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Peroxide saves my Tank! With pics to Prove It!


Reef Miser

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we see this continual pattern of dieoff times per type of invader (dilutions down from full 3% might change a bit, but not much)

 

-green hair algae variants usually bleach within 24 hours 36 max, and fall off the rock within a week. if this timeframe isn't met, the peroxide was old and lost efficacy, or diluted too much, or too short contact time (these factors are never a problem with spot treatments of 3% right on the algae, a full dip means nontargets were contacted, and the peroxide use had to be more careful)

 

-invasive macro algae types, same. usually within a day or two

 

-red algae are different...typically 7-9 day delay before it even starts to bleach, but the have a marked pattern of turning bright orange red in coloration a day after the treatment, signifying the coming doom next week for rhodophyta variants

 

-valonia, same about 24-36 hours

 

-bryopsis same, but with a stronger growback potential if we didn't rasp clean the holdfast areas.

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ok, the algae definitely did not like its peroxide dip. It has turned white on the pieces that I dipped and appears to be dying.

 

what is the best way to proceed from here? I was thinking of taking out one of the large rocks with my next water change, using a spray bottle to apply 3% to it, let sit about 5 min and then rinsing in salt water and returning to the tank. I don't want to take everything out at once until the move next month but in the meantime I can do the rocks that are easy to get to.

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that's a good plan. you will lessen or stop the growback of any treated areas by removing the invader first, then treating, but many skip that step and just spray the invader, either way is just fine try and post us some pics if you can of the die off process

 

 

 

Here is quite the refugium cleanup dosing friends at r2r

http://www.reef2reef.com/threads/just-beautiful-proof-of-h202-doing-its-thing.253486/#post-3004799

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  • 3 weeks later...
brandon429

http://www.reef2reef.com/threads/75-gallon-rebuild-and-algae-battle.248397/#post-2927022

 

 

Was very pleased to see this.

 

The goal wasn't add peroxide to my tank and see what happens. It was force clean the whole tank, force spot work the algae, reset back without a cycle, there is nothing more anti bandaid than that.

 

 

When you have a eutrophic condition, that's a remark about nutrient reserves as much as it is about using peroxide as a tool to fight holdfasts and regrowth. This tank was large, hard work, taken apart in order and set back up skip cycle sans algae. One could easily make a living doing this for a living in a large city.

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I use a dental scaler to scrape algae off of rock. I just bought a new one; as you see, my old one is pretty worn out. I just use the scaler, not the pick.

051716a.jpg

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brandon429

perfect items above because of small scraper edge footprints.

 

When I used the tip of some surgi scissors to gouge some valonia out of place, the marks weren't even noticeable afterwards from using small tips like those and the valonia was beaten in one pass.

 

It's really too bad that the longer we go working with only results-driven algae controls the more the caveman techniques are the ones that work invariably...some form of direct destruction has been working for last six yrs here, this rasping is yet another amplifier that allows us to use less, not more peroxide to get the same ends and with better growback sustain now adding the physical steps above to our once chemical-only procedures

 

I wish it was some easy hands off dosing trick.

 

Literally scraping and destroying small parts of the substrate in order to force clean invaders is no staple of the hobby lol, but the current ability for alternate methods to get mean and make restorations -on time- so methods can be retro analyzed aren't impressing me much...been watching trends for a decade+ now online and the masses still pretty much repeat the steps given to us in books from the nineties. I think that should all be lumped as preventatives only, and what we do to a target when it breaches the blockade is the mean stuff for 2016 and beyond, the year the masses got fed up farming algae in the display tank, hoping for something to occur.

 

I'm still as pro-preventative as anyone: once a tank has no visible invaders in place due to hard work restoration and a bit of chemical cheat at the right time (before and after the rasp) then we install any preventative one likes to work with

 

 

 

Here below, our friend fixed a new frag of caulastrea candy cane, a highly tolerant lps regarding peroxide -

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/373759-feather-looking-algae-on-candy-cane/#entry5336330

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  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

As a reminder:

012316a.jpg

Earlier this year (prior to any manual algae removal).

 

012316c.jpg

Same day (after some manual removal).

 

Since then, I've done countless dips in saltwater made with 3% hydrogen peroxide (plus lots of scraping with a dental scaler, brushing with a toothbrush, and siphoning out debris). Also, I just got done doing two weeks without any tank lights on (although I had some occasional room lights on, so it wasn't a true black out). During this time I dosed my 40 breeder with 1ml of 35% food grade peroxide (daily). I also kept scraping, brushing, and siphoning. Afterward, I cleaned the tank and did a 100% water change.

 

The hair algae is long gone. But I do have a persistent species of algae that seems immune to 3% peroxide, and can even grow on the underside of rocks. Even after two weeks of without lights and peroxide dosing, I still had some traces of this algae:

080616a.jpg

I find that I can often see more algae when I remove the rocks from the tank (like in this pic).

 

Before returning the rocks to the newly cleaned tank, I dosed 60ml of 35% hydrogen peroxide into the 10gal container that I had them in. It was enough to get the rocks bubbling. I waited about three minutes (until I saw the anemones under some distress), before moving the rocks back into the tank.

 

I'm attempting to make this a Caribbean tank (for my rock flower anemones). So I've since moved some of the livestock, leaving a just a few frags (which I will also move) and a couple of rocks with RFAs. Here it is today:

080616b.jpg

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that is good documentation im not getting alerts here and just saw the post

 

are those blastomussas on the lower right? with that bright center? if so my lfs would sell them at 100xx a pop that's sharp

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are those blastomussas on the lower right? with that bright center? if so my lfs would sell them at 100xx a pop that's sharp

Nah, just candy canes. However, there is a tiny blasto on the far left that's still hanging on.

 

 

giphy.gif

inorite? I had a few patches of algae here and there. :lol:

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  • 1 month later...

Last Sunday I took two rocks out of my tank, scraped the majority of the bryopsis or turf algae off. Then dripped 35% on the entire rock, except for where some SPS was mounted. Then put it in some used SW, then put it back in the tank. It bubbled for a while, but I haven't seen any green algae (it all turned white, even spots in the tank I didn't treat seem to have taken a hit). I'm hoping this will be the end of it! All fish and inverts seem totally fine.

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Be prepared to re-treat if necessary. IME, holdfasts are often protected and the algae can return.

It does looks like there are a few green spots really close to corals. And time will tell if the peroxide went deep enough into the rock. At least so far it seemed like it was worth my time.

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  • 4 months later...

 

 

nice to have a peroxide update from jlscrug, reminds me of the good old days. Todays mix of dosers and medicines to combat algae are adding options to the market...interestingly, they aren't a fell swoop for each tank and its nice to have well-studied good old peroxide as a standby, or combo run etc.

 

Here's using UV light to battle dinos:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i-have-almost-completely-eradicated-dinoflagellates-overnight.316126/

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  • 7 months later...

https://reefbuilders.com/2017/09/30/problematic-algae-manage/

 

 

I enjoy the anticipation in reading new algae control threads

 

 

The anticipation is how far off the mark will their approaches and claims be to what we wrestle with here 

 

 

 

 Algae control claims have to be bounced off many tanks to get honed into something that is worth trying. I was pleased after reading that article. They're ranching within the walls of a familiar corral when it comes to taking action against tank invaders

 

To affect invaders, the article writer mentioned: 

 

-Light spectrum impacting invader, non nutrient based variable in favor of plant and protist growth. How often has deep blue spectrum been implicated that we've seen? Whites and reds. Watch in future algae articles to see which spectra fuel algae even when other variables align. This is not not not not about constant detailing of po4 and nitrate. Many other causes, the author here covers ideal nutrient controls but then he delves into the side supports you don't see much in algae threads

 

They're usually all about nutrients. Things are evolving

 

Causatives evolving.

 

UV use against dinos. We are pro UV here too 

 

 

*He documented the light-boosting amplification effect of peroxide dosing

*The article shows peroxide as a permanent fixture in aquarium cleanup options 

 

 

 

What reefmiser posted in this thread introducing peroxide to nr is part of aquarium go-to for what to do when battles are required.

 

It's savory on nine levels and that includes the chemistry forum at reefcentral I think they're particularly keen on the work overall. 

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  • 1 month later...

Before:

111117d.jpg

 

After 3 days of consecutive peroxide dips:

111117e.jpg

 

My peroxide dips consisted of about 50ml of food grade 35% hydrogen peroxide in about a half gallon of saltwater.  I dipped the frags in the solution for about 15 seconds, then let them oxidize in the air for about 15 seconds.  Then I rinsed the frags in straight saltwater before returning them to the tank.

 

The frags are still angry.  I'm hoping for a full recovery.  I'll post an update next week.

 

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Update 11/14/17:

111417a.jpg

 

 

On 11/11/2017 at 9:08 PM, seabass said:

Before:

111117d.jpg

 

After 3 days of consecutive peroxide dips:

111117e.jpg

 

My peroxide dips consisted of about 50ml of food grade 35% hydrogen peroxide in about a half gallon of saltwater.  I dipped the frags in the solution for about 15 seconds, then let them oxidize in the air for about 15 seconds.  Then I rinsed the frags in straight saltwater before returning them to the tank.

 

The frags are still angry.  I'm hoping for a full recovery.  I'll post an update next week.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Lyngbya stands zero chance:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/is-this-lyngbya.338909/page-2

 

 

we are pre modeling all actions before upscaling the work to the whole tank, hopefully. Keepers hate doing that work but I sure know the afterpics will be post gold and making the recommendation to get there is no work for me heh 

 

 

Early peroxide clearing of light gha growth on nice live rock

 

 

 

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  • 3 months later...
  • 5 years later...

Haven't seen any comments about how H2O2 dosing might affect chaeto. Does anyone have any experience with this? I don't want to dose and then lose my chaeto especially with the nutrient load from dying GHA if it does work. 

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