Peroxide saves my Tank! With pics to Prove It!

[BLoCkCliMbeR]

i saw an article on this thing, i dont remember if it actually turns the water into h2o2, but it does some science stuff to the water with electricity to sanitize counter tops etc.....

 

lately ive been buying h2o2 in bulk to clean the house

 

http://www.gizmag.com/activeion-ionator-wa...nfectant/14865/

[pismo_reefer]

Hehe... My dad had a copy of the anarchist cookbook.... Good times.

[brandon429]

I finally have a use for a stronger than 3% solution. faster coralline/green micro algae burning off the glass.

 

 

3% works but a light film wiped onto the inside of the glass at a slightly stronger mix ratio would burn just a little quicker and handle thicker green spots that have been neglected likely without a second treatment. sometimes when I let the glass go quite a while unscraped it takes two treatments w 3% to get it clean again.

 

a trip to the pool store is in order

[Reef Miser]

Is that just killing the coralline, or is it dissolving it as well?

[brandon429]

no just bleaching so it wont spread I stillhave to scrape. however if wiped weekly it prevents it from coming on anyway

 

my main concern is the green haze in my very old tank

[jrose40]

Ok after reading many many pages or you guys thread here it looks like its a great fix for many different algae problems everyone is having. I have had this stuff here growing on my rocks for a few months now and its not really spreading or growing hairy or anything but just doesnt look good. Would the hyro-peroxide treatment work for me? When you guys talk about tank treating do you mean you just pour it directly in the tank on a daily basis? One of my rocks I have is very large and wedged in the bottom of the tank so taking it out would be near impossible without tearing it completely down. My stock in my tank is only

1 clown

1 Yellow Watchman Goby

Nerite,Mexican Turbo snails

2 Red Mushrooms

1 Feather Duster

 

Can anyone give me any advice is to what kind of algae this is and how to treat it without tearing down my tank. All my parameters are in line and I use R/O water. The system I have is a BC14.

 

[acropora1981]

Ok after reading many many pages or you guys thread here it looks like its a great fix for many different algae problems everyone is having. I have had this stuff here growing on my rocks for a few months now and its not really spreading or growing hairy or anything but just doesnt look good. Would the hyro-peroxide treatment work for me? When you guys talk about tank treating do you mean you just pour it directly in the tank on a daily basis? One of my rocks I have is very large and wedged in the bottom of the tank so taking it out would be near impossible without tearing it completely down. My stock in my tank is only

1 clown

1 Yellow Watchman Goby

Nerite,Mexican Turbo snails

2 Red Mushrooms

1 Feather Duster

 

Can anyone give me any advice is to what kind of algae this is and how to treat it without tearing down my tank. All my parameters are in line and I use R/O water. The system I have is a BC14.

 

 

I don't think you should use peroxide on this. That type of green coloration on dead rock is natural, and can be eliminated by growing a thick layer of corraline algae on the rock. The rock, if given proper parameters -stable parameters w/calcium ~420 and kh 8-10, will turn purple within about 6-12 months if the tank is seeded with a decent piece of liverock.

[acropora1981]

And now onto my own peroxide update/story.

 

I have been dealing with feather caulerpa and a very aggressive form of bubble algae for about 2 yrs.

 

First before I start about my treatment let me say that I had already got nutrient issues under control and have very healthy SPS corals with full coloration, and very low nitrates and phosphates via good husbandry, GFO usage, and ROX 0.8 carbon. Lots of corraline etc, but the bubble algae and the caulerpa kept hanging on - not really growing fast, but just continuing to irritate corals and me.

 

So, about a month ago I decided it was time to do something drastic. I removed all my corals to a bucket, made about 10 gallons of fresh saltwater and spread it around to about 3 half filled 5 gallon pails. In the first pail, I basically scrubbed the rock of as much caulerpa and bubble algae as possible. The second pail was about 2-3 gallons of water with about 1.5 cups (350ml) of hydrogen peroxide in it. Each peice of liverock was given a 3-5 minute bath in this, where it bubbled and spurted etc, and then each piece of liverock was put into the third pail to rinse off the H2O2, and then placed back into the display. The base of each coral was also dipped in order to get rid of the bubble algae on the coral frags and rock bases. The tank meanwhile was also scraped clean of bubble algae and caulerpa as best as possible, and filter floss used to catch any stray bubbles.

 

Well, I can tell you that the caulerpa is gone gone gone, and the bubble algae is nowhere to be seen a month later The corraline algae seems basically to be 100% unnafected, it didnt bleach or anything. I have continued (and will continue) to use GFO and Rox 0.8 carbon in order to keep nutrient levels low, and continue good housekeeping of course also.

 

Anyway thats my most recent, most agressive use of this to date - before this I had simply used it to spot treat zooanthids and irritated frags. The only reason I tried this is because I basically used the 'keep it clean and it will go away' method for damn near 2 years, and all it got me eventually was a ULN environment where even SPS couldn't grow because there weren't enough nutrients to grow on, and algae that woundn't die, but also didn't grow at all!

 

Good luck!

Edited November 25, 2011 by acropora1981

[jrose40]

Thanks for the quick response, the live rock I have is the Fiji rock all the other rock was local Florida rock. I live in the Florida Keys so there is lots of LFS that sell it. I hope the Fiji rock that has the coraline algae takes over quickly I really hate the green tint. Any other ideas?

[brandon429]

I agree with acro it can be plated with algae. tanks that are dosed for calcium and alk tend to grow coralline much faster than water change only tanks

 

so I do both, massive water changes weekly plus heavy dosing and coralline is at plague levels but as said you'll need some months age for the tank in great ion conditions. we'd have to see currect calc and alk and phos test params to really get a good eye on things.

 

I can tell you this, you noticed your concern early. many posts are already infested with stringy/brushy growth or at least past the phase of a pigment-only shade on the rock.

 

it can be beated naturally with patience and great water care and if you choose to peroxide it for quick treatment that can work too. must choose how badly you hate the coloration.

 

Here's some guaranteed methods that w work w peroxide.

 

glad acro mentioned feather duster treatment there's not a lot of that in this tread to know the outcomes and that input helps.

 

I would not add it to a full tank, that's a last resort for heavy/uncontrolled infections or path of least resistance work which I have done several times when I didn't feel like fiddling w the tank for hours. the safest way is the opposite way of treating based on how I like to tinker with it in my reefbowl.

 

the sure fire way to do peroxide on that tank is to remove the rocks and treat externally as listed. as you lift up each rock, have siphon ready to clean out all that detritus that packs underneath (since we are all naturally trained to be hesitant to remove rock, don't touch it will die kind of habit)

 

if you won't do that, then drain the tank down to where only 30% of the water is left for swimming, taking any detritus you can see along the way w the siphon hose. for the exposed rock you want to treat, have a spray bottle of peroxide cleaned out, filled and ready to go.

 

don't saturate the rocks. use multiple treatment sessions, not a single heavy treatment to clean your tank but over 2 or 3 runs where you are changing out a good portion of the water always matching your temp and specific gravity to the change water thats the only params that have to match. do one single spray per area per run not really overlapping sprays, stuff is powerful and your tank isn't bad off it doesn't need a huge blasting of peroxide this is only an option if you really want that pigment gone. If it was my tank id remove it. no yellow or green hues allowed I always say but im reef ocd and that's not always fun lol.

 

all the successive and accumulating water changes that accompany each run are what your tank needs, the fish won't mind if you pour in change water carefully after each run on top of the rock and not kick up the sand bed.

when you spray on a green tinted target area, pump once don't try to kill it all. wait for it to sit on rock two mins, then refill tank, and for safe measure Id turn right around and swap out a couple gallons water or better just for safe run. this leaves hardly any peroxide in your tank, very small amounts wouldn't hurt whats in that tank even as a systemic but its not the most effective way for quick work.

 

wait two days and see what the area does. if its not much of a change, don't worry, schedule a few more runs this thread says the algae/pigment will die off.

 

another option is to soak a paper towel w peroxide and lay back open so that it does not actively drip from the soaked paper towel but its at a saturation level the towel holds in.

 

lay that across the rock surface, cut/tear to shape.

 

wait two mins, lift up paper towel, refill, swap 2 or 3 gallons, refill again wait another two days.

 

you might press down very lightly on the paper towel while its sitting on target to affect the algaecide but try not to force a lot of it out into your water. don't forget these rinsing water changes. it may be work, but its worth it and your tank always benefits from them, we will always be doing too few for our tanks so the amount you are willing to do as a cleaning run will always be insufficient for whats in the best interest of the tank over the long haul.

[brandon429]

it should be marked in this thread that a brand new bottle of peroxide is what you want, not a used one.

 

 

its too cheap to used old/weaker mixes when 75 cents guarantees you a strong clean first run.

 

just like anything that spoils when you crack the lid for the first time, peroxide begins a process of permanent oxygen liberation as soon as its produced in the manufacturing plant. the endpoint is pure water (and as listed earlier by block some preservative ingredients) but nonetheless it gets weaker as soon as its produced and placed in bottles. the difference in power between an old bottle of peroxide and a new one is striking, sometimes double efficacy, so Ive seen you should be using new bottles we don't advocate you using two year old sitting gasonline in a car either.

 

come on admit it people, your peroxide has been in your medicine cabinet for two years mine had heh.

[acropora1981]

I'd never used peroxide before this, so mine is always fresh out of the pharmacy isle

[brandon429]

Ive also been adding it to my fw bowl for quite some time now, it hasn't damaged any plant from your standard aquatic plant repertoire

 

there are japonicum shrimp in there that are unharmed, interesting to experiment w freshwater use as well. acro you keep any fw tanks?

[babboa]

So, I have been reading this and noticed some people were talking about making a peroxide gel for hard to treat areas. Just a thought, but has anyone tried some of the dental whitening gels? I know a lot of them are 7-20% H202, but I'm not sure if the other ingredients would cause problems in the tank.

[new-b-reefer]

Hello, sorry to chime in with a random question but it is related to the h202 thread topic

I have some macro growing in my tank and was recomended to this thread.

Can I take a rock out? Poor some peroxide just on the spot of the rock that has the algae, let it sit for a few minutes and then return it to the tank? This way I am not killing the bacteria on/in the whole rock, just the infected protion so to speak. Is this ok?

[brandon429]

yes. you spot treat to keep it off delicate corals, coralline and non target areas. its the preferred method of peroxide usage

Edited December 11, 2011 by brandon429

[new-b-reefer]

yes. you spot treat to keep it off delicate corals, coralline and non target areas. its the preferred method of peroxide usage

 

ok cool, so i can just pull out the rock. poor it on infected spot, let it sit a couple minutes, then toss it back in the tank and thats it?

[brandon429]

rinse the area well before putting back in. the target area won't show any signs during or after treatment.

 

if the algae is green hair algae or bryopsis, it will show signs of bleaching and death within 24 to 36 hours

 

if its red of any species it will take about 4 to 6 days but it will die. if you want to speed up the process repeat after 2 days on this first run.

 

if its rinsed clean before you put back in your tank there's no chance of the peroxide hurting anything in the main display.

I have been using this method every couple months to rid my tank of any algae, it keeps the tank perfectly clean of it and i have become more lax with my water cleanliness due to its effectiveness. not recommending that, but I have.

[sanchez]

Soooooo I have dinoflagellates.

 

Here's a picture of my macros after the weekend (I do not tend the tank over the weekend as it's at work):

 

So the only things I have in here are a small zoa frag, a small paly frag, a bunch of snails, a YWG and these macros.

 

Do ya'll think a small systemic dosing to get rid of the dinos would kill my snails or my macros? I know that fish kinda don't really care about it much.

[OceanFlyer]

Having read the H202 thread and some PM's I've tried it a couple times and it works for sure. I've taken the entire rock out and soaked it in a mixture of H202 and water coming out during the change. Save some for rinsing off the rock before returning to the tank.

 

I've also used brandon's spot treatment method for small areas.

 

I try to remove the snails before treatment but there were a few that were hiding. They fell off the rock when I put them into the mixture. I just tossed them back into the tank and they were fine. No losses.

 

The other trick I've used is for coral frags that have algae on the small frags or rock it's attached to. I have a shot glass and put H202 into the glass at the level that when I put the frag in the H202 covers the bottom of it but doesn't touch the coral. The small circumference of the glass gives the coral support so you don't have to hold it. Leave it for 2 - 3 min, then rinse the frag in a bowl of tank water. In the one case I had small bubble algae on the bottom of the frag it came right off and has not returned.

 

I also use this shot glass treatment for any new frags that I buy before ever putting them in. It's interesting seeing what falls off a clean looking frag.

[brandon429]

Sanchez i do think it will get the macros, thats a tricky call. you'll have to just try some mode of experimentation with it and see what happens. one inversion I can think of offhand is a literal inversion. take out macro algae, hold it upside down, dip only the tips in peroxide (diluted or straight) and singe the ends to get at the locus where the diatoms seem connected. you will for sure get the diatoms wet, who knows what will happen to the rest of the macro. the other option is to use no peroxide and try to beat those diatoms in the normal ways, they are hit or miss. so is using peroxide in the presence of decorative macros...

 

 

Ocean the shot glass method thats great!!

[sanchez]

Maybe I'll just up the water changes for now, see what happens over the next week or so. It's not a terrible outbreak by any means, just figured a systemic dose would be the easy way out

[Jmifland]

I had an outbreak of bubble algae when I took a coral home from my LFS and it has two small bubbles located at the base. I accidentally popped one while in the tank and it then spread. I removed the rock from the tank and then placed one drop of peroxide per bubble and then I also soaked some of the hair algae that I had accumilated with some peroxide. I then rinsed the rock with the old water that I siphoned out and then placed it back into the tank. I then filled the 75% of water that was removed with a new mix and everything looked good. It took about a day or two and then the bubbles started to turn white and then slowly decompose and disappear. The hair algae was gone within a couple days and everything is looking great. I had to do it again on a few bubbles that I missed but now the tank is spotless and all the fish and inverts are doing fine. The only thing that did not make it through this were a couple small brittle stars that came in hitch hiked on my rock. I believe a few are still around but they are so hard to find and are extremely small.

 

Peroxide definitely works wonders on algae!

 

Edit: brandon429 is going to hate me but I didn't take pictures of the process like I said I would. If it appears again I will definitely get some before and after shots. I now have an RO/DI unit so hopefully that will stop any algae from growing.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Jmifland

[brandon429]

thanks for posting! we are happy to have the report sans pics no prob

 

I too have a spot of gha in my reefbowl right now and will get to work on it tonite. same spot comes back every few months, but it also dies whenever I get around to treating. so far for years I do not change my water params or care methods, I either burn with a lighter 2002-2011 or peroxide lol 2011-indefinately

[metrokat]

Brandon, my little Betta tank (1.5 gallon) has always had an algae problem. I use distilled water, light is on timer but still the tank is terrible. Can adding peroxide help, or harm? And if I can add to the tank itself, how much would you suggest?