sand bed. I found that mine was completely filled with detritus and filth. I am not completely certain, but I believe this contributed fuel to the fire. I did this in stages too... only part of the sand bed at a time.

 

You will be excited to start seeing results, but I would try to resist the temptation to move ahead too quickly. Take your time and try to get your tank cleaned up.

 

Also, once you have treated all your rocks you may have spots that crop up or that weren't completely killed off for whatever reason. I have switched to taking out the effected rocks and spraying directly with 3% peroxide on the trouble spots. Let it sit out of the tank for about 3 minutes (think low tide) and then rinse in old tank water and put back in the display. I have been keeping things under control with this method for several months. This limits the die-off of micro-fauna and exposure of the corals to the peroxide.

 

As a side note. I found that my clove polyps weren't too pleased with peroxide. I may have lost a few polyps of them by incidental direct 3% exposure. They have always been a little finicky opening, but several days since treating the rock they were attached to, they have stayed closed and a couple look shriveled and dead. We'll see if the little ones on the frag (which still look full, just closed) pull through.

[sammy113]

Just for the record, I was in the process of upgrading from my 20g cube to a 40breeder. I started my new tank with dry rock and when cycled, transfer the corals from the 20g tank. Decided not to take the rock to the new tank cause still had some algae spots and I was trying not to transfer this problem. So the old tank was running just with water, rocks and some snails I missed to take out to the new one. I poured about half bottle of peroxide to the tank just to see what happens (i was just about to tear it down anyway) total volume was around 25g.

 

The rocks started bubbling just like we all have seen before but the snails hate it a lot! They all died within a few minutes. Obviously the dosing was not the appropriate or even measured. Now the rocks are in a bucket with fresh salt water and a koralia while the algae is dying rapidly

[jestep]

i use a 35% food grade hydrogen peroxide in my swimming pool ...

 

If anyone goes this route, make sure you are wearing protective gear and be very careful. 35% H2O2 is pretty nasty stuff whether it be on skin, eyes, clothes, anything living. Most of us are using 50% diluted 3% H2O2, so there's really no comparison in how much more concentrated this is (20+ times more concentrated).

[fishrme]

If anyone goes this route, make sure you are wearing protective gear and be very careful. 35% H2O2 is pretty nasty stuff whether it be on skin, eyes, clothes, anything living. Most of us are using 50% diluted 3% H2O2, so there's really no comparison in how much more concentrated this is (20+ times more concentrated).

yes it is consentrated ...and it will give a burning sensation and may actually do damage if left on ...if it gets on your skin you rinse it thouroughly with water ...wear protectice eye wear ...after you rinse with water it counteracts it ...your skin may turn white where it gets on you but it will return to normal color within a hour

[brandon429]

3% is the limit for safe use. it is totally powerful when directly applied to algae in that concentration

 

stronger mixes work as well its just a very serious, zero room for error fluid you are rolling with.

 

why not keep a water balloon of sulfuric acid dangling around a yarn necklace for double practice 35% in the eye is no less destructive to a cornea.

 

although one single drop of 35% placed on a mushroom coral I don't like does sound appealing, I'll just go with fire, the old standby grill lighter. much safer

Edited September 15, 2011 by brandon429

[Reef Miser]

Does H202 kill sponges? I have a zoa frag that's being overtaken by a black sponge and I want to get rid of it, what would be more effective, an H202 dip or simply leaving the frag in open air for a few minutes?

 

I have dipped a lime green sponge in diluted peroxide and it survived. I have also left it out in the air and it has survived. I know that getting air trapped in a sponge is supposed to be lethal, but mine didn't dry out from just a few minutes outside of the tank.

 

I was not trying to kill my sponge because I like mine, so I don't know, but you could certainly try direct HP treatment out of the tank. I bet it would at least make a dent in it. But that is just a guess.

[burnofvengeance]

I wanted to follow up with the peroxide route I've been taking over the last couple of days just to document how it works out (hopefully good).

 

Day 1: 3.5 ml morning dose and 3.5 ml evening dose (approximately 12 hours apart straight into the return area for a full system dose)

Day 2: same as day 1

Day 3: drained 15 gallons, manually removed as much as I could, squirted about 10 ml directly onto the affected areas even the ones under water, refilled with 10 old gallons and put in 5 new gallons.

 

Pics of how it went down

[brandon429]

excellent start

 

in a few more days with manual removal you'll see it go away, its already turned white on the ends and this travels back to the base of the colony in time. when the tank was drained for the spot treatment it didn't look that bad, I think this is an easy save.

[burnofvengeance]

excellent start

 

in a few more days with manual removal you'll see it go away, its already turned white on the ends and this travels back to the base of the colony in time. when the tank was drained for the spot treatment it didn't look that bad, I think this is an easy save.

I don't want to jinx it but it seems like it is working. The algae is "drooping", turning white like you said, and seems to be starting to come off. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for your help.

[PinkDamsel]

I’ve been remiss about documenting all my results using peroxide. It’s definitely a tool that I plan to continue using, but I do feel I need to fine-tune dosages and perhaps technique.

 

The first time I used it on the glass (while tank was drained), lost some of my Red Titan macroalgae; next day it was bright orange and over several days died off. Some survived elsewhere in the tank and has since grown back. Here are BEFORE & AFTER pics:

 

BEFORE

 

http://picturehosting.com/images/katmajid/redtitan52011.jpg

 

AFTER

http://picturehosting.com/images/katmajid/...n5312011010.jpg

 

I also lost a stylo and montipora during that event, although neither was especially robust beforehand.

 

When I’ve spot-treated areas on the rock (again during emersion), it does kill the algae, the area turns white, but the coralline on other areas NOT touched lightens also. One spot I treated is where my Meteor Shower sits; I removed the Meteor during treatment and none of the polyps touched the peroxide. But they didn’t extend for several days afterward.

 

Last Friday I did another glass treatment to get rid of green haze that was starting to build up, and this time I was extra careful, even wiping it off before refilling the tank. Even so, there are a lot of white spots in the coralline. And guess what?

 

It’s TRUE! Blondes have more fun!! My duncan’s orange skin is now apricot, and the base of the Meteor has always been dark blue; now it’s light green:

 

One more experience: I’ve dipped several corals in 50/50 peroxide/tank water, and most either do not seem bothered at all or only slightly. It did finish off my Purple Death palys, but they had been ailing & half-dead for a long time and I only dipped them because they were being choked by algae. In future I’ll use a more diluted solution.

 

Memo to self: Develop finesse when peroxiding, lol!

[brandon429]

thanks for those pics and workup thats helpful

 

I too have noticed a near stopping of coralline on my glass which is both good and bad...coralline and its ability to bleach or get thicker was my alkalinity gauge sans testing

 

now I dont have it

 

but the good side is no more scraping equals no more scratches, for that Im thankful

 

I also have some helpful input on side effects and the ability of trace levels of peroxide to seek out and kill plants

 

the other day when doing a glass wipe down (drained during tank change) I noticed a tiny sprig of the dreaded red brush algae back in a little recess that was hard to get to. wasn't concerned because I knew a single drop straight on it when I felt like angling a peroxide dropper into that cave would kill it, but interestingly in two days it turned white, coiled up and died off just like I had spot treated it. an unmeasurable amount, just from glass wiping, gets into the tank and becomes a systemic when the tank is refilled.

 

 

this hasn't had any bad effects on my tank, its just a note that even when we don't think we are adding it to our tanks, we are if the peroxide is being applied to the main tank at all

 

where possible, remove the target rocks and treat/rinse elsewhere I like to say. since my vase is packed and not getting removed it'll have to settle with the occasional oxygen insult. I sure have loved being totally algae free the last several months regardless of water params.

 

not that I have bad params, but no longer do water params control primary production of algae in the nano/pico reef thats a nice contribution of RM's peroxide thread.

[androidx1]

I have had some algea outbreak problems a while back while traveling.....think the tank was getting fed too much. when I got home I was surprised to see all the algea. It was alot, but nowhere near some of the pictures Ive seen on here.......

 

I was doing water changes, etc every couple of days but it wasnt working.........one day, the sump got a little low on me (RED SEA MAX 130) and was pumping alot of bubbles into the tank for at least 8 hrs or so.......when I saw the tank, it looked milky from all the bubbles. I quickly topped the tank off, and noticed the bubbles were stuck all over the algea/rocks, etc.

 

The next day, the algea started dying, and was gone in a couple of days.

 

Not sure if it was just by chance or if the bubbles killed the algea....my guess is the bubbles killed it in a similar mannar that the peroxide works........

 

What do u guys think? was it the bubbles? if so, this could be a very safe way to try and kill off algea.

 

If there is anyone out there having algea problems, it might be worth a try.

[brandon429]

thats very interesting thanks for the input

I have never noticed that but there's no telling what small variables hold the key for big successes for us

[fishrme]

I had to read alot about sterilization for hot tub use and never once saw peroxide as a pool sterilizer

 

thought it was all bromine and chlorine what a helpful thread. I bet the pool never gets green scum thats for sure.

 

I would like to know this however, how often do you have to treat the pool? It does not seem like a good long term residual sterilizer like chlorine, maybe it works well for shock treatments? is it the exclusive sterilizer for the system or are there salt exchangers or anything else just curious

sorry i just saw this ...i have a 10,000 gallon pool i add 1 gallon to it a week ...work great no smelly dangerous chlorine ...nice clear water

[on_ice]

Anyone having luck with bubble algae?

[BLoCkCliMbeR]

Anyone having luck with bubble algae?

ive tried it against bubble algae. might not have used a strong enough dose or left it on it long enough.

 

not sure how effective it is against the spores.

 

i took the rock out, applied some diluted peroxide on some directly, then manually removed some and dosed the rock in an attempt to kill the spores.

 

i did not do this in my tank, and since i only spot treated one rock im not sure how effective the treatment was.

 

probably quit too soon...

[seabass]

I'm interested in how seagrass reacts. It's been stated in this thread that hydrogen peroxide will kill plants, but I assume that they meant algae and not true plants. H₂O₂ has been successfully used in freshwater planted tanks to help rid them of unwanted algae for years, so I'm thinking it can also be used in a marine seagrass tank.

 

Here's my 17 gallon tank after the first 2 ml dose of 3% solution (I figure this tank and 10 gallon sump holds a little more than 20 gallons of water):

 

 

 

 

There are a few spots of algae, but I'm doing this more to see how the grass reacts.

 

 

Question: Are we assuming that the H₂O₂ becomes inert within a day, or do daily dosings add to the total amount in the tank?

[jestep]

It works fairly well in FW with plants, but most people use it in stronger doses for short periods and then do 50- 100% water changes. Some people continuously dose, but I've read more than 1 story of peroxide disasters with both plants and fish.

 

What algae are are you having problems with in there?

 

Side note... Great start with the oar grass and the rock nems. I could totally imagine that scene in the wild with some file fish or pipe fish or upside down jelly's. Definitely a unique reef tank.

[brandon429]

Thank you for testing it on your tank seabass thats a great looking tank.

 

Those are two more plant genera not previously tested with peroxide pics will tell the tale. My bet is it won't harm them, just guessing based on the way it works in planted tanks, selecting only for single celled targets

 

what a neat experiment, your tank was already pristinely clean

 

its also helpful tracking for the effects of dissolved peroxide on those rock anems

 

I don't think much is known about its residual or compounding effects in the marine aquarium, its all unfurling as we speak.

 

do you have to dose any potassium or iron to keep those plants green? there's no chlorosis at the tips, the bed is permeated by vegetative runners, they are very healty. Maybe they are like macros and don't need supplementation, just wondering.

 

Those plants have never been for sale where I live.

 

Matter of fact, I would like to fire my paypal cannon your way for a pinch of that low growing stuff.

[seabass]

Thank you jestep! A couple people have now warned me that the plants might have problems. I think I'm going to follow up with one more small dose in a week to see if they react badly or not. I decided not to push it with this tank, maybe I'll set up something that is more conducive for testing.

 

I'm not really fighting any algae problems, but there are a few patches that I can observe how they respond. I was thinking that the grass might benefit from keeping their leaves free of micro algae.

 

-----

 

Thanks Brandon! In my experience, BTAs react more, then Maxi-minis, then Rock Flower anemones the least.

 

For the seagrass, I haven't been dosing anything but CO2 (which I'm going to experiment with cutting back on, by raising the pH via the controller). I've considered dosing iron, but haven't gotten around to ordering any. However, it doesn't appear that supplementation is required.

 

I'll send you a PM.

[PinkDamsel]

Seabass! Thank you so much for posting those pics! I thought I had algae but what I have is quite similar to those grass-like things, only I can't get a clear photo of mine. I would never have known that if not for your pics.

 

Any idea what eats it?

[seabass]

Any idea what eats it?

Certain urchins will eat seagrass. I think some larger fish will also feed on it, but I'm not sure that any nano-suitable fish would/could eat it. Of course manatees and sea turtles will eat it but...

 

-----

 

Here are some iPhone pics (thank you Steve Jobs) from today:

I'm not sure if all the bubbles are from pearling, or if some are from oxidation.

 

[loveforfish]

very helpful and accurate information on this thread. I have searched google for hours and this is still the best reading I have found.

 

This deserves to be a sticky

[Reef Miser]

Anyone having luck with bubble algae?

I have killed bubble algae with 3% sprayed on it out of the tank. Let it sit out of the tank for a few minutes and then put it back in. The algae was dead in a couple days.

 

Regarding the spores. I don't believe that they are always present in the bubbles. I don't doubt that a sexually mature alga would be filled up with thousands of spores, but I have broken them open by accident while trying to remove them without it resulting in spreading throughout the tank. I would think, based on my experience with other nuisance algae, that if they were filled with spores as is popularly hyped, I would have a huge bubble algae problem on my hands if I broke a couple of them open. I am not recommending breaking them open, because there may not be an easy way to tell if there are or aren't spores inside, but I don't know that you have to worry about the bubbles breaking open as they die after HP treatment. I certainly didn't see them spread after I treated a few bubbles on a frag of mine.

 

All of the pictures I have ever seen of algae going sexual, show the algae having a morphological change a day or so before the spores are released. I don't know that BA would be any different. Maybe it is, but I don't know.