Sweet Algae relief

[FishyMatty]

For those of you plagued with green algae, hair algae and BBA I beat those nasties. I read all I could read for months about battling algae and it was mostly the same thing about too much phosphate and iron, get some fast growing plants, too much light or not enough co2.
Then there are plenty of people who prove excess nutrients have little to no effect on algae.
Then I started reading about h2o2 as an algaecide. For those of you that aren't chemistry majors h2o2 is hydrogen peroxide.
At first I was very wary about putting that in my fish/plant tanks but the more I read the more confident i was in trying it. I mean its only water with an extra oxygen molecule.
Well salvation has come to us algae sufferers. I started with adding 2 cap fulls of h2o2 to my 38g at the end of the day before I was about to turn out the lights. The next morning a good amount of hair algae had turned light blue and the green algae covering my drift wood and rocks was nearly gone.
Two days later I decided to do the spot treatment. I got a 6ml oral syringe and spot treated the worst areas over and over with the filter off. Wait 30min to an hour then water change and turn the filter back on.
You will see the algae fizz and disappear almost in front of your eyes.
Sweet salvation.
As of now no side effects other then DEAD algae.

 

[rich311k]

That is good to know. The fish had no bad reactions. I wonder how they would react to long term exposure.

It still doesn't prevent the algae from returning.

 

[FishyMatty]

No that is true but as far as I know algae is a result of exposure. If you could kill the algae you would have a better chance of controlling it.

 

[cnoon]

Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a disinfectant. This might disrupt the nitrogen cycle. What are your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate test results afterwards?

 

[247Plants]

Actually from all that I have gathered the oxygen bond in Hydrogen Peroxide breaks down really fast in our aquariums and turns into H2O. So I dont think there are many long term effects from this.

Another way I have seen Hydrogen Peroxide used as a DIY oxygen reactor was they had a container with a airtight lid with an airline hose sticking out of it. It was filled with h2o2 and a chunk of lead was dropped into it and the chemical reaction breaks the extra oxygen atom bond and releases small amounts of pure oxygen through a diffuser for higher o2 saturation.

 

[Sammie7]

http://theaquariumwiki.com/H2O2

http://members.optusnet.com.au/chelmon/Chemicals.htm
"Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide can be use as a treatment of acute oxygen insufficiency at a dose of 0.25 ml of a 3% H2O2 solution per litre of water; also used to treat external protozoans at a dose of 10 ml of a 3% solution per litre of water as a 10 to 15 min bath. Used at 250-500 mg/l to control fungi on all species and life stages of fish, including eggs.

There are many different doses suggested in the literature for use in aquarium fish. However, because there are hundreds of species of ornamental fish, certain factors must be taken into account when using Hydrogen peroxide. It can be very toxic to some species, and certain life stages may be more sensitive. Increasing temperature seems to increase the potential toxicity. Dosage and duration of treatment will also determine whether fish being treated will live or die.

Hydrogen peroxide can cause mortalities primarily by damaging the gills. Therefore, toxic effects will often be seen related to gill damage, as indicated by gasping near the surface, or increased ventilation rates.

Contrary to popular belief, in water with relatively low organic content, the concentration of Hydrogen peroxide does not decrease significantly. Of course, any increase in organic loading will change this factor, but the bottom line is that Hydrogen peroxide does not break down as quickly as some may think. Water changes are required after treatment."

 

[FishyMatty]

The first time I dosed h2o2 I added about 20ml direct to the water with filter off and 30min later turned the filter back on and did not change any water. 3 days later all levels are normal and no indication of any stress from the fish.

 

[robg32]

This is something that from time to time I have done for a few years and have never had a problem with a wide range of fish in the tank and the ones I am usually the most concerned about is my scaleless clown loaches because I have had them many years. I have never had an issue doing this. I would be careful though and only use a little because it can damage some of the more sensitive plants.

 

[geofied]

This makes sense. You should have seen what it did to the fungus under my smashed and dead toenail!:yuck:

 

[dwarfgourami7]

So where do you get it from? the local chemists?