High Tide Aquatics

The "Justin method" of algae removal (Hydrogen Peroxide 3%)

screebo

screebo

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I've experienced monti caps accumulating stubborn little tufts of hair algae from time to time. One colony (a strawberry fields beauty) that was looking great except for that fact started a skirt of hair algae around the rim. I could not permanently remove it by tooth brush no matter what I did. I chose to employ the "Justin method" (our last meeting's speaker) and do a 3% Hydrogen Peroxide dip. I removed the cap from the tank and rotated it's rim in a straight solution of 3%. I gave it about a minute of contact and returned it to the tank. bubbles and slime formed immediately where the solution made contact and I held my breath. 20 minutes after reintroduction to the tank, I blew off the bubbles and slime with my trusty turkey baster and "Voila" extended polyps and happy tissue. after two more days, the algae is gone. I tried the same technique with a frag of zoas that had become covered with algae and the same results: Two days later, no algae and healthy zoas.

Take away message: In case you've considered doing this, I've had good results
 
OK - Emergency turbinaria fragging a few weeks back gave me this test scenario for testing H202 for tissue loss. Tissue loss defined as rapidly advancing grayish soft tissue and polyps disintegrating. Almost like a bacterial thing on fish???

H202ing 2 frags tissue loss stopped in tracks.
Revived 2 frags kept loosing until death.
Reefdiped 4 frags halted it (super dark strong solution, violent turkey basting)
Control 2 frags (no dip) kept loosing until death.

FWIW...
Over the counter bottle from drugstore.
 
Yeeee------haw, I love science more than fresh cut hay. :)
Mine came from CVS pharmacy in the discounted three pack. Straight out of the bottle..... :Sp
 
I got the great (sarcastically he says) idea to cleanse my various collections of dry rock (about 200#+) with H2O2 baths followed by freshwater soaks to sterilize them for the new tank. Unfortunately the triple pack small bottles of 3% you get at CVS don't go too far when you're filling up a garbage can. However, I had another great idea (a good one this time) to try the box stores to see if their H2O2 was less expensive. The best deal I've found so far was at Big Lots, where their 3% bottles (same size as CVS) are only 50 cents each ... score :). Now I only have to worry about the odd questions when I come up to the register with 30 bottles of the stuff in my cart ...

As an aside, anyone know where the 30% H2O2 might be found locally? I know it's really dangerous stuff, but would like to get that instead of boxes of the 3% stuff since I've still got a lock of rock to purify.
 
Hmmm thanks Tony. I 've seen it advertised from some scientific supply houses as well but was hpoing to not have to ship the stuff. If I can find any locally I'll post the source in case others are looking for it as well.
 
There are supply houses that sell it but I do not think they sell to the general public. Univar and Spectrum come to mind.

Pretty sure though if you play your cards right you can get it at Bryant Labs in Berkeley.

Bryant Lab Inc
1101 5th Street
Berkeley, CA 94710-1201
(510) 528-2948
 
Note: 30% H2O2 is EXTREMELY dangerous (as some people here already know). It can cause rapid burns to your body, and in some cases can be explosive.
 
Thanks for posting your experiences with this method. I will give it a shot as well. There's an annoying patch of hair algae right in the middle of my setosa that just won't go away...
 
Gomer said:
Note: 30% H2O2 is EXTREMELY dangerous (as some people here already know). It can cause rapid burns to your body, and in some cases can be explosive.
Click to expand...

made it a little louder in case some one missed such a warning.

Even a single drop can permanently blind you.
 
Well, in doing a bit of cost analysis it seems that the discount version of 3% at the Box Stores is a better buy than getting the more concentrated version and diluting it down. Plus, it is far less hazardous to deal with than the 30 - 35% version as noted above. Guess I'll keep raising eyebrows with the cartloads of those little brown bottles.
 
Heh just don't get the following in the same trip or they'll look at you cross eyed:

turkey baster (for my tank)
Epson Salt (for my tank)
Hydrogen Peroxide (for my tank, and a LOT of it)
Panty hoes (for carbon)
gum (for me)


I did that once and she was hesitant to ring me up :lol:
 
GreshamH said:
Heh just don't get the following in the same trip or they'll look at you cross eyed:

turkey baster (for my tank)
Epson Salt (for my tank)
Hydrogen Peroxide (for my tank, and a LOT of it)
Panty hoes (for carbon)
gum (for me)


I did that once and she was hesitant to ring me up :lol:
Click to expand...

HAHAHA!!!
 
if it were freshwater planted, it could be worse!

fleet enema (to dose phosphate)
stump remover (to dose nitrate)
yeast (co2 ghetto style)
turkey baster (for my tank)
Hydrogen Peroxide (for my tank, and a LOT of it)
Panty hoes (for carbon)
gum (for me)
 
DurTBear said:
Thanks for posting your experiences with this method. I will give it a shot as well. There's an annoying patch of hair algae right in the middle of my setosa that just won't go away...
Click to expand...


Bear in mind that Montis do not take too well to peroxide, not to say it can't be done, but IME your best using it diluted and locally instead of a full immersion.
 
Why do you need so many bottles of it? This is something you do a dip with right?

I have a rock with some green star polyps and zoanthids with persistent red cotton candy algae on it. Think a H2O2 dip like that described above would nuke it? I would take care of it with herbivores but it's a rock in a peacock mantis tank...
 
Matt, it works amazing on the red poofy shit, from what I can tell Zoanthids really like it actually, I dipped a zoanthid rock this morning due to the polyps being all closed up and unhappy. I came home from work today to find ->

Zoas.jpg


All I did was get a deli container fill it part way with tank water, add a jigger of peroxide, soak for 5 minutes and presto!
 
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