Hydrogen peroxide as a chemical tool for your reef tank

[atoll]

@brandon429
My tank has always had a chronic lack of oxygen during the night, because im not running a skimmer and i lost lot of animals due to that. Therefore i was running an aeration stone during the night. I got interested in oxydators due to their ability to supply oxygen, but im not confident enough to fill them up rigorosly every week. Therefore i have build a custom dosing pump which is constantly dosing tiny amounts of H2O2 into a perforated ceramic disc.
I am dosing 5ml/10g 12% peroxide. It worked for a while but last night i have observed my fish gasping for air. This is the maximum i can dose with my corals still being unaffected. Does that mean i have remove all organics and now the peroxid is not able to release oxygen?
Seems like i'll have to reactivate my Air Stone. Is it possible clay/ceramics/concete get "used up" by peroxide and lose their catalytic function? I will buy a peroxide test to check the amount in the water but im expecting to see a lot.

Am not sure exactly what your dish is made of to act as a catalyst but it shouldn't just stop working IMO. Are you sure your peroxide hasn't lost some of its potency over time?
Why not simply revert to using your oxydator and fish a % of peroxide with number of catalysts that work for your tank, corals and fish?

 

[Tavero]

Am not sure exactly what your dish is made of to act as a catalyst but it shouldn't just stop working IMO. Are you sure your peroxide hasn't lost some of its potency over time?
Why not simply revert to using your oxydator and fish a % of peroxide with number of catalysts that work for your tank, corals and fish?

Several reasons. My tank doesn't have a sump and the oxidator looks just ugly in my display. I also don't trust myself to fill it up every week without ever forgetting it. Theoretically a single night without oxidator could crash my tank. The dosing pump is much more reliable.
The oxidator was used only for 4 weeks before it started to annoy me, so i don't even know if it still works.
So if i have to choose an option that definitely works for my tank, corals and fish than i should choose the aeration stone because i was using this method for several years. I just thought I was able to graduate from it because it reduces my ph and i was finally able to reach ph 8.4 during the day.

 

[chipchipbro]

would h2o2 also kill diatoms/brown algae? I am not sure...

 

[SteveBags]

1. Are you currently using peroxide as a chemical tool in your reef tank and for what reason?

• I am using it, 100 ML of 3% for a 70 gallon system

2. Have you found hydrogen peroxide to be effective in tackling specific issues such as algae outbreaks or pests?

• Yes, it helps a TON with algae as i feed a lot, it also keeps my white sand.... white

3. How do you determine the appropriate dosage and application method to ensure the safety of your corals, fish, and invertebrates?

• Google and R2R

4. Have you encountered any challenges or drawbacks when using hydrogen peroxide for your reef tank?

• Pods are all gone, i dose using @Dinkins Aquatic Gardens now.

How do you use the 100ml peroxide for your 70gal? I have a horrible Hair Algae problem, after a Dino battle. I’m getting ready to take all my rock out and totally clean the rocks off with peroxide, but if there is a similar solution, I would love to know. Thanks

 

[Azael]

I never tried it to be honest

 

[SaltyCabbage]

Been using it for years in freshwater for stubborn algae that won’t go away, I use the same process with fresh and salt.

1. Are you currently using peroxide as a chemical tool in your reef tank and for what reason?

Yes, for spot treating stubborn algae


2. Have you found hydrogen peroxide to be effective in tackling specific issues such as algae outbreaks or pests?

Yes, as long as you have another/stronger nutrient sink the algae cannot come back once killed as the stronger organisms will consume nutrients before the algae can ever form.


3. How do you determine the appropriate dosage and application method to ensure the safety of your corals, fish, and invertebrates?

Small quantities, I don’t test (I know I’m sorry lol) I use a small pipette that only holds 5ml and only spot treat a few times before stopping for the day and doing a wc the next. Been perfect for a decade in fresh and is proving just as well in salt. No invert losses since I’ve used it~6 months ago.


4. Have you encountered any challenges or drawbacks when using hydrogen peroxide for your reef tank?
Yes, softies hate it. I melted my gsp as the peroxide dripped onto it, but it’s coming back strong. Nems and LPS were unaffected or the effects were so minimal I did not notice.

Here is my process, used it for over a decade on fresh and has proved very useful in salt.


Grab a syringe or pipette

Grab 3%-5% hydrogen peroxide

Fill syringe/pipette with hydrogen peroxide
Feed fish on opposite side of tank so they won’t disturb the treated area and allow now flow

Squeeze directly on algae patch with all filtration and flow turned off

After a few seconds algae bubbles and you feel good

Turn filtration and flow on after 30 minutes. Add an airstone if you will be working longer.

It’s white in the morning and I do a 20% wc that evening and remove the dead patches.

Repeat until all algae is gone in that area.

Algae will grow back unless you have another organism that can take the nutrients faster than the algae.

If you do not have another nutrient sink the algae is guaranteed to come back every time.

 

[douglasbnyhof]

Hey R2R fam! Let's talk—hydrogen peroxide.

We often hear about its versatile applications in various fields, but its use in reef tanks has been a subject of discussion more and more lately. I would love to hear your answers to the following questions:

1. Are you currently using peroxide as a chemical tool in your reef tank and for what reason?

2. Have you found hydrogen peroxide to be effective in tackling specific issues such as algae outbreaks or pests?

3. How do you determine the appropriate dosage and application method to ensure the safety of your corals, fish, and invertebrates?

4. Have you encountered any challenges or drawbacks when using hydrogen peroxide for your reef tank?

Please sum up in a post your experience and usage of peroxide!

What would it do to my macros. I’d love to eradicate the hair algae but I wouldn’t want it to hurt my sump garden.

 

[Bonsai_Reefs]

I just used it as a method to eradicate dinos. Combined with reduced light periods/intensity and MB7 this took care of 99% in 5 days.

I have continued to dose it as a preventative.

What is the dose you use for dinos?

 

[Zero_Cool]

What is the dose you use for dinos?

I had the large cell ones. Lights down to 10%, 1ml of 3% H2O2 per 10 gallons at night, 1ml of Macrobacter7 per 10 gallons during the day. Did this for 5 consecutive days.