Peroxide saves my Tank! With pics to Prove It!

[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

you can use peroxide in hot tubs and swimming pools ...i just started using peroxide in my pool ..you will find it under healthy alternatives for swimming pools ...they say they have used peroxide in other countries for years ...so far i havent added anything lse to my pool ...and yes you can use it as a shock ...i have a 10,000 gallon pool it took 2 gal ....i gallon if you dont have to shock it ..it is 35%food grade

[acropora1981]

@ Acropora.

I haven't dipped ricordea, but have dipped other mushrooms, both actinodiscus and rhodactis. Both were unaffected by the treatment. I dipped them in 50% for about 3 minutes.

 

...excellent... to the laboratory!

[dixiedog]

you can use peroxide in hot tubs and swimming pools ...i just started using peroxide in my pool ..you will find it under healthy alternatives for swimming pools ...they say they have used peroxide in other countries for years ...so far i havent added anything lse to my pool ...and yes you can use it as a shock ...i have a 10,000 gallon pool it took 2 gal ....i gallon if you dont have to shock it ..it is 35%food grade

 

 

Yeah there are a couple pool product lines that use peroxide as a shock. Most notable one is "Baquacil", which has been around for at least 15 years that I know of. I think the shock is 28% H202.

[gabe_j]

sook losses are 1 rainbow acro colony and my lokani so I'm quitting the doses enough for me.

[JayEeeTeeEss]

sook losses are 1 rainbow acro colony and my lokani so I'm quitting the doses enough for me.

 

What was your dosing schedule and did you ever try to spot treatment method?

[brandon429]

Yes thats helpful to list again so we can know the maximums per some delicate sps

 

+1 for spot treatments only

[evilc66]

...excellent... to the laboratory!

 

 

Well, I must say that this is working nicely for me also. I've been doing systematic dosing of about 4oz. of H2O2 for the last two weeks in my 94g system, and the algae is finally down to controllable levels in the display. It's not fully gone, but considering the disaster that it once was for a few months, it's so much better. No coral losses either, even with a number of maxi minis in the system. Most of the sps got trashed by the algae, so the only corals left are much more tollerant. No fish or invert losses either. I ended up working my way up to this level to see what the level of irritation the tank had, and the overall effect it had on the algae.

 

Now, the display tank is great (40B), but the frag tank (30B, fed from the drain of the 40B) seems to not have had much of a dent put into it. I have a good amount of hair algae still on the frags and the rack. I would have thought that seeing as the whole tank was being dosed, the effects would be fairly consistant throughout the system. Guess not. I have started dosing just that tank after cutting the main return pump, and just leaving the circulation pumps on for an hour or so with about 2oz. of H2O2 applied just to that tank. We'll see how that goes, but overall, I'm a believer.

Edited May 11, 2011 by evilc66

[DaJMasta]

One to add, I've got a favia which has survived but remains more pissed than most corals. Even a few days after the second treatment it's somewhat deflated, after the first treatment the mouth actually opened up revealing some brown crap... it eventually closed and went back to normal though.

[Reef Miser]

Evil- Interesting to hear about your experience with the whole tank dosing. It sounds like you are at around 0.03% dosing volume per day and I was around 0.01%. You are having no stress, I had some stess/loss. I am very leary of the whole tank dosing now that all the problems I have heard about in this thread are due to systemic dosing rather than dips and target applications.

 

Is lighting significantly different between your display and frag tank? I noticed that after I dipped large rocks that go close to the top of the tank, algae died at the top before it died near the sand. I don't know if it is light, flow, or just coincidence.

[evilc66]

It's possible that while the overall dosage is higher, the greater water volume may have kept things more stable. I do have a lot of flow through both tanks though, with a 1400gph closed loop in the display, and a pair of K3s in the frag tank. Lighting is 82W of LEDs in the display, and a 150W Radium in the frag tank.

[brandon429]

Evil Im glad to see your experiment working, these are all helpful reports and cross-verifications of the method.

 

 

Here are more pics my friend .Newman from the picos forum said I could use, they are helpful to show spot treatment options and again Im seeing varying strains of zoantharia resistant to direct 3% application, it only has to sit on the algae tuft for just a minute, then the tank can be refilled or the rock placed back in the tank.

 

I had an interesting brainstorm...it seems highly possible that in large tanks where a tank drain is impractical, one could turn off all the circulation making the tank as still as possible, lower a dropper of peroxide into the tank and slowly inject it directly onto an algae patch, the limited contact time before it dissipates is still likely enough to burn the algae. My thinking was that any amount of peroxide being broadcast to the tank might be able to be lowered, if it was still spot delivered, worth a try if someone needs to do systemic dosing for one or more reasons.

 

the circulation in your tank evil seems like it would facilitate de gassing of it

 

here's newmans work with spot treatment:

 

 

[Reef Miser]

I had an interesting brainstorm...it seems highly possible that in large tanks where a tank drain is impractical, one could turn off all the circulation making the tank as still as possible, lower a dropper of peroxide into the tank and slowly inject it directly onto an algae patch, the limited contact time before it dissipates is still likely enough to burn the algae. My thinking was that any amount of peroxide being broadcast to the tank might be able to be lowered, if it was still spot delivered, worth a try if someone needs to do systemic dosing for one or more reasons.

 

I tried this and had some success. When I was dosing my tank in the very beginning, I used a 5mL syringe with 3%HP and injected it directly into patches of algae rather than just squirting it into the water. It worked to some extent. You could clearly see where I did it the next day...Algae turned white and died. If you had small patches, this might be a good solution... before small patches become big patches.

[brandon429]

Thats really helpful because I think people above a pico reef size really don't like to drain, the systemic treatments are by far the most common so its nice to find a way to mitigate the damage in some way.

 

I think its also important to notice in this thread that there is no X variable that will attack your system after use. The algae is just gone, and thats about it. If anyone notices a spike in phosphates or nitrates as posed by igreen earlier in the thread pls send up your measures, but it doesn't appear to be happening so far. In a lot of the threads I read you guys harvested the dead algae out of your tank which did not leave it to degrade internally. On my experience of burning algae stands with a lighter for many years, I know that killing small patches and leaving them to degrade internally also did not leak nutrients back into the system. I think one of the untested factors in this experiment is what happens over the long term, and I bet fully 100% what happens over the long term is we cheat ourselves into a clean tank

 

 

do you have any idea how nice this approach is vs tuning new filtration approaches/water changing schemes!! I love the practice of applying a basic tank care method and then just spot killing any popups. I pose this is usually better long term for a tank anyway because jacking with params is so much more unstable than just killing algae which is natural for a reef system anyway. Again Im sure this is the baddest algae removal Ive ever seen or I wouldn't be all over it lol. Also started a thread at my home base reefs.org based on you guys' experiences and pictures with peroxide and people over there like the idea as well. thx RMiser!

[ashfordL]

HELP HELP HELP

 

how much should i dose in my 29 if i have high algae concentrations!

[brandon429]

after you are through swearing you'll change water more often next time you should prepare the tank for a large water change, it will do it good. have 20+ gallons of mixed seawater ready to go. If you cannot do a large water change, then lift each bad rock out one by one, and submerge them in a solution of 50/50 peroxide and water, make sure the label on your peroxide says 3%. take a few bottles of peroxide and dump them in a holding container, then fill each bottle up with the same amount of water and add, you'll have a nice deep bath for the rocks. dip the rocks for about 1 minute, then place them back in the tank they came from, restack them. As you lift out the rocks from your old tank, siphon up detritus and waste that collected under them (you still need to do some volume of water change for this servicing)

 

large water changes do not hurt the filter bacteria, they are great for a tank in your condition. post pics of it pls even if just cell phone pics...like to keep this thread example heavy.

 

If you can do the spot treatment method, thats to drain your tank almost down to the sand and while its empty you drip straight 3% peroxide directly on the bad algae only. wait one minute for it to burn, then refill the tank. This is far less peroxide than adding it to your tank while its full. I strongly recommend ponying up the effort to do the drain addition, your tank needs an 80%+ water change anyway for a strong start, and as you siphon it down suction around the base rocks and behind the rocks to really lift out waste. Don't stir up the sandbed in this process, save that for the day you are willing to change the sandbed out 100%. in the meantime, just clean the top layer of sand without disturbing it and kicking more waste back up

[brandon429]

we also need pics of your tank to see how bad it is, and what you have in it. Several animals don't like to swim in peroxide, it needs to be used carefully in your setup. Remember going forward that if you are going to choose the algae-sterile technique (a tank perfectly free of algae even though some of it is natural on a reef, not everyone stresses over a little algae) then you don't let it get this bad again. We can scrub it clean with the peroxide, but after that, the next time you see even a tiny green tuft you do whatever it takes to remove it instantly, do not rely on an animal to do it.

 

nothing can get out of hand and wreck a tank unless its allowed to grow larger and larger, so next time start when the invasion is .001%...maybe yours isn't so bad tho, lets see pics!

 

 

I use the algae sterilization technique because i don't have room for algae in ultra small picos, it will wreck them. And by zapping the first tuft I see of it, the effort takes 1 minute every 4 mos or so to keep the tank 100% free of bad algae and every other pest known to reefing.

 

I believe peroxide use can do something for flatworms, just tried a little test run. I have some subjects to donate lol

 

 

your fish will be ok if you have them. if you have a lot of fish (which could be the algae issue anyway) and don't want to drain the tank, I strongly recommend treating the rocks in another container, not in your reef.

 

most people post no susceptibility in light peroxide dosing to fish, but why risk it if you don't have to. a tupperware bath is perfect for infested rocks and very safe. But I will say that in several places in this thread a systemic dose was listed, so divide it out to match your 29g

Edited May 13, 2011 by brandon429

[acropora1981]

I was thinking the other day and I think that peroxide dips could be very useful for 'rock cooking'. Instead of just scrubbing and swishing the rocks prior to the cooking process (not actual cooking for those that don't know what rock cooking is). It would certainly help jump start the process by helping rid the surface of the rocks of debris, algae and pest organisms.

[brandon429]

At least thats during the time no corals are in the tank, yes I would do that as one option for tank setup. I never saw it do anything to pods and fanworms that grow on the rocks, specifically they swam in straight 3% for a couple mins as a test to see if it would get them.

 

also that may prevent importing new spores into your established tank, its nice to see how many ways an oxidizer can be used in marine culture, ReefMiser demonstrated how well it works in the nano reef and past history demonstrated how well it worked in freshwater use, seems inevitable the leap would be made one day.

 

I read RM's thread at a time where frustration with an inaccessible patch of green algae had me concerned, my tank is old and one trip up will kill it with a forest of green algae, fast. thats why its a really big deal to me, it nearly guarantees the system will never go eutrophic. if you would have asked me 5 months ago if there was a doser that killed algae without herbicidal ingredients id have said no

 

this is the most drastic life extender Ive seen in pico reef science, how bout that apple.

 

the experimentation with something that does not allow algae to grow in a nano reef tank is serious, I got a good eye for what sticks in this hobby and Im sure this isn't a passing fad. I have never seen anything remove algae in this way. The pics do the justice

[B.C.]

Ive been fighting gha in my tank for a while now.Its not to terrible and has gotten better but it still persists and is annoying the heck out of me..Im wanting to try dipping the rocks in a solution or spot treating by taking the rock out.What should the mixture be if i decide to dip the whole rock?

The rocks affected fortunately dont have any corals on them yet .Except for one, that can be spot treated as theres only a couple of very small patches on it.Ive even thought of purchasing a small torch to spot burn it off but i like the peroxide idea.

[brandon429]

50/50 will work, half water half peroxide but you can also just take out the rocks pour straight 3% peroxide on the bad parts and then wait a minute and rinse them off, that will work too. give the algae a day or two to die off, its not instant but pretty fast.

 

Another extra use for peroxide I started doing was using it to cut through the green haze on the glass that I normally have to scrape off, its really convenient. I know its time for water change when the viewing areas get that green haze, but instead of tediously scraping it and angling the scraper in the bowl, now I just get a paper towel chunk wet with peroxide, wipe once over the haze area and let it sit a minute while the bowl is drained waiting for the water change refill. I don't scrape, Im letting it burn the algae on the glass. after refilling, by the next day its notably cleaner even before I take the internal cleaning magnet to it, this was a tremendous work reducer again made possible by peroxide.

[brandon429]

another board's take on peroxide use in the reef, just found it

http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?...39962;topicseen

 

and this vid, he was doing it a year ago!

 

 

neat video of systemic dosing in a planted tank

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkQEepAkFTE...feature=related

Edited May 15, 2011 by brandon429

[acropora1981]

So here is a 1:1 treatment example.

 

Before:

 

After(5 days):

 

 

Most of the algae turned white. However, to eliminate caulerpa may take more than one dip.

[damage31]

I too had results like the post from acropora1981 shows after a few days.

 

However - I also didn't get it all the first time.

 

Thus far I've had to treat the rocks twice, as I noticed growth coming back after the first dose. For dose #2 I decided on a straight 3% dose no dilution based onto the rock with a small plastic dropper.

 

I've just about had it with whatever algae I'm dealing with- I suspect I'm battling bryopsis and i'm about to tear the tank down and start over with all new rock and substrate if I cant get the upper hand on this problem once and for all.

 

So far peroxide has left me with some hope- but if i cant rid myself once and for all in the next month or so i'll start over and cook the existing rock.

[brandon429]

I just added some directly to me terrarium globe, the wild type guppies don't mind and all the bad accumulated algae is bubbling, I bet it works great in fw as previously stated

 

those are great pics

 

 

damage this is the best shot Ive seen hope it works man

[acropora1981]

I've just about had it with whatever algae I'm dealing with- I suspect I'm battling bryopsis and i'm about to tear the tank down and start over with all new rock and substrate if I cant get the upper hand on this problem once and for all.

 

Talk about 'had it'... I've been dealing with very aggressive algae issues for over 14 months... Phosphates are 0.0 with a Hanna digital meter :S, and nitrates are undetectable with a Seachem low range nitrate test kit.

Edited May 16, 2011 by acropora1981