HP killed inverts

[94Roarge]

Hi, one of my colleagues dosed I think it was a 1/4 dose of 3% Hydrogen peroxide into her tank (73g?) For hair algae and the next day all of her inverts were dead bar a snail or two. Corals, nems and fish seem to be okay.
Would anyone be able to shed some light on this?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

How much is 1/4 dose?

 

[94Roarge]

How much is 1/4 dose?

I think it was 2.5mL?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Was the hydrogen peroxide being used to kill something that itself may contains toxins, such as cyanobacteria or dinos?

 

[Mattrg02]

Maybe it wasn’t peroxide? I’ve never had a problem with peroxide in my tank and have dosed much larger amounts.

 

[Reefer1978]

I once accidentally dosed at least 300ml into a 60 gallon tank over a period of few hours (timer got stuck, dosing pump kept on going). I am guessing it's 300ml, as it wasn't a new bottle of peroxide, and when I caught it, pump was pulling dry, no more peroxide. Lost one fire shrimp, every single coral looked stressed but survived.

 

[94Roarge]

Was the hydrogen peroxide being used to kill something that itself may contains toxins, such as cyanobacteria or dinos?

I don't think so, I'm pretty sure it was just GHA

Maybe it wasn’t peroxide? I’ve never had a problem with peroxide in my tank and have dosed much larger amounts.

How crazy would that be? [emoji23]

 

[94Roarge]

I once accidentally dosed at least 300ml into a 60 gallon tank over a period of few hours (timer got stuck, dosing pump kept on going). I am guessing it's 300ml, as it wasn't a new bottle of peroxide, and when I caught it, pump was pulling dry, no more peroxide. Lost one fire shrimp, every single coral looked stressed but survived.

Oh wow. That's so much!

 

[Reefer1978]

Oh wow. That's so much!

It was pretty bad, but slowly very long time (hours) which is the only reason coral made it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I assume it was normal 3% hydrogen peroxide from a drug store, not a higher concentration?

 

[94Roarge]

I assume it was normal 3% hydrogen peroxide from a drug store, not a higher concentration?

Yeah that's the one

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm not sure what happened in this case, or maybe if it was perhaps even a coincidence.

 

[94Roarge]

I'm not sure what happened in this case, or maybe if it was perhaps even a coincidence.

Possibly. Are there any chemicals that HP reacts negatively to?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Possibly. Are there any chemicals that HP reacts negatively to?

Yes, but they are unlikely to be in a reef tank, and the peroxide was pretty dilute after addition.

 

[94Roarge]

Yes, but they are unlikely to be in a reef tank, and the peroxide was pretty dilute after addition.

How curious [emoji848] thanks anyways!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

How curious [emoji848] thanks anyways!

There are lots of warnings, for example, about not mixing hydrogen peroxide with vinegar (acetic acid) because the chemical made, peracetic acid, is potentially damaging to skin.

H2O2 + CH3CO2H ⇌ CH3CO3H + H2O

In a reef tank, both will be so dilute that this isn't likely a concern.