Fluconazole dose and why so much?

Dburr1014

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After much reading and dealing with GHA for a year after I beat dinos, I've decided to go with fluconazole.
No debates why I'm doing it, I'm tired of manually removing it and now it's starting to choke off some different strains of candy cane I have. I already tried many methods to deal with it, I'm done.

So, back to the dose. Reef bum had an Interview with Jason fox. He dosed 2/100th of the recommended value of 200mg/10 gallon. He dosed he claims in the video; 1 capsule (200mg) to his 1000 gallon system and it killed off the bryopsis.
Fast forward, @Charlie’s Frags saw the video and dosed the same to kill his bryopsis. He also did have some GHA die but not a whole lot.
Thread 'Micro dose of flucozanole' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/micro-dose-of-flucozanole.977658/
I'm trying to understand why the big discrepancy. I do understand it need interrupts the growing mechanism of the algae.

I'm thinking of doing a lower dose, say 1/3 of the recommended value and waiting a few days, then another dose just to see if I can get some GHA to die before I get to full dose.
Anyone have thoughts on this?
 

Charlie’s Frags

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After much reading and dealing with GHA for a year after I beat dinos, I've decided to go with fluconazole.
No debates why I'm doing it, I'm tired of manually removing it and now it's starting to choke off some different strains of candy cane I have. I already tried many methods to deal with it, I'm done.

So, back to the dose. Reef bum had an Interview with Jason fox. He dosed 2/100th of the recommended value of 200mg/10 gallon. He dosed he claims in the video; 1 capsule (200mg) to his 1000 gallon system and it killed off the bryopsis.
Fast forward, @Charlie’s Frags saw the video and dosed the same to kill his bryopsis. He also did have some GHA die but not a whole lot.
Thread 'Micro dose of flucozanole' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/micro-dose-of-flucozanole.977658/
I'm trying to understand why the big discrepancy. I do understand it need interrupts the growing mechanism of the algae.

I'm thinking of doing a lower dose, say 1/3 of the recommended value and waiting a few days, then another dose just to see if I can get some GHA to die before I get to full dose.
Anyone have thoughts on this?
I’ve heard about great results from a 1/4 dose. I did 5 spoonfuls, instead of just 1, on my second dose and didn’t have any problems
 
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Dburr1014

Dburr1014

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Yes, I'm going after GHA and I'm going to start at 1/3 dose. I'm hoping I see something happen after a few days, if not, I'll dose another 1/3.

I just don't understand how the full dose came about. 200mg per 10 gallons is a lot of meds. That's 2000mg for my system. That makes me a bit nervous.
GHA is probably more robust than bryopsis so it may take full dose. Doesn't hurt to see what happens at lower doses.
 
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Dburr1014

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I'm at a crossroad.

I have dosed 2/3 of max dose. Algae is dying. It's been a week.
My head is telling me not to go to full dose.



Everything I have been reading is either full dose and killed gha in 2 to 3 weeks OR micro dose does the same thing. Some say it took 2 or 3 doses of 2~3 weeks.

Do I stay and run its course or go to full dose?
I'm leaning to stay where I'm at and ride it out 2 weeks. I do have enough to dose 133% more. So I can do this 2 more times if needed.
 

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I am in the middle of treatment. I did 1/2 dose and 7 days later another 1/2 without water change in between. I did restart skimmer, gfo and carbon after 3 days. Bryopsis died quickly and GHA is definitely going down. I am 3 days after the second dose. No negative effects observed on anything as of yet.
 

X-37B

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I have always ran it at 1/2 dose for years when needed. Never had an issue and it did kill the gha.
Best to remove as much as you can before and during treatment so nutrient levels dont peak when it starts dieing.

Red turf well thats another story, lol.
 

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I'm at a crossroad.

I have dosed 2/3 of max dose. Algae is dying. It's been a week.
My head is telling me not to go to full dose.



Everything I have been reading is either full dose and killed gha in 2 to 3 weeks OR micro dose does the same thing. Some say it took 2 or 3 doses of 2~3 weeks.

Do I stay and run its course or go to full dose?
I'm leaning to stay where I'm at and ride it out 2 weeks. I do have enough to dose 133% more. So I can do this 2 more times if needed.
I've fought caulerpa a while ago with reef flux and I went full dose for two weeks and a second dose a further two weeks with no ill effects to the rest of the system.
You are aware that you are not fixing the problem, I would think your hair algae is going to grow back again.
I had dinos last year, I beat them and ended up with same hairalgae outbreak. Urchins Snails and other inverts only eat so much. Hands down the introduction of a foxface was the turning point. I still had to remove the long old stuff but he took care of the rest. All depends on your tank size though. My Purple tang helped at the end too. I've got now only two tiny spots left visible, I reckon because they graze the rest constantly.
 
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Dburr1014

Dburr1014

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I've fought caulerpa a while ago with reef flux and I went full dose for two weeks and a second dose a further two weeks with no ill effects to the rest of the system.
You are aware that you are not fixing the problem, I would think your hair algae is going to grow back again.
I had dinos last year, I beat them and ended up with same hairalgae outbreak. Urchins Snails and other inverts only eat so much. Hands down the introduction of a foxface was the turning point. I still had to remove the long old stuff but he took care of the rest. All depends on your tank size though. My Purple tang helped at the end too. I've got now only two tiny spots left visible, I reckon because they graze the rest constantly.
Yes, same boat, dinos then hair. Been battling for a year. Tried everything. I have made very small progress but not much. This is the end of it.
 
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Dburr1014

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10 days in from first dose.
GHA is slowly dying. Mostly in the high lit areas.
I started the skimmer last night and my AWC @ 1 gallon per day since I'll be gone for the weekend. I don't want any surprises when I get back.
I'm hoping my skimmer calms down before I leave Thursday. I am not doing a big water change, I'm not doing GAC.
The plan is when I get back to do another 1/3 full dose and remove the skimmer and the AWC system again. Not sure if I'll go 10 days or 20. We'll see how it goes and how the GHA dies back to determine that.
 
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Dburr1014

Dburr1014

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I came back from vacation, and 90% of the gha is gone. I have some hanging in the sump, and some in shady parts of the reef.
Two days ago I dosed another 1/3 full dose. Took the skimmer offline again(on during Vaca) and left the awc on this time.
I'll wait a week or two and turn the skimmer on.
Nothing affected by the fluconazole. Clam, anenome, SPS, LPS, crabs, shrimps, snails all okay.
I didn't do a big water change and I'm actually not going to. I don't see a need to at this point. Just going to keep the awc in place.
 
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Dburr1014

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It's been 4 weeks and two days since I first dosed flux.
I can't see any GHA in the display. TBH, I haven't looked in my sump as I had some stuck to the bottom of the Rubbermaid tub. If it there in sure it will easily pull out.
Cheato is fine and growing.
ATO is still running and my skimmer cup is off. I will put the cup on today.
 

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Fluconazole wasn't created to kill algae. It is a side effect of the medication. So there seemingly aren't many studies with it's use in the reef aquarium hobby. Fluconazole is used for treating serious fungal and yeast infections in humans, and is a prescription drug.
 

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I didn't do a big water change and I'm actually not going to. I don't see a need to at this point. Just going to keep the awc in place.
When I went this route the way I tackled it was to put my skimmer cup back on. I spent an hour dumping the cup over and over until it started to calm down. As the time between dumps extended I started to monitor it less. This I did the water change until my skimmer was back to normal.
 
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Dburr1014

Dburr1014

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Fluconazole wasn't created to kill algae. It is a side effect of the medication. So there seemingly aren't many studies with it's use in the reef aquarium hobby. Fluconazole is used for treating serious fungal and yeast infections in humans, and is a prescription drug.
Right, and....

Reefers found another use for it. A side effect.
Like many drugs used in humans, if there is a side effect, it is used in other applications.

I guess I'm not understanding your post. Are you saying you should never use it in a reef tank only in humans? Or is this just a comment that I'm wrong to use it in a reef tank because you think it does nothing?
 

Townes_Van_Camp

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Right, and....

Reefers found another use for it. A side effect.
Like many drugs used in humans, if there is a side effect, it is used in other applications.

I guess I'm not understanding your post. Are you saying you should never use it in a reef tank only in humans? Or is this just a comment that I'm wrong to use it in a reef tank because you think it does nothing?
I think he's covering R2R's 6 after all the lies and trash that was going on about ivermectin.
 

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Right, and....

Reefers found another use for it. A side effect.
Like many drugs used in humans, if there is a side effect, it is used in other applications.

I guess I'm not understanding your post. Are you saying you should never use it in a reef tank only in humans? Or is this just a comment that I'm wrong to use it in a reef tank because you think it does nothing?
I use fluconazole as needed also. I'm not saying you should or shouldn't use it, as I don't tell others how to reef. As for R2R, I am not covering any bases either. Just offering the information so people can make the choice for themselves.
Also, as for how much to use, I don't think they've nailed down how much is really required. That was my point because the product wasn't initially created to address the problem, it was made for something else entirely.
 

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I used it at full dose over a year ago and it worked for a bad case of gha for me after trying everything else. I think some ppl don't mix it well enough. I used one of those hand held frothers to mix mine really well. Took me about 3 weeks to see any real results in my 75.
 
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Dburr1014

Dburr1014

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I used it at full dose over a year ago and it worked for a bad case of gha for me after trying everything else. I think some ppl don't mix it well enough. I used one of those hand held frothers to mix mine really well. Took me about 3 weeks to see any real results in my 75.
Yes, about 3 weeks. I don't see any gha now.
 

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