Bryopsis / GHA - just an idea....

Rob Lion · Jul 30, 2016

I'm one of the lucky ones, I started my tank with all dead live rock (pukani etc), cured it, even soaked it for a week in diluted Hydrogen Peroxide. and even now, after a year, I still have no green algae growth on any of my rocks.

I've seen many people with the algae issues, and I've seen it correctly suggested they dose H2O2 or dip corals/rocks in it..... but for many people, the rock it is growing on is too large, or there are corals next to where the algae is growing...... so here is my idea.... i'm not sure if it is possible though....

why not get some gelatin (like you make fruit jelly from) and mix it with hot H2O2 instead of H2O and leave it to set in a shallow dish/saucer. Once set, you can place the "jelly" complete with the dish over the affected area..... This will do 3 things.... 1. hide the area from light, 2. allow the gelatin H2o2 jelly to oxidise the algae, 3. limit water flow over that area...thus killing it off....

would the gelatin be reef safe? it is only protein after all.... would it set? or what about agar ager, that is derived from seaweed, would that work?

reeferfoxx · Jul 30, 2016

Rob Lion said:
I'm one of the lucky ones, I started my tank with all dead live rock (pukani etc), cured it, even soaked it for a week in diluted Hydrogen Peroxide. and even now, after a year, I still have no green algae growth on any of my rocks.

I've seen many people with the algae issues, and I've seen it correctly suggested they dose H2O2 or dip corals/rocks in it..... but for many people, the rock it is growing on is too large, or there are corals next to where the algae is growing...... so here is my idea.... i'm not sure if it is possible though....

why not get some gelatin (like you make fruit jelly from) and mix it with hot H2O2 instead of H2O and leave it to set in a shallow dish/saucer. Once set, you can place the "jelly" complete with the dish over the affected area..... This will do 3 things.... 1. hide the area from light, 2. allow the gelatin H2o2 jelly to oxidise the algae, 3. limit water flow over that area...thus killing it off....

would the gelatin be reef safe? it is only protein after all.... would it set? or what about agar ager, that is derived from seaweed, would that work?

You're lucky to not have algae because you correctly cured your rock from leeching phosphates.

Could you show pictures of what you are talking about? I'm not quite sure what you mean with gelatin and h202 in a small saucer? I'm not getting the correct visual, i think?

Rob Lion · Jul 30, 2016

here you go.... there are sweet jelly pots you can buy to eat..... to give you the idea...

you then put the cup (open side down) over the affected area.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 30, 2016

FWIW, hydrogen peroxide will react with proteins such as gelatin.

Rob Lion · Jul 30, 2016

is there any way to solidify H2O2 (apart from freezing) or making it into a paste so that it could be placed to stay in a specific area of a rock?

reeferfoxx · Jul 30, 2016

Here is a link for Hydrogen Peroxide gel.
http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/hydrogen-peroxide-gel.html

Although, it calls for aloe vera. Not sure how this would react in a fish tank.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 30, 2016

Rob Lion said:
is there any way to solidify H2O2 (apart from freezing) or making it into a paste so that it could be placed to stay in a specific area of a rock?

You could make a gel of something nonreactive, but that will take some chemistry.

reeferfoxx · Jul 30, 2016

reeferfoxx said:
Here is a link for Hydrogen Peroxide gel.
http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/hydrogen-peroxide-gel.html

Although, it calls for aloe vera. Not sure how this would react in a fish tank.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 30, 2016

I don't think it is stable for long since it will react with the amino acids in the aloe vera.

Rob Lion · Jul 30, 2016

reeferfoxx said:
Here is a link for Hydrogen Peroxide gel.
http://www.using-hydrogen-peroxide.com/hydrogen-peroxide-gel.html

Although, it calls for aloe vera. Not sure how this would react in a fish tank.

many thanks @reeferfoxx !!!

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
You could make a gel of something nonreactive, but that will take some chemistry.

dang...... if only there was a reef web site with a chemistry forum I could ask!!!!!

Rickyrooz · Jul 31, 2016

Rob, what ratio of hydrogen peroxide to water did you use to soak the rock when you cured it for a week or did you add 1 mL per 10 gallons of water? Did you replenish the hydrogen peroxide daily or every 12 hours?

twilliard · Jul 31, 2016

Rickyrooz said:
Rob, what ratio of hydrogen peroxide to water did you use to soak the rock when you cured it for a week or did you add 1 mL per 10 gallons of water? Did you replenish the hydrogen peroxide daily or every 12 hours?

The 1ml per 10 gallons rule does not apply for bryopsis treatment in a body of water.

So to the OP you are on the right track of thought process although h2o2 may not be part of the equation. Also must avoid adding compounds that will break down into simple sugars.
In tank treatment of bryopsis is tricky and hard at best without collateral damage.

Rob Lion · Jul 31, 2016

@Rickyrooz with my pukani dead dry rock, i first cured it for 1 week in a dark bucket (25L) of cheap salt water with ALOT of continuous flow, so it was bubbling (with a lid on the bucket). I 100% changed the water everyday and removed the dirt/loose organics.

the second week i soaked it in a 33%/66% mix of 3% H2O2 and cheap salt water with a more gentle flow. (so i guess it was really 1% H2O2). each day i would move the rocks about to release trapped air and expose more rock faces to the solution.

on the third week i rinsed it in RODI and placed in good salt water, gentle flow and heated to 26 oC, while I did more rocks and was preparing my new tank.

@twilliard yep, the idea is to find a way to target a specific small area at a time to remove unwanted algae from it, WITHOUT it negatively affecting the rest of the tank.

I had thought about making custom epoxy putty "caps" with cheap frag mounting putty (little or no harder) for each area to block light and flow, and thought that it I could add some sort of oxidising agent that stayed put in the cap would help speed up the killing of the unwanted algae, hence the idea of H2o2 and gelatin.

Rob Lion · Jul 31, 2016

OK, i've just created a epoxy putty cap (no hardner only resin) about the size of a thimble and filled it with Red Sea foundation C Magnesium powder, mixed up as a dryish paste, and placed it over some algae and molded it carefully over the rock (about 1" dia) without squeezing out the Mg paste........ I'll leave it in place for a few days and see how its going

reeferfoxx · Jul 31, 2016

Rob Lion said:
OK, i've just created a epoxy putty cap (no hardner only resin) about the size of a thimble and filled it with Red Sea foundation C Magnesium powder, mixed up as a dryish paste, and placed it over some algae and molded it carefully over the rock (about 1" dia) without squeezing out the Mg paste........ I'll leave it in place for a few days and see how its going

What kind of algae?