Still battling GHA

[djbetterly]

You can spray Peroxide directly into the tank and not rinse it off? I had no idea you could do that. It doesn't affect anything?

For the most part peroxide is quite harmless provided you use the 3% solution. I did lose my cleaner shrimp after multiple treatments, but that was the only thing I lost.

 

[Dtackett]

That is good to know! Ph higher or lower? Of course I tremble at the thought of draining down my 75 that low, but it could be done! Thanks!

think of h2o2 like this..

H2O2 is simple H2O with an extra oxygen atom. While in its pure form its extremely volatile in the diluted forms we get, its water with extra oxygen. What happens when you add more dissolved oxygen to your tank? in general your PH goes up right? but diluted h2o2 has a PH of 4.6 (got bored one day lol that may just be the Ph in my bottle) I cant say whether in our tanks the PH goes up or down, but I cant imagine its not changed even if its just in the local area of the tank.

Ive used H2O2 for algae control for years. I even used it in my freshwater tanks and never had an issue. my oldest son got ahold of the bottle one day and dumped probably half of it in my tank before I got to him, still never lost anything. now, Im not suggesting you dump a gallon of H2O2 In your tank, but it is safe to dose. but, broadcast dosing H2O2 is not near as effective as dosing it directly to the GHA out of the water.

 

[Dtackett]

if you want to use something stronger, @brandon429 used 32% H2O2. I wont comment on how to properly use that... its a bit stronger lol

 

[drstratton]

Thanks guys! I'm totally ignorant when it comes to chemistry and dosing, but I need to get it figured out!

 

[brandon429]

I used get my 35% from health food stores in the refrigerated section they sell it as a bath additive to be diluted.

To not be diluted it's a second degree skin burn after extended contact I find this a mildly insane thing to sell otc lol

after burning out my target and never stocking frags with hitchhikers I'm done w treating for a while, algae DNA has been burnt out (where tiny tanks are easy to access every area that's not easy for giant tanks)

If a spot test treated in the typical manner here outside the tank with it should show less or no grow back that could help in the rest of the rocks but this tank tested much further may not be practical to catch back up solely with peroxide. It's totally prudent to continue external tests with various things and in pm DJ and I have been waxing ideas about nutrient control

Carbon dosing to drive nutrients a bit lower than just regular export has a mass following. Turf scrubbers, things we can use in tandem with direct action on these rocks and finding grazers really have been the gold standard of fixing non responsive tanks. a huge portion of tanks we just initially clean with peroxide and they comply, clearly this tank wants us to earn its compliance. We'll get it eventually some puzzles just have more pieces to work out

If ever given any kind of invader again 35% is all I'll use, due to the differences between a wal mart electric weed eater using hair thin cheap line vs a $2700 stihl brush clearer deforester four stroke slinging metal chains, the differences are like that

 

[djbetterly]

I measured my PAR today, all notes are on the picture. Also, I took a sand bed sample a long with water and let it sit for 24hrs to see how the nitrates compared to the regular tank water. The sandbed/water sample yielded 1ppm nitrates, the tank was a bit less.

 

[Bugger]

I've tried spraying the rocks down with peroxide the algae always comes back.
My sea hare wasent that helpfull it diden't eat much or crawl over the rocks to find food/ Just sat in the corner.
I've never tried a real clean up crew only have some snails that don't touch the gha (astrea)
My tank is alot better then before peroxide but it still has algae
My phospahate is 00.3 using zeovit GHA grows on the reef natuarly
From your pictures I don't see any gha on the sand bed.
Can you post a picture of your jawfish
I plan on moving tanks maybe do a perxode treatment during and hope for the best

 

[Dtackett]

I've tried spraying the rocks down with peroxide the algae always comes back.
My sea hare wasent that helpfull it diden't eat much or crawl over the rocks to find food/ Just sat in the corner.
I've never tried a real clean up crew only have some snails that don't touch the gha (astrea)
My tank is alot better then before peroxide but it still has algae
My phospahate is 00.3 using zeovit GHA grows on the reef natuarly
From your pictures I don't see any gha on the sand bed.
Can you post a picture of your jawfish
I plan on moving tanks maybe do a perxode treatment during and hope for the best

its very difficult to compare out enclosed box of water to natural reefs. while its true that algae grows naturally on the reef, our reefs are being killed and algae overgrowth is one of the reasons. in nature its all about balance, and in our tanks, its very difficult to maintain that balance.

 

[Dtackett]

I used get my 35% from health food stores in the refrigerated section they sell it as a bath additive to be diluted.

To not be diluted it's a second degree skin burn after extended contact I find this a mildly insane thing to sell otc lol

after burning out my target and never stocking frags with hitchhikers I'm done w treating for a while, algae DNA has been burnt out (where tiny tanks are easy to access every area that's not easy for giant tanks)

If a spot test treated in the typical manner here outside the tank with it should show less or no grow back that could help in the rest of the rocks but this tank tested much further may not be practical to catch back up solely with peroxide. It's totally prudent to continue external tests with various things and in pm DJ and I have been waxing ideas about nutrient control

Carbon dosing to drive nutrients a bit lower than just regular export has a mass following. Turf scrubbers, things we can use in tandem with direct action on these rocks and finding grazers really have been the gold standard of fixing non responsive tanks. a huge portion of tanks we just initially clean with peroxide and they comply, clearly this tank wants us to earn its compliance. We'll get it eventually some puzzles just have more pieces to work out

If ever given any kind of invader again 35% is all I'll use, due to the differences between a wal mart electric weed eater using hair thin cheap line vs a $2700 stihl brush clearer deforester four stroke slinging metal chains, the differences are like that

and that's why I tend to tag him

 

[melev]

When you add peroxide to a tank, you may see an immediate reaction by snails. I had a rock with algae growth on it, so I removed the rock, trickled 3% peroxide on the algae over the affected area over my kitchen sink a few times, then after it stopped dripping put it back in the frag tank. When I did that, I saw every snail climbing up the walls of the tank all at once, so they obviously reacted to something.

 

[Dtackett]

When you add peroxide to a tank, you may see an immediate reaction by snails. I had a rock with algae growth on it, so I removed the rock, trickled 3% peroxide on the algae over the affected area over my kitchen sink a few times, then after it stopped dripping put it back in the frag tank. When I did that, I saw every snail climbing up the walls of the tank all at once, so they obviously reacted to something.

but to what though? I never had many snails but I never lost any while using h2o2 either. even in freshwater where I had a half dozen mystery snails in a 29 and would broadcast dose h2o2 to take care of black algae

 

[melev]

but to what though? I never had many snails but I never lost any while using h2o2 either. even in freshwater where I had a half dozen mystery snails in a 29 and would broadcast dose h2o2 to take care of black algae

You could remove the snails during a treatment period, keeping them safe in a container of tank water for a while. But if it affects snails, could it also affect other reeflings? It's just something we should be tracking and determine if there is anything of concern.

 

[Dtackett]

hmm... maybe @Randy Holmes-Farley will have some info on the affects of h2o2 on a reef? like I said, IME I never noticed any issues and my son dumped a bunch into my old 29 without any noticeable loss. but im not expert... so might as well bring an expert in

 

[brandon429]

Fair input for sure Melev, watching for variables among all the tanks dosing allows for good sifting of what's affected and what's not. It does appear to have an hours long half life, we like the short duration control.

would imagine peroxide dosing to animals feels like having it in both our ears and eyes for four hours straight.

Not lethal mostly, highly annoying, and the number one reason on the planet for why tank cycling is for bacteria and not for algae. Don't farm algae unless it's contained in refugia or ATS and you have planned for it. Try to make a reef never need peroxide ideally.

Having a single tuft of algae persisting in your DT is straight roulette IMO



told DJ in pm was rather impressed to see this problem algae full tank shot. I can't see any algae. Opposite of letting it take over, noted.
your manual effort is forced life support until we arrest the culprit. You are literally keeping your tank alive by will and force refusing a takeover I thought it was great to again see a problem algae tank with no clear algae

the grow back is currently frustrating

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Treat rocks out of tank with peroxide, not brown bottle, it has toxic phenols iirc. Otherwise get nopox and add it very sparingly until ya get a handle on it. I really only add a drop from time to time now. And yes, its different than vinegar+vodka, methanol is one big diff. (look up yeast in marine environments)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Otherwise get nopox and add it very sparingly until ya get a handle on it. I really only add a drop from time to time now. And yes, its different than vinegar+vodka, methanol is one big diff. (look up yeast in marine environments)

What do you believe to be special about yeast and methanol in a reef tank environment?

Like bacteria, different marine yeasts use a wide range of different organic compounds, including acetate (vinegar), ethanol (vodka). In fact, folks often characterize yeast on the basis of which organics they are able to consume.

So why do you believe the small amount of methanol in NOPOX (relative to the acetate and ethanol) is important based on yeast consumption of it?

 

[ReEf787]

Bad bulbs...check your lighting. After everything else is under control this generally goes overlooked. Change the bulbs or the lighting. Had the same issue. I run combo LED and metal hylide. Changed my hylide bulbs and issue with GHA went away.

 

[twilliard]

He is led
Good morning!

 

[ReEf787]

Then he needs to use less white light spectrum for less duration during the day. Too much white light, even from led, will cause GHA.

 

[ReEf787]

What it boils down to is lights and nutrients. Minimize the light spectrum that algae loves, and minimized the nutrients in the water and the algae will slowly go away. I also recommend doing 25% weekly water changes for about a month or two, and not adding any supplements at all. Anything that adds nutrients to the water will give algae something to feed off of. Yes, a bit extreme, but this is how I was able to completely eliminate green hair algae in my tank.