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Hydrogen Peroxide as Algaecide
Thought I'd share this with you, it's my simplistic 2 cents worth (only
kind I have).
I have a 55g community tank that's been up and running for a little over
two months. It has a fair amount of blue/grey fuzz algae on the bog wood
and micro swords. But, it's not anything that I was worried about.
Wasn't going to "rend my garments" (BTW, I love that, George), or resort
to the bleach treatment. However, being my usual patient self, I thought
that it was about time to add a little liquid fertilizer and trace
elements. BOOM, algae explosion. Within two days, hair algae was
covering the rock background, and bog wood. Came real close to shredding
my apparel. Then I remembered a post a month or so ago, where the person
added "4 oz, plus a little more" of Hydrogen Peroxide, to their 55g.
Evidently, the little more burned the scales of their Discus. So, I
decided to try the 4 oz, and forego the little more (just used the drug
store kind). I was kind of skidderish about doing this, so instead of
doing it all at once, I added 1 oz per day, for 4 days. Results:
nothing, zilch, no change. Fish also seemed not to be affected. Tank is
fairly heavily stocked with small Rainbows, Tetras, Flags, and Otto's.
Seeing how nothing was affected, including the algae, I decided to try
the 4 oz in one whack. Quite by accident, I poured it onto a piece of
algae covered bog wood, that extended within 3 or 4" of the surface.
Within 2-3 minutes that spot of algae began to bubble profusely. After
another 10-15 minutes, the bubbling ceased, and the algae had turned
white. When I arrived home from work that evening, the white algae had
disappeared. That section of wood was as algae free, as the day I put it
in. So, the solution was not to try and treat the whole tank, but to
apply a concentrated dose to specific areas. Unfortunately, not all of
the algae was located close to the surface. Now, how do I get the
undiluted Hydrogen Peroxide down to the bottom of the tank? I found the
solution hidden away in the catchall drawer of the kitchen. A small meat
injector. Looks like a large syringe, and is used for injecting marinade
into meat. The kind I have, comes with jars of Cajun Injector Marinade
that's used for marinating whole turkeys before deep frying. Anyway, it
holds a little over 1 oz. It's a simple matter of filling it and then
squirting the Hydrogen Peroxide, wherever you want it. I've done this 4
or 5 times, on different spots, including the Micro Swords, and it's
worked every time. Don't know what different types of algae it will work
on, but it sure works on the blue/grey fuzz and hair. And again, the
fish are fine, no stress, nothing. As usual, with all things aquatic,
YMMV.
Augie Eppler
Green Cove Springs, Fl.