BangingBaking
Community Member
My Experience with Peroxide
Long story short, peroxide has completely destroyed my livestock overnight. My tank wasn't having any issues, but I was reading through some articles and testimonials by local reefers about their success with dosing small amounts of peroxide for pest algae and cyano prevention. After battling against bubble algae and minor bryopsis, I thought it was a good idea to try it out to prevent future outbreaks.
The tank is precisely measured at 23.5 gallons during the initial fill. I hand-dosed 2.3ml of 3% peroxide diluted with pure water (as stated on the label), following the "safe zone" advice of 1ml per 10 gallons. I had seen records of 3% peroxide being dosed as high as 1ml per gallon without any issues, so I wasn't worried at all. Then, I went to bed, and when I woke up, ALL the fish, snails, and shrimp were dead.
The casualties include:
2x blackstom clown
1x royal gramma
4x nassarius snail
1x shrimp
4x cerith snail
1x strawberry conch
ALL DEAD, with not a sign of copepods and amphipods, which were once thriving. However, all the corals, from softies to LPS and some SPS, are completely fine. I tested my water and found that my nitrates have shot up. I assume my peroxide killed off all the microorganisms like pods, leading to an ammonia spike that killed everything in the tank. Unfortunately, I don't have an ammonia test kit to confirm this.
Tank parameters are as follows:
(5 days ago)
Specific gravity (SG): 1.026
Phosphate (Phos): 0.08
Nitrate: 5-10
Alkalinity (Alk): 7.8
Magnesium (MG): 1350
Calcium (Cal): 460
Current Parameters:
SG: 1.026
Phos: 0.09
Nitrate: PINK (currently high)
Alk: 7.5
MG: 1320
Cal: 440
I started this hobby back in March and went through lots of challenges with Dinos, bubble algae, and bryopsis. Dealing with these pests was annoying, but I understood that it's inevitable during the first year of reefing. At least my corals were doing pretty good, and managing the nano tank with daily scraping and manual removal wasn't too bad, nothing went out of control and things were in check. However, this event hit me hard, and it's just devastating. These fishes were like my pets, and I really liked them. Now, I feel so bad for them, and I feel empty. I won't give up on the hobby, but for now, I'll continue without any fishes, only focusing on corals and ghost feeding to avoid bottoming out the nitrate.
Lessons learned the hard way:
・ Don't add anything into your tank unless you're facing an issue.
・ NEVER EVER TOUCH PEROXIDE.
All tanks are different, and some may have had success with peroxide, but for me, peroxide is nothing but a toxic nightmare. I don't blame anyone else, as it was ultimately my decision and laziness to consider unconventional methods for preventing algae that caused this. I won't repeat the same mistake in the future.
IM SORRY, my fishes
Long story short, peroxide has completely destroyed my livestock overnight. My tank wasn't having any issues, but I was reading through some articles and testimonials by local reefers about their success with dosing small amounts of peroxide for pest algae and cyano prevention. After battling against bubble algae and minor bryopsis, I thought it was a good idea to try it out to prevent future outbreaks.
The tank is precisely measured at 23.5 gallons during the initial fill. I hand-dosed 2.3ml of 3% peroxide diluted with pure water (as stated on the label), following the "safe zone" advice of 1ml per 10 gallons. I had seen records of 3% peroxide being dosed as high as 1ml per gallon without any issues, so I wasn't worried at all. Then, I went to bed, and when I woke up, ALL the fish, snails, and shrimp were dead.
The casualties include:
2x blackstom clown
1x royal gramma
4x nassarius snail
1x shrimp
4x cerith snail
1x strawberry conch
ALL DEAD, with not a sign of copepods and amphipods, which were once thriving. However, all the corals, from softies to LPS and some SPS, are completely fine. I tested my water and found that my nitrates have shot up. I assume my peroxide killed off all the microorganisms like pods, leading to an ammonia spike that killed everything in the tank. Unfortunately, I don't have an ammonia test kit to confirm this.
Tank parameters are as follows:
(5 days ago)
Specific gravity (SG): 1.026
Phosphate (Phos): 0.08
Nitrate: 5-10
Alkalinity (Alk): 7.8
Magnesium (MG): 1350
Calcium (Cal): 460
Current Parameters:
SG: 1.026
Phos: 0.09
Nitrate: PINK (currently high)
Alk: 7.5
MG: 1320
Cal: 440
I started this hobby back in March and went through lots of challenges with Dinos, bubble algae, and bryopsis. Dealing with these pests was annoying, but I understood that it's inevitable during the first year of reefing. At least my corals were doing pretty good, and managing the nano tank with daily scraping and manual removal wasn't too bad, nothing went out of control and things were in check. However, this event hit me hard, and it's just devastating. These fishes were like my pets, and I really liked them. Now, I feel so bad for them, and I feel empty. I won't give up on the hobby, but for now, I'll continue without any fishes, only focusing on corals and ghost feeding to avoid bottoming out the nitrate.
Lessons learned the hard way:
・ Don't add anything into your tank unless you're facing an issue.
・ NEVER EVER TOUCH PEROXIDE.
All tanks are different, and some may have had success with peroxide, but for me, peroxide is nothing but a toxic nightmare. I don't blame anyone else, as it was ultimately my decision and laziness to consider unconventional methods for preventing algae that caused this. I won't repeat the same mistake in the future.
IM SORRY, my fishes
