H. peroxide

[Stan Z]

I just read it’s okay to add H2O2 to your live tank to kill algae. Does anyone do this? It supposedly does not harm fish.

[Guppysnail]

It is micro doses and to much will kill fish, shrimp and snails. Here is an easy safe no plant damage no fish risk method. 

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Its Hutch]

I have not put it directly in the tank but I have taken plants and hardscape out and treated with hydrogen peroxide to kill algae and it did work. Over the next few days the algae faded in color and was gone. There is a thread under journals about Reverse Respiration which may be an option for you as well

[Stan Z]

Thanks so much. I’ll remember this when the time comes. I was hesitant about removing the plants already well rooted but I guess that’s not a big deal. First time using real plants.

[Stan Z]

If I did use peroxide, does it dissipate on its own?

[Odd Duck]

You can use peroxide but you MUST pay close attention to the dose and be careful to not squirt it directly on fish, snails, shrimp, frogs, etc.  I use typically 3 mls per gallon as an absolute maximum, although I’ve seen people quote up to 5 mls per gallon.  It MUST be the 3% solution or dilute it to 3% before using.  I turn off filters/pumps when treating, wait a couple minutes for the water to settle, then squirt the solution directly over the area I want to treat.  You may not need nearly as much as the max depending on how much area you want to treat.  Use only what you need.  It flows downward in the tank, so I flow it only over the top of the area I’m treating, it will flow over the whole area below it, too.  I wit 10-20 minutes, then turn all filters back on.  As you circulate the water the peroxide dissipates pretty quickly.

I’ve seen people have disasters with massive fish/shrimp kill from doing the “drain the tank as low as possible then spray the whole area with peroxide” method.  I think it’s far too easy to overdose when spraying the peroxide.  I measure the amount of peroxide I use with a syringe for accuracy.  I’ve not lost any fish or shrimp from this method, but I do keep a pretty close eye on the tank if I’m using close to max dose.  I also turn the pumps/filters back on sooner if I’m using close to max.  If I’m not near max (just treating a small area, for instance) then I will leave the pumps off longer because the peroxide dissipates through the water and has lower risk of being too much overall to cause issues.

If there are plants, rocks, wood, etc, that I can remove from the tank to treat, then I have switched to the new Reverse Respiration method as it is far safer (and likely more effective) even if it takes a bit longer to do the treatment. Peroxide treatment often needs to be repeated every 3-7 days to completely clear stubborn algaes.  The RR rarely needs to be repeated.

[FlyingFishKeeper]

Hi, I haven't used reverse respiration personally as the way my tanks are setup they doesn't allow for it, however from what I've seen it does warrant consideration. As for peroxide I'm currently using it in my 5.5 gallon with black beard algae. As I understand it after some amount of time it will break down into water and oxygen. I just turn the lights out for an hour with the hydrogen peroxide in the tank then have them turn back on. So far I haven't noticed it affecting my fish, shrimp, or snails. Girl Talks Fish has a good segment in one video that explains the method I use as well as limitations of it. Hope this helps! 

 

[Odd Duck]

On 8/31/2022 at 12:01 PM, FlyingFishKeeper said:

Hi, I haven't used reverse respiration personally as the way my tanks are setup they doesn't allow for it, however from what I've seen it does warrant consideration. As for peroxide I'm currently using it in my 5.5 gallon with black beard algae. As I understand it after some amount of time it will break down into water and oxygen. I just turn the lights out for an hour with the hydrogen peroxide in the tank then have them turn back on. So far I haven't noticed it affecting my fish, shrimp, or snails. Girl Talks Fish has a good segment in one video that explains the method I use as well as limitations of it. Hope this helps! 

 

Maybe that’s why I haven’t had issues with hurting livestock.  I don’t turn off my lights and it’s degrading faster to O2 and H2O?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 8/31/2022 at 1:01 PM, FlyingFishKeeper said:

Hi, I haven't used reverse respiration personally as the way my tanks are setup they doesn't allow for it, however from what I've seen it does warrant consideration. As for peroxide I'm currently using it in my 5.5 gallon with black beard algae. As I understand it after some amount of time it will break down into water and oxygen. I just turn the lights out for an hour with the hydrogen peroxide in the tank then have them turn back on. So far I haven't noticed it affecting my fish, shrimp, or snails. Girl Talks Fish has a good segment in one video that explains the method I use as well as limitations of it. Hope this helps! 

 

@nabokovfan87

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/31/2022 at 9:34 AM, Odd Duck said:

The RR rarely needs to be repeated.

Very situational and algae dependant. I honestly don't know, but I've dipped some stuff 2-3x and still had issues.  It's not a magic bullet so to speak and there's a ton that goes into fighting algae and actually removing it from the system.

RR as a dip is probably a great way to view it to treat plants coming in, but in an infested setup, very different story.

On 8/31/2022 at 11:48 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

On 8/31/2022 at 10:01 AM, FlyingFishKeeper said:

 

@nabokovfan87

I've seen it, but I appreciate it. Definitely one of the things to try.

[nabokovfan87]

I have tried peroxide once. Directly. Out of the tank. It didn't do anything. I had the anubias / hardscape out during a deep clean and drenched it with the spray bottle of the peroxide, brand new bottle. I let it sit, definitely didn't do things correctly, and it literally did nothing.

Sometimes algae is just a pain and the recommended method is always to fix the issue you're having, understand what's causing it, then remove it (using a variety of methods that work best to do so) and then continually doing removal if it blooms.

[rockfisher]

I still prefer hydrogen peroxide. It probably due to my not liking change. I buy it in gallon containers for farm use. I don’t really use that much. I will say it takes some patience and skill that you learn. My advice would be to try the RR and if it doesn’t work hydrogen peroxide. Unless you are used to Hydrogen Peroxide then go with that.