One very unique way of fighting algae, diatoms, invasive macro etc

[sherman]

Bro Cedric,

You mean you dose 250 ml of peroxide into your 100 litre tank?

You pour the whole 250 ml in at one go or let it drip over a period of time

THANKS

[Cedric]

Hi Sherman,

I am not recommending it but yes, I poured in 250ml at one single go . . .

[sherman]

Ok.

Thank You for sharing.

Interesting

[Admiraltian]

Will this work on neomeris annulata? It's slowly growing all over my tank.

[Cedric]

Thanks Sherman!

Hi Admiraltian, I'm not sure . . . I don't have neomeris annulata which I believe is a calcium based macro algae. What it did do was to wipe out all bryopsis in my tank. Nothing was left. My tank is still "free" till today and my corals are thankfully making good recovery.

[finbir]

Hi Cedric,

Read ur post regarding the use of hydroden peroxide. Bought a bottle of 500ml and emptied 3 quarters of it into my sump. Mine's a 4x2x2 main tank and 4x10"x2 sump. Everything happened as mentioned by u. The cyano just disintegrated in the main and the skimmer went berserk! The fishes are okay but my mushies are all folded up.

Mind giving us a snapshot of ur tank currently?

Thks.

[Cedric]

Hi Finbir,

just took a quick shot with my phone. making a slow recovery. How's your tank doing after the mega dose?

Rgds

Cedric

[finbir]

Hi Cedric,

Thanks 4 the quickie. Initially, I thought my tank's a goner! There was so much foam n I'd to empty the skim cup 3 times. Even threw in a diy filter bag 2 help drain out the dying debris of algae. It's been 2 days. Now the tank water is whistle clean n life's back to normal.

Couldn't be happier,man! BTW I used the Yukare brand n it's 7 per cent strong in a 500ml bottle.

No venture no gain. Lol!

Once again, a million thks. :thumbsup:

[finbir]

Hi All,

To those who r equally fired up by Cedric's aftermath n mine I'd like 2 add the following variables. Firstly, I dosed my sump entirely cut off from the top tank with the lights fully on. H2O2 oxidizes very quickly in the presence of light. Secondly, my skimmer has a 28w diy venturi Dolphin 2500 l/h pump. The reason 4 mentioning the former two is maybe it reduces the strength of the H2O2 n when I reconnected the return to the top tank, the impact on the inhabitants was much reduced. Hence, although the cyano and the broypsis were effected, the water turned hazy but the inhabitants survived.

Believe me, it was a close shave. I'd take the rocks out and do it in a tub, the next time.

NB. Only found out more about H2O2 this morning!

[brandonm]

I really like the input on this thread just after a few mos

this is exactly how peroxide threads get so large, building upon last application technique with pics

Before we dump large amounts in the tank (as you can see mostly safe, no biofilter death as once assumed etc) be SURE and read this 4 yr thread on what peroxide does in your tank, before you dump

We have one to many thousands of dollars in these tanks and vs a large dump repository, at least read what many others across the globe did with large tanks vs full addition to the running tank

we have tanks where the keeper installs a little underwater tarp made out of think plastic wrap, secures it to a troubled rock, and then injects peroxide only up under that tarp, lessening contact to sensitive organisms.

then we have tank drains + treatment, which is what i do is my massively old and small 1 gallon vase reef, the system that made the data for the entire thread below where tanks up to 450 gallons were treated.

So as you can see above, clams, nitrifying bacteria, a multitude of soft and stony corals, all are pretty tolerant of peroxide but from this giant thread below, these are not:

1. lysmata cleaner shrimp species and blood shrimp will almost always die when exposed to any dilution. I suspect it has something to do with heritable traits in that species regarding free radical metabolism details, they just cant tolerate. Lysmata cleaners are the single most peroxide weakest animal Ive ever seen in 5 years of hardcore, hardcore peroxide tank work.

2. zoanthid corals are probably the toughest, nearly immune to any form of peroxide treatment

3. anemones can suffer (you can see this in discosoma irritation, the recovery)

4. decorative macro algae for obvious reasons (we use peroxide to wipe clean dictyota infestations, caulerpa infestations on a large scale)

5. xenia is usually wilting when putting in full tank doses, which is why underwater capture methods work so well

6. coralline w usually bleach out then come back

This is the biggest thread on the web for peroxide use across tanks, I even use it the same way in my many planted tanks:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2082359

that being said, its clear that tankwide treatments work and require very little effort, told you it was an amazing technique :)

[finbir]

Hi Brandonm,

After reading so many 'quick fixes' my latest attempts prior to reading Cedric's success were to remove phosphate via ferrous sulphate in order to reduce GHA in the tanks. They even grew on the artificial coral rocks after I'd substituted them for the real stuff (after reading SM's post on old rocks).

But now, lol, I'm enjoying cleaning the gooey scum n watching the algae slowly rotting as a result of H2O2!

[brandonm]

Finbir thanks for posting. Ill tell you this, being labeled a bandaid is what prevents direct action from occurring on algae patches, and that leads to wrecked tanks.

direct action on the algae is not a secondary or less preferable method, its a viable solution. Its chemical grazing, and grazing is what prevents algae from taking over natural reefs, not GFO or even nutrient management. Its well documented on reefs that once we remove the grazers, the urchins, the parrots, the ________ algae will dominate. caulerpa can dominate, how well does taking indirect action work for caulerpa control in wild invasive patches? not well

I dont think every tank should use peroxide.

Its merely a handy, and highly predictable cheat for the times its indicated. Im an advocate of total control, simply dont permit algae. Before someone showed me peroxide, I was literally fire burning algae off my reef like this:

We were simply told incorrectly that attaining nutrient level _________ guarantees you a no algae tank

wrong, it may help, and does as a nice preventative, but its never the solution to an existing algae problem. That solution is make the algae gone yesterday, then employ a preventative to prevent.

as soon as we see invasive species X on our reefs, the clean up crew is failing. the nutrient control, no matter how low the phosphates are registering, is failing. strain it much more and we'll starve and bleach our corals who also need nitrate and phosphate for coloration and health. You can see in my thread a huge, huge portion of those tanks were already employing the nutrient limiter of the day and still had X invading their tank. our method is used to fight nearly any form of plant invader, except neo

The point of this peroxide thread is:

preventatives are GFO, refugiums, clean up crews, turf scrubbers, etc. things that keep the water in check

removers are: fire, peroxide, bleach, even just hand removal. something thats decisive. something that repeats, and just because it repeats doesnt mean it cant be used to literally stop an algae invasion. i document in that big thread several tanks of perfect water params that still had even basic Green hair algae problems, something supposed to be strictly nutrient related but wasnt (in the water column)

we use peroxide to mass clear biomass that would otherwise take weeks to starve, then your preventers have a real shot. without overstripping the water in retroactive haste.

it has no bearing on neomeris annulata

[brandonm]

Admiral im so sorry but neomeris annulata is the #1 worst reef tank invader I know of, see the middle pages of our thread. We had guys putting ***35%**** peroxide into their tanks and wiping some corals, only for neo to remain strong.

others chiseled it out of the rock work to take out any holdfasts, leaving chips and scars along the way.

The only thing I know to beat neomeris is the ultimate protocol, nothing beats it:

universal exclusion. Coming from someone who fixes lots of tanks Im saying we should reserve neo and a few others for the act of see it, simply remove the entire rock for the life of the tank. Some variants are simply too risky to maintain, and I vote neomeris annulata as the prime one to exclude if ever seen on any rock. trade it off, qt it, boil it etc but simply remove the substrate from the reef when we see it. I class it as only beatable by luck, never repeatable. never ever predictable like what we do in that big thread.

I really hated not being able to reliably beat neomeris, we put a lot of work into it where it exists in that thread. I mean a lot of work, guys lost a lot of coral in that battle.

But ill claim victory silly documented over green hair algae, invasive macros and brush algae variants.

[Admiraltian]

Admiral im so sorry but neomeris annulata is the #1 worst reef tank invader I know of, see the middle pages of our thread. We had guys putting ***35%**** peroxide into their tanks and wiping some corals, only for neo to remain strong. others chiseled it out of the rock work to take out any holdfasts, leaving chips and scars along the way. The only thing I know to beat neomeris is the ultimate protocol, nothing beats it: universal exclusion. Coming from someone who fixes lots of tanks Im saying we should reserve neo and a few others for the act of see it, simply remove the entire rock for the life of the tank. Some variants are simply too risky to maintain, and I vote neomeris annulata as the prime one to exclude if ever seen on any rock. trade it off, qt it, boil it etc but simply remove the substrate from the reef when we see it. I class it as only beatable by luck, never repeatable. never ever predictable like what we do in that big thread. I really hated not being able to reliably beat neomeris, we put a lot of work into it where it exists in that thread. I mean a lot of work, guys lost a lot of coral in that battle. But ill claim victory silly documented over green hair algae, invasive macros and brush algae variants.

Brandonm, Thks for the reply. Wow, even H2O2 can't kill it. Nothing eats this stuff too. Guess hv to remove those rocks it growing on. It growing faster than I can pluck it out.

[brandonm]

I even use peroxide in delicate planted tanks with no problems. I keep high fert and co2 levels in this .5 gallon planted tank so algae also likes it

during water change I placed a paper towel wet with peroxide across some spots that were developing algae, to remove it. Not to prevent it, im working the method on this tank too and it will be algae free its entire life. I take action on the first spot and kill it immediately. decisive action, fast and easy.

As time goes by I'm repeating peroxide work far less than the hassle of chasing params

I think good params are wise, but to save tedious testing I just do large water changes and attack algae directly. I don't choose to use preventatives, small tanks are easy to zap

upon refill, look at the peroxide bubbling off the micro tree stump

[brandonm]

I even use peroxide in delicate planted tanks with no problems. I keep high fert and co2 levels in this .5 gallon planted tank so algae also likes it

during water change I placed a paper towel wet with peroxide across some spots that were developing algae, to remove it.

im working the method on this tank too and it will be algae free its entire life. I take action on the first spot and kill it immediately. decisive action, fast and easy.

As time goes by I'm repeating peroxide work far less than the hassle of chasing params

I think good params are wise, but to save tedious testing I just do large water changes and attack algae directly. I don't choose to use preventatives, small tanks are easy to zap

upon refill, look at the peroxide bubbling off the micro tree stump

[finbir]

Hi Brandonm,

What I'd written after Cedric's no big deal. If only I'd read ur articles n researched more into H2O2, it wouldn't 've been necessary 2 make a big huha out of using H2O2 to kill GHA (in my case).

Guess u can share the anguish n despair I'd gone thru' trying to clear damn greenies!

Anyway, it's a whole new technique, far s I'm concern 2 keep my tanks' params in the pink! Lol!

[sherman]

Hi Cedric,

Thanks 4 the quickie. Initially, I thought my tank's a goner! There was so much foam n I'd to empty the skim cup 3 times. Even threw in a diy filter bag 2 help drain out the dying debris of algae. It's been 2 days. Now the tank water is whistle clean n life's back to normal.

Couldn't be happier,man! BTW I used the Yukare brand n it's 7 per cent strong in a 500ml bottle.

No venture no gain. Lol!

Once again, a million thks. :thumbsup:

Where you get the Yukare brand?

Thnaks

[finbir]

Got it from a Chinese medical store opposite the NTUC supermart at the Bedok Interchange!

NB. Not the NTUC at Bedok Mall.

[sherman]

Thank You Bro finbir for sharing

[finbir]

No problem! Like I'd mentioned earlier, though this method has been around 4 quite long, I'd still be in the dark if not for Cedric n fancy posting some hogwash which made Brandomn enter the scenario. Luckily, I came to in time. Most of u guys out there must be laughing ur heads off after reading my bungling.

No wonder my skimmer's still churning out those dark brown stuff n lots of foam non-stop.

Yup. I'm keeping my fingers crossed n praying hard.

[DottyClown]

Just to share.

1st pic shows old pic of old 1ft tank, with lots of algae on the LR.

Prior to migrating to new 2ft tank, I removed and scrubbed the LR, followed by soaking the entire LR in old tank water with H2O2 added, for several minutes.

LR is then rinsed off, and soaked in tank water for an hour or so, before migrating corals n fishes.

2nd pic is new tank after 1 month. Still clear of algae, though tank going thru mini-cycle, thus having diatom.

Coral health does not seem to be affected at all. (Pics show duncan n torch not doing well, but it was already not well before treatment, not because of H2O2 treatment)

But I did lose a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp and Algae Blenny, maybe due to H2O2, maybe due to stress of migration, can't confirm.

Above is just my experience.

To try H2O2 or not, is up to individual's decision.

[brandonm]

Excellent before and after pics thank you for posting!

[sherman]

I have a 5 footer with 3 ft sump. Last month I modify my LED light set and add some warm white , 2 red and 2 uv LED light set.

After 1 week hair algae and cynao start bloom.

After reading this thread I decide add peroxide to get rid of those hair algae and cynao.

I get 1100 ml ,that is 2 big and 1 small bottle of hydrogen peroxide and pour all into the sump last Sat.

Sunday morning check skimmer foam like no tomoorow.

Clear and clean it before putting them. I did that times on Sunday and 2 time on Monday and 1 time on Tuesday.

In the display all the softies, hammer.elegance, mushroom, yuma, plate all deflate. Till today only the hammer

recover.

For the SPS all the yellow,green and all green monti plate become either brown or grey.

None recover till today

Maybe if I have done it slowly by drip or in 3 phase no casuality will happen.

This is just to share my experience with hydrogen perioxide in reef tank.

[DottyClown]

Hi Sherman, Did the peroxide kill the algae? If so, then my guess is that the die-off of the algae created a massive bio-waste that caused your skimmer to go crazy and took days to clear from your tank. The bio-waste would also upset your water parameters, thus your corals, especially sensitive SPS, reacted to it negatively. Do a few large water change and I believe your LPS will be back to normal soon. Can't comment on SPS as I dunno much about them. Just my 2cts worth.