"Grass" algae and hydrogen peroxide

[Paddy42]

Hi everyone!

 

I have planned today to do some serious cleaning in my fish tank as the algae on glass calmed down a bit. I think I found the perfect balance between light and feeding.

 

I still have 2 pieces of rock (small separate pieces) that are covered in GHA and also something that looks like grass.

I had used some advice earlier regarding that grass like looking thing and I think it's some sort of bubble algae but the picture I posted that time was showing them in the very early stage of growth.

 

Since then I got emerald crab to take care of it.

He did rush towards it at first and I think ate some of it but it's coming back now.

And I have left it as it was to see if he would eat it all up again but he is not bothered that much.

 

Due to very annoying looks of that rock.. I am considering total tidy up in the fish tank and thinking of taking these 2 pieces of rock and dipping them in hydrogen peroxide.

 

The second piece of rock is just piece I picked for 20p, drilled some holes and made of it my frags nursery 😂

 

I have read a lot about it and it seems like quiet good way to get rid of GHA so I hope it would sort out that bubble algae as well (if it still appears to be bubble algae lol)

 

My live rock in the middle seems to be doing fine as I have about 12 snails in total to take care of it.

They are doing quiet well I must admit.. except these 2 separate pieces of rock. Not sure but it might be the case that these were bought as dried live rock. Is it just a stage that they are going through?

But they have been in tank continuously for 6/7weeks so I would imagine it should have become normal colonised by all sorts of bacteria. One of them got even coreline algae growing on it...

 

 

Any wayyyy... if someone done similar hydrogen peroxide dips in the past, can you please let me know what strength it needs to be and if you need to dilute it in water?

I know that some people advise to dip for no longer than 3 mins, but I haven't got any corals attached directly to that rock so I could even leave it for a bit longer.

 

 

Thank you everyone for your time and all advices!

 

 

[Clown79]

You can take the rocks out, scrub with a tooth brush, dip in SW,  then spot treat the gha area with 3% hydrogen peroxide.

 

I wouldn't use a lot of peroxide, it does kill organisms, spot treating for such a small amount of algae is better 

[Paddy42]

The cleaning has gone alright i guess.

But I think the mistake I made was moving things around. I have moved the like rock to cleane in the space between 3 rock and there was a bit of a crap in there.

Since last evening the water has gone cloudy which I suppose is the results of me moving things around and siphoning the sand inbetween rocks.

 

I imagine I won't do it again... lol but hey ho.. learning on mistakes.

Got some AQUA pure balance balls which I added to filter and it should help out with all the crap floating around as it did in the past (at the begining)

And also help restore the beneficial bacteria in the filter and on the rocks.

 

Not sure if it's true but when you move things around it affects the bacteria growing on the rocks?

Can some confirm this?

 

Thanks for all your input!

 

[mcarroll]

On 4/27/2019 at 4:58 AM, Paddy42 said:

Due to very annoying looks of that rock.. I am considering total tidy up in the fish tank and thinking of taking these 2 pieces of rock and dipping them in hydrogen peroxide.

That's a great way to nuke all the microbial life on that rock just to save a little bit of work....not a good trade.

 

Just manually clean off those rocks.  Shut off the pumps and pinch off the algae from the rock one bit at a time like your two fingers were a parrotfish.  Siphon out extra mess you make with a siphon hose.  Be persistent and work for up to an hour a day, day after day until it's clear.  You should also be increasing your CUC to take some of the load off of you.....they are supposed to keep the spots clear that you clean.  (They can't eat giant algae....just nubbins of new growth.)   Go heavy on algae eating snails and go LIGHT on crabs, which are all omnivores NOT herbivores.

 

On 4/28/2019 at 12:24 PM, Paddy42 said:

I have moved the like rock to cleane in the space between 3 rock and there was a bit of a crap in there.

Sounds like you may need more flow in the tank.  Also it's a good idea to blast your rocks with a powerhead once in a while to dislodge stuff like that.....in nature that would happen naturally during a storm.  BE THE STORM for your tank.  :-)

 

On 4/28/2019 at 12:24 PM, Paddy42 said:

AQUA pure balance balls

Not sure these are a good idea since it doesn't look like you're testing your nitrate or phosphate levels.

 

I would remove them until you confirm that you have a problem with excess dissolved nutrients.

 

Can you post your current NO3 and PO4 levels?

 

In the mean time, use your first finger and thumb to pinch out those tufts of algae.  I keep a container of freshwater to put the algae in and use as a finger rinse before I go back in for another pinch.  Be persistent and you'll get it all....might take some days/repeat attempts, but that's OK -- you're the #1 member of the CUC!  :-)  You might need more algae-eating snails if you have to do this manually too often.