Peroxide saves my Tank! With pics to Prove It!

[seabass]

Thanks Mark! I'm thinking that I need to give it a try on an out of control holding tank. Previously, I manually removed all of the algae to the point where it could not be seen. I tried kalk and Tech M treatments, without any permanent results. I obviously haven't made any recent attempts to control it (or clean the tank for that matter). I'm not really proud of it's condition, but I kind of figure it's acting like an algae scrubber.

 

 

 

 

 

I want to clean everything up before it gets transferred to it's new home. Although I don't really care about the rock itself.

 

I have a Fire Shrimp which I believe shouldn't be exposed to peroxide. There is some Blue Ridge Coral (a soft coral which has the characteristics of SPS) in there too; which I know doesn't respond very well to peroxide either.

[brandon429]

SB when I dived in the caymans it looked like that, real nice corals and some algae. what we think looks bad isnt too bad to mother nature and that is another set of great before pics in the making

 

the external treatment out of the tank will zap that quick.

[seabass]

SB when I dived in the caymans it looked like that, real nice corals and some algae. what we think looks bad isnt too bad to mother nature...

Yeah, I haven't really been too worried about it, but that's just not the type of look that I'm shooting for in this new tank. Who knows, one day I might shoot for some macros mixed in with a reef. I'm definitely not adverse to that sort of natural look.

 

... that is another set of great before pics in the making. the external treatment out of the tank will zap that quick.

Good, I'll give it a try this week, and shoot some more pics for the thread.

[seabass]

I did a few tests before I got too carried away. Here's a shot of the Mini Carpet Anemone after a dip in straight 3% peroxide. After the dip, I let it oxidize in the air for about 15 seconds, pulled some of the larger patches of algae off, then rinsed it in saltwater before returning it to the tank.


I've never used straight peroxide before (I've always used a fairly week solution). Because of this, the results have tended to be less than dramatic. I thought I'd be a little more aggressive this time. I hope I don't hurt anything.

I noticed some worms (which weren't very happy) climbing out of the rocks that I treated. My Fire Shrimp and Nassarius Snails were pretty interested in the rocks after I returned them. Neither are herbivores, so I think they were interested in the worms.


Edit: One more note about the procedure that I used. After they are placed back in the tank, I use a turkey baster to blow off debris, bubbles, and residual peroxide. I'm not sure if this makes any difference, but it's amazing that sometimes a small difference can affect the results.

[brandon429]

really Seabass, the one sensitive in your whole setup I bet that algae will not make it. I actually dont have much data on that type of anem as much as we do the larger solitary types like sebaes etc. but I think it w be ok. might act mad a while lol. might bleach a lil and mesentery itself to the point you need to develop anemone depends but I still think it w be ok if not a little more raisin like for the next couple lol

[seabass]

I also tried a Rock Flower Anemone. I'll let you know how that goes too. Any data on BTAs? I didn't risk trying one of those.

[brandon429]

somewhere buried in here there is a bta stressing but not a death. kid said it took like 6 weeks to reinflate lol its so many pages ago I can't even remember his name

 

rhodactis tolerate the stuff fairly well at least there are cousins that stand a good chance

[seabass]

Gotcha; then I will remove the BTA from the rock versus trying to treat the whole rock.

[seabass]

Here's a couple pics from today:


Note: Yesterday I pulled off major chunks of the algae, but didn't clean the frag. I just didn't want larger masses of algae dying and releasing excess nutrients.


Actually, not looking too bad. You can see some algae still on the rock.

[brandon429]

great!! it will not melt then and thats something new to remember for those little carpets. nice pics

[seabass]

great!! it will not melt then and thats something new to remember for those little carpets. nice pics

Thanks. I know you've stated this before, but I'll reiterate for those reading only a portion of this thread. This doesn't mean that they won't melt, so much as it isn't guaranteed that they will. I've exposed it to less concentrated solutions before without issue, so I wasn't too concerned. This has been my experience with other Mini Carpets as well.

 

 

Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention. My Rock Flower Anemone moved over a few inches, but seems otherwise OK. We could speculate why (wanted it's base on the clean surface of the rock, is now more sensitive to light, wanted to get away from whatever just hit it with peroxide...), but it's too hard to say.

 

I can sometimes get Flower Anemones off of their rocks with RO/DI ice cubes; but other times they won't budge, so I thought I'd find out how it would react in case I need to treat other rocks. It's easier if you don't have to move them (unless they are on the glass). Note: I would not use peroxide as a way to assist in moving an anemone.

[Fsarmien]

I want to dip some of my frags, how much h202 should i use? What ratio of tank water to h202?

[seabass]

I guess the question is, what type of frags? Some species are not very tolerant of H2O2. With these species, you don't want any to touch the flesh; so apply with a Q-tip or eye dropper directly on the algae (not getting any on the coral's flesh). Other frags can be dunked in straight 3% hydrogen peroxide.

 

Look at me, responding like I know what I'm doing. To be honest, I'm a bit of a noob at peroxide treatments, so I'll let someone else chime in here.

[markalot]

I'd answer the same, and also a noob at treatment. If they are al frags and you can use a Q-tip then really I think that's the best way. Just make sure to double rinse in old tank water before placing back into the tank.

[seabass]

Oh... I have another question. Has anybody treated snails and hermit crabs before? I have a bunch that have algae growing on their shells. If I move them to a new tank, they will likely spread it around there. I've tried using tweezers to remove the algae, then wiping the shell with a paper towel that had some peroxide on it, but haven't had 100% success with that method.

[Fsarmien]

Oh sorry lol. The frags I want to dip are zoas, and one cali tort. I'm trying to read all the results. I'm on page 4 of 49 haha.

[seabass]

Yeah, the Zoanthids should probably be alright to dip in peroxide, but I'd be careful not to get any on the Cali Tort.

One mistake that I used to make, was to mess too much with new frags. They can be stressed from shipping, plus you are exposing them to new water parameters and lighting. The less stress you can subject them to, the better off they'll probably be.

[brandon429]

nice call I agree

[markalot]

I've taken more pics but nothing to note. Algae has all but vanish in the 40, and in the 46 it's nearly gone, though some areas still green even though directly treated. Not many. FTS of the 46.

 

 

The trumpets are showing improvement and less discoloration now even after full treatment. I find that odd. Slight exposure to peroxide causes quick and dramatic discoloration while full exposure doesn't seem to increase the discoloration or the length of time it remains discolored. Polyp extension at night is still good, as if nothing happened.

[djfrankn]

I've taken more pics but nothing to note. Algae has all but vanish in the 40, and in the 46 it's nearly gone, though some areas still green even though directly treated. Not many. FTS of the 46.

 

 

The trumpets are showing improvement and less discoloration now even after full treatment. I find that odd. Slight exposure to peroxide causes quick and dramatic discoloration while full exposure doesn't seem to increase the discoloration or the length of time it remains discolored. Polyp extension at night is still good, as if nothing happened.

Hi everyone. Well, first thanks to Reef Miser for starting this thread. It has helped a lot of people. The only thing I would like to mention is that many people is trying to rid of the GHA or any other nuisance algae but do not realize why it happened in the first place.

@markalot: pal, probably the mayor cause of your problem is simply the arrangement of rock work in your tank. While reading this thread to see how big it has grown (I still remember when it was only a few pages) I run into your comments and see your latest post here. Your flow is apparently only in the top area and somehow middle area of your tank. Do you have any sort of pump moving the water to the lower areas of your tank?. No intention to offend you, just a personal opinion.

GHA and any other problem such cyano and many others are caused by lack of maintenance, misinformation, low flow through the whole tank (dead flow spots), overfeeding, light spectrum, underrated equipment for the tank, quality of food sources, to mention most of them.

The peroxide is a great solution to the problem and really has no side effects other than some corals getting annoyed. But in the end the true solution is getting to the rooot of the problem.

Thanks again Reef Miser for having started such a helpful thread.

 

[markalot]

Hi everyone. Well, first thanks to Reef Miser for starting this thread. It has helped a lot of people. The only thing I would like to mention is that many people is trying to rid of the GHA or any other nuisance algae but do not realize why it happened in the first place.

@markalot: pal, probably the mayor cause of your problem is simply the arrangement of rock work in your tank.

 

Read first before posting please. I don't have GHA, I have caulerpa. I also have a pump behind that big rock, but I never mentioned that here. Suffice to say most of us know what caused the issue, imports are greater than exports.

[djfrankn]

Read first before posting please. I don't have GHA, I have caulerpa. I also have a pump behind that big rock, but I never mentioned that here. Suffice to say most of us know what caused the issue, imports are greater than exports.

Well, I just mentioned that in case you were not aware of it since I am here to help others and share experiences or, sometimes be helped too. Which either way I would take any comment as an advice and not as an aggresion from another member. BTW, since you knew what caused the problem, what made you then carry on with it for so long? I just don't get it. Have a good life.

[brandon429]

Dj

 

Thanks for your input. I do agree those are good prevention measures. The reason our threads grow regarding peroxide is for the times that doesn't work, or for the times we are dealing with invaders that cannot be controlled with any form of nutrient management. Additionally, all forms of tank care that prevent green hair algae are repeating circles of work, and some find it easier to just zap the endpoint vs all the prior steps if that means less work in the end.

 

Any way you slice it, gha is an eternal problem in reef tanks for many who have done everything right since it is so adapted to living in our tanks. I agree that anyone who can manage a tank without peroxide should, its unnatural yet handy if needed. We have to wonder at some point why after 30 years no set method exists to universally beat it, many would have us believe its all phosphate control yet failures there, when params are perfect, comprise the majority of these threads.

 

Peroxide is an integral part of the new age in algae control, move aside gfo i don't see your threads curing 10 types of invaders lol

[metrokat]

Brandon contact the original poster of this thread and start an index

 

I've taken more pics but nothing to note. Algae has all but vanish in the 40, and in the 46 it's nearly gone, though some areas still green even though directly treated. Not many. FTS of the 46. The trumpets are showing improvement and less discoloration now even after full treatment. I find that odd. Slight exposure to peroxide causes quick and dramatic discoloration while full exposure doesn't seem to increase the discoloration or the length of time it remains discolored. Polyp extension at night is still good, as if nothing happened.

Mark this is my favorite picture of your tank!

[markalot]

Well, I just mentioned that in case you were not aware of it since I am here to help others and share experiences or, sometimes be helped too. Which either way I would take any comment as an advice and not as an aggresion from another member. BTW, since you knew what caused the problem, what made you then carry on with it for so long? I just don't get it. Have a good life.

How long DJ. How fast did it grow, what have I done about it, and why did I use peroxide? I started a thread when I first saw this algae. It's small and grows very fast. Before I knew I had an issue I was infested with this stuff. If you have experienced this type of caulerpa and controlled it then please share knowledge. Hair algae is kids stuff. Unfortunately limiting nutrients only slows down my chaeto growth.