Best concentration and time in H2O2 dip for Zoas with hair algae?

[Fish Fan]

Hey all!

I'm a reefer returning after many years out of the game and I'm trying to take a real hard approach to preventative QT and observation of livestock entering my display tanks. To this end, I currently have three 10 gallon tanks running; a medicated fish QT, a coral observation tank, and a third tank just for motile inverts. Again, I'm trying to be very dedicated to greatly minimizing unwanted pests, as best I can.

I recently purchased my first two batches of corals, mostly LPS and Zoas. I got like 5 pieces from a local reefer, which I'm pretty happy with. Then, I got another five or so pieces from an R2R member in the livestock for sale forum shipped to me. I should mention, this was the very first time I have ever purchased corals by mail, in the past it was always from my LFS or other local reefers. At first, I was thrilled with the coral I received from the R2R seller, his service (answering my many, many questions) was great, the shipment was well packaged, pricing and size of the frags was awesome. When the frags arrived I noticed that the bags they were in were quit dirty. A lot of detritus and what not was floating around in the bag with the frags. I figured that's what happens when you ship coral frags, they must get "dirty" in shipping, somehow.

I drip acclimated the corals I received from the R2R member and noticed a lot of detritus and who knows what in the bottom of the drip bucket. I found bristle worms for sure, as well as at least three little brittle stars (which I rescued and tossed, gently, in my motile invert holding tank). The frags also had A LOT of algae including a bubble or two of bubble algae and also a lot hair algae.

I dipped everything in Coral RX, followed by Revive, followed by a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) dip for the Zoas and other corals that it was recommended for, then they went into my coral observation tank. That was 2 or 3 weeks ago. Now, I am seeing obvious hair algae growing amongst my Zoas, and I have a hammer whose frag plug is so engulfed in hair algae it's ridiculous and spreading to the bases of torches I purchased from my local reefer. Grrrr!!!!

When I dipped the Zoas in hydrogen peroxide, I had found an R2R post that listed what corals can and can't be dipped in H2O2, and at what concentration and for how long. I cannot find that post now. I'm now finding other posts listing a range of both the concentration and/or time a Zoa should be kept in an H2O2 dip.

Please, what is the recommended hydrogen peroxide concentration and time in the dip to get rid of hair algae on Zoa colonies? Any help to get rid of this stuff would be very much appreciated! Thank you in advance!

 

[Fish Fan]

Anyone? I'm just looking for the ideal concentration and dip time for using hydrogen peroxide on Zoas to zap hair algae. I'd very much appreciate any help. Thank you!

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

I personally do 50/50 mix with tank water for 2 minutes. I would do this a few days in a row as needed.

However I recently started being more precise and using a toothbrush dipped in that same mix to scrub the frag plug around the polyps. I find I have better results and the zoas don't get as angry.

 

[Fish Fan]

I personally do 50/50 mix with R/O water for 2 minutes. I would do this a few days in a row as needed.

However I recently started being more precise and using a toothbrush dipped in that same mix to scrub the frag plug around the polyps. I find I have better results and the zoas don't get as angry.

Thank you for your help! 50/50 seems like a very strong concentration and with freshwater too? You've successfully used this on Zoas?

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

I do 50/50 of a 3% hydrogen peroxide and tank water yes. I have successfully used it on zoas however they definitely don't love it. I have never had any die but they tend to stay closed for a day or two. I wouldn't use that high of a solution on any that are already not doing well.

But like I said I switched to scrubbing around the polyps with the same solution and a brush and have had better results

 

[mfinn]

I recently purchased my first two batches of corals, mostly LPS and Zoas. I got like 5 pieces from a local reefer, which I'm pretty happy with.

I dipped everything in Coral RX, followed by Revive, followed by a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) dip for the Zoas and other corals that it was recommended for, then they went into my coral observation tank. That was 2 or 3 weeks ago. Now, I am seeing obvious hair algae growing amongst my Zoas, and I have a hammer whose frag plug is so engulfed in hair algae it's ridiculous and spreading to the bases of torches I purchased from my local reefer. Grrrr!!!!

When I dipped the Zoas in hydrogen peroxide, I had found an R2R post that listed what corals can and can't be dipped in H2O2, and at what concentration and for how long. I cannot find that post now. I'm now finding other posts listing a range of both the concentration and/or time a Zoa should be kept in an H2O2 dip.

What was the % of hp/water that you used?
I know when I did hp dips I used 30% hp to 70% tank water and had pretty good success.
Maybe bump it up 10%-15% and go a little longer.
I prefer to stay with tank water, just because I would think it's easier on the zoanthids.

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Oh yeah I'm silly I didn't use R/O I used tank water my bad haha. I edited my posts. Sorry for the mistake.

 

[mfinn]

I do 50/50 of a 3% hydrogen peroxide and tank water yes. I have successfully used it on zoas however they definitely don't love it. I have never had any die but they tend to stay closed for a day or two. I wouldn't use that high of a solution on any that are already not doing well.

But like I said I switched to scrubbing around the polyps with the same solution and a brush and have had better results

I think doing the scrub with a soft brush is important too.
Manually remove as much as possible of the algae beforehand.

 

[Fish Fan]

I do 50/50 of a 3% hydrogen peroxide and tank water yes. I have successfully used it on zoas however they definitely don't love it. I have never had any die but they tend to stay closed for a day or two. I wouldn't use that high of a solution on any that are already not doing well.

But like I said I switched to scrubbing around the polyps with the same solution and a brush and have had better results

I like this idea too. I even tried to carefully brush a light solution of hydrogen peroxide on the plug of some hammer frags that are definitely not to be dipped fully in the H2O2.

And to be clear for everyone, I'm also talking about regular 3% hydrogen peroxide found at any grocery or drug store.

Oh yeah I'm silly I didn't use R/O I used tank water my bad haha. I edited my posts. Sorry for the mistake.

Yeah, the peroxide alone is hard on the Zoas, but freshwater on top of that too.... yikes! Thank you for correcting that and editing your original post in case others find this.

What was the % of hp/water that you used?
I know when I did hp dips I used 30% hp to 70% tank water and had pretty good success.
Maybe bump it up 10%-15% and go a little longer.
I prefer to stay with tank water, just because I would think it's easier on the zoanthids.

My problem is that I can't remember the concentration I used. I *think* it was something like 140mL to a gallon of saltwater. When I dipped them, I searched and found a post where some R2R member listed out the corals not to dip in H2O2, then the corals that can be dipped at X concentration, then the corals that can be dipped a Y concentration, etc. Now, I can't find that post. It was a little dated, so I figured things would be even more nailed down at this time. Thank you for your help!

 

[Fish Fan]

I purchased quite a few frags from Tidal Gardens today during one of their live sales. I would expect these frags to be very clean. I'd love to get rid of this hair algae before the new frags arrive on Tuesday. Thanks everyone!

 

[mfinn]

My problem is that I can't remember the concentration I used. I *think* it was something like 140mL to a gallon of saltwater. I searched and found a post where some R2R member listed out the corals not to dip in H2O2, then the corals that can be dipped at X concentration, then the corals that can be dipped a Y concentration, etc. Now, I can't find that post. It was a little dated, so I figured things would be even more nailed down at this time.

So if I have this correct 140 ml to a gallon ( 1 gallon = 3785 mls.) isn't enough, IMO.
I would go at least 30% hp.

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

I purchased quite a few frags from Tidal Gardens today during one of their live sales. I would expect these frags to be very clean. I'd love to get rid of this hair algae before the new frags arrive on Tuesday. Thanks everyone!

Do you have any type inhabitants that will eat the algea? I have an aquarium with a scopas and a tomini tang and between them i have absolutely no algea in there.

 

[Fish Fan]

So if I have this correct 140 ml to a gallon ( 1 gallon = 3785 mls.) isn't enough, IMO.
I would go at least 30% hp.

I'm seriously guessing at the concentration at this point. So you're saying to use 30% peroxide to 70% saltwater?

 

[Fish Fan]

Do you have any type inhabitants that will eat the algea? I have an aquarium with a scopas and a tomini tang and between them i have absolutely no algea in there.

Not currently. Corals are right now in a bare ten gallon observation tank, I'm holding them fish-less to starve out potential fish parasites they may be carrying. But even then, my main tank (which will be upgraded soon!) is only a 15 gallon, so no tangs. I thought about adding an emerald crab, but would worry he may go after some of the frags themselves. I'd love a natural solution like an algae eater, is there anything suitable for my bare observation tank?

 

[mfinn]

I'm seriously guessing at the concentration at this point. So you're saying to use 30% peroxide to 70% saltwater?

That's what I've done before, but for shorter periods of time than some are recommending.
I see some say several minutes in strong dips, but I have always done less time.
Myself, I wouldn't do more than a minute,,, minute and a half.
Then I always used to hold the frag ( even in the tank) in front of a powerhead and really make sure all of the hp was off the frag. (I've seen hp continue bubbling on a frag after it was put back in saltwater).


edit: changed "would" for wouldn't.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Peroxide dipping guidelines (for corals)

A while back Justin Credabel published this chart detailing the concentration of hydrogen peroxide appropriate for dipping various genera of corals. I've used these guidelines myself a few times to remove algae from coral frags and it's been quite effective. Justin Credabel's hydrogen...

humble.fish

 

[roninmagik1]

Anyone? I'm just looking for the ideal concentration and dip time for using hydrogen peroxide on Zoas to zap hair algae. I'd very much appreciate any help. Thank you!

So i tested this exact situation on 2 of my zoa frags. I measured 5 tablespoons of tank water, then 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide. (there are different concentrations, i used the 3%). I put the frag in for 4 to 5 minutes. Using a little squeezer thing, like a little turkey baster i guess, but used that to blast it a few times. I also, used a little brush to brush off what hair algae i could.

Checked the next day and both zoas were out again and looked happy. I was thinking they might need more than a day to recover, but they were fine. Also, happy to report, they're clear of hair algae. (it's been about a week now, and no signs of anything growing back)

fyi, the two frags i tried this on were #1. pink hippos/chuckys bride, think they are called different things, but it's the same zoa. and #2. AIO

Last tidbit, before i put them in the hydrogen peroxide solution, i moved them around and directed water at them, thinking that if they're closed up before they go in the hydrogen peroxide water, it'd be better for them. they closed up a little, but not like all the way, so not sure if that helped any.

 

[Fish Fan]

Thanks guys!

I do think you should agitate the Zoas to tick them off before dipping.

Peroxide dipping guidelines (for corals)

A while back Justin Credabel published this chart detailing the concentration of hydrogen peroxide appropriate for dipping various genera of corals. I've used these guidelines myself a few times to remove algae from coral frags and it's been quite effective. Justin Credabel's hydrogen...

humble.fish

Eeyore! Thank you so much, this is just what I was looking for! I had previously found this exact info reposted here on R2R, but couldn't find it when I more recently looked for it. This is the advice I followed when I initially dipped my frags. I think I did about 140 mL/gallon of saltwater for my favias, but I think I did 250 mL/gallon of saltwater for my zoas.

Is this still a recommended concentration? What's better for hair algae, a higher concentration for a short dip, or a lower concertation for a longer dip time?

Edit: Or would a succession of dips over a week or so be better than High/Low concentration?

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Thanks guys!

I do think you should agitate the Zoas to tick them off before dipping.


Eeyore! Thank you so much, this is just what I was looking for! I had previously found this exact info reposted here on R2R, but couldn't find it when I more recently looked for it. This is the advice I followed when I initially dipped my frags. I think I did about 140 mL/gallon of saltwater for my favias, but I think I did 250 mL/gallon of saltwater for my zoas.

Is this still a recommended concentration? What's better for hair algae, a higher concentration for a short dip, or a lower concertation for a longer dip time?

Edit: Or would a succession of dips over a week or so be better than High/Low concentration?

It's not about what's best for the algae... full strength H2O2 is the best bet but often isn't appropriate. You need a strong enough dose to kill the algae; you adjust the strength depending on what the coral can handle... No idea if the recommendations in the post I linked are still "correct" but I would suspect they're in the ballpark. Maybe follow the link and review any comments made by those who used it?

 

[Fish Fan]

It's not about what's best for the algae... full strength H2O2 is the best bet but often isn't appropriate. You need a strong enough dose to kill the algae; you adjust the strength depending on what the coral can handle... No idea if the recommendations in the post I linked are still "correct" but I would suspect they're in the ballpark. Maybe follow the link and review any comments made by those who used it?

Thank you! I did read pretty deep into the R2R thread when I dipped my corals. I think I will start at those recommended concentrations and see how I do. I'm starting to think that beyond the concentration and dip time, it may be better to repeat the H2O2 dip over multiple days. Thank you again for your help!