# Hydrogen Peroxide for algae treatment



## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

I have hair and blue green algae in my tanks. I tried Hydrogen Peroxide 3% from Walgreens for spot treatment, but it doesn't seem to do the trick... 

Do you use Hydrogen Peroxide 3% for algae treatment or Do you use stronger one like Hydrogen Peroxide 35%?


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## kittenfish (Dec 1, 2013)

3% is the correct one. It won't make the algae disappear or anything, just kill it so it stops growing. You should see the algae bubbling if it's working, and it may change color as it dies. I'm not sure it works on blue green algae since it's actually cyanobacteria.


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

Peroxide will not kill cyanobacteria... antibiotics kill bacteria, but it also kills the filter bed. I wouldn't add an antibiotic unless you've exhausted all other means.

There's an imbalance in your water chemistry. Once you figure out what that imbalance is and correct it, the cyanobacteria should disappear.


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## Zhylis (Nov 4, 2014)

Errr, actually peroxide (and any other oxidizers like potassium permanganate) will kill cyanobacteria, since they are bacteria and lack the catalases that protect against reactive oxygen species. Peroxide will also nuke any of the beneficial bacteria in the nearby area too, so use sparingly. Silly question on my part, Ryry2015, do you have any filters or air bubblers going while you're spot treating? Too much water movement can dilute the peroxide before it can do anything to the algae. I find it helps to turn everything off, poke the tip right into algae, and then gently squirt out the peroxide. Bubbles on the algae are a good sign! You may want to check your nitrate levels (both hair and cyano), reduce the amount of light (hair algae), and/or add an air bubbler (cyano) to help reduce the algae problem. Best of luck!


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

I disagree. 

Regardless, no matter what you use to kill the bacteria it will keep coming back until the imbalance in the water chemistry is fixed. Even at a 35% solution it will be a temporary band-aid at best.


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## Zhylis (Nov 4, 2014)

It's pretty well established fact through several decades of research. Here's just a few recent papers:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925857412001516
Barrington et al, 2013. The use of hydrogen peroxide to remove cyanobacteria and microcystins from waste stabilization ponds and hypereutrophic systems.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135411006889
Matthijs et al, 2012. Selective suppression of harmful cyanobacteria in an entire lake with hydrogen peroxide.

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00714/abstract
Weenick et al, 2015. Combatting cyanobacteria with hydrogen peroxide: a laboratory study on the consequences for phytoplankton community and diversity.


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

Did you see the OPs original post? He said 3% is not working. In all of those links, those were controlled tests at some fairly high concentrations pf peroxide, and other things were added (things I can't pronounce) and done (adding to centrifuges etc. etc. etc). None of those tests were done in a normal tank under normal conditions with domestic fish inside of the tank. 

I will concede that peroxide can be used to kill cyanobacteria, but at the risk of the tank inhabitants using a 35% solution is quite risky.

Did anyone bother to ask what else he has in his tanks? Hopefully no inverts.



> Since fish (& other vertebrate animal) cells produce one or another form of catalase (which is a Redox Reducer) for protection against effects of free radicals (which an oxidizer such as Hydrogen Peroxide is), dilute H2O2 is rapidly decomposed by catalase into oxygen and water, before it can do damage to the fish cell. That is the reason H2O2 will bubble when applied to an open cut.
> However many lower animals such as shrimp do not appear to produce this catalase in enough quantity (if at all), so the use Hydrogen Peroxide in the presence of invertebrates such as Shrimp should be avoided.
> 
> Hydrogen Peroxide decomposes rapidly into water and oxygen, however in concentrations of Hydrogen Peroxide (not generally household), this can be explosive in a sealed container (due to concentrated oxygen buildup, not from hydrogen).
> ...


[Source]

If the OP wants to add peroxide at a 35% solution, then the fish need to be removed from the tank.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

You can use 3% in invert tanks; have done it once or twice and the Amano went immediately to the "pink" algae and feasted. As with anything added to aquariums research and caution are important.

To properly treat, as Zyllis noted, you need to turn filtration and bubblers off and leave them off for 30 minutes and you treat three straight days. One treatment may not do it. If the algae bubbles and turns pink the peroxide is working.

If you have algae problems there are, as Mousie noted, imbalance problems that need to be addressed.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

kittenfish said:


> 3% is the correct one. It won't make the algae disappear or anything, just kill it so it stops growing. You should see the algae bubbling if it's working, and it may change color as it dies. I'm not sure it works on blue green algae since it's actually cyanobacteria.


Thank you for the reply!

When I used 3%, I could see some algae bubbling, but it didn't change color. I removed algae with fingers. After a few days, algae started growing back. I think the amount of Hydrogen Peroxide I used was not enough. I'll increase amount a bit more. If it still doesn't work, I will get a new bottle. 

Hydrogen Peroxide is supposed to work to treat cyanobacteria. I tried myself but no success yet


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Zhylis said:


> Errr, actually peroxide (and any other oxidizers like potassium permanganate) will kill cyanobacteria, since they are bacteria and lack the catalases that protect against reactive oxygen species. Peroxide will also nuke any of the beneficial bacteria in the nearby area too, so use sparingly. Silly question on my part, Ryry2015, do you have any filters or air bubblers going while you're spot treating? Too much water movement can dilute the peroxide before it can do anything to the algae. I find it helps to turn everything off, poke the tip right into algae, and then gently squirt out the peroxide. Bubbles on the algae are a good sign! You may want to check your nitrate levels (both hair and cyano), reduce the amount of light (hair algae), and/or add an air bubbler (cyano) to help reduce the algae problem. Best of luck!


Thank you for the replies, Zhylis!

I tried Hydrogen Peroxide, directly dosing in the water when the filter was running (I saw this method on youtube), and also used as spot treatment when the filter was off. When I spot treated algae, I saw some bubble, but it didn't seem to weak/kill algae. Maybe the amount I used was not enough, or maybe the bottle was not close well enough and Hydrogen Peroxide lost full effect.

It's a 8.6 gallon tank. When I first started the tank, it seemed to be ligeting was too much, so I raised the LED light and got floaters. It has a small canister filter with spray bar. I hope I could get rid of the algae...


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Mousie said:


> Did you see the OPs original post? He said 3% is not working. In all of those links, those were controlled tests at some fairly high concentrations pf peroxide, and other things were added (things I can't pronounce) and done (adding to centrifuges etc. etc. etc). None of those tests were done in a normal tank under normal conditions with domestic fish inside of the tank.
> 
> I will concede that peroxide can be used to kill cyanobacteria, but at the risk of the tank inhabitants using a 35% solution is quite risky.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the replies, Mousie!

When I googled, one of the Youtube video came up was showing treating algae with 35% solution, so I wondered if 3% was too weak to work. 

Currently, I have a betta, bladder snails that laying eggs everyday, and a horned nerite snail I got yesterday. It's 8.6 gallon planted with sand. When I first started this tank, I got a bad algae problem and had to start over with new plants. It's my second attempt. It's been almost two months. Although it's not that bad, but I see hair and blue green algae. I'm hoping to get rid of it as much as possible. I will try the 3% solution again. Next time, I will turn off the filter and wait for a while before treatment, and increase the amount a bit. If it still doesn't work, I will get a new bottle and try again. 
Hopefully I will have less algae when the plants established.

Here's a Youtube video that show the tank infected with cyanobacteria treated by Oxydol (=Hydrogen Peroxide). He dosed Hydrogen peroxide directly in the tank. It's actually done by a Japanese guy but has English subtitle. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuyoLPfD-ss

By the way, I'm she  Ry is a part of my son's name.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

RussellTheShihTzu said:


> You can use 3% in invert tanks; have done it once or twice and the Amano went immediately to the "pink" algae and feasted. As with anything added to aquariums research and caution are important.
> 
> To properly treat, as Zyllis noted, you need to turn filtration and bubblers off and leave them off for 30 minutes and you treat three straight days. One treatment may not do it. If the algae bubbles and turns pink the peroxide is working.
> 
> If you have algae problems there are, as Mousie noted, imbalance problems that need to be addressed.


Thank you for the reply, RussellTheShihTzu!

I think one of the reasons it didn't work was I treated right after I turned off the filter. Next time, I will wait and then treat. I might have not closed the lid tighten enough when I first opened. If it doesn't work next time, I will get a new bottle.

I will test water again tomorrow to see if there is some imbalance in the water. The tank is on the counter near the window, so it might be getting extra light time although it isn't direct sunlight. It should be one of the reasons... Can't move the tank because there is no other place. 

By the way, I'm always interested to read your posts especially about fish and invertebrates, and plants of course. You should start a journal with a lot of pictures


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## Zhylis (Nov 4, 2014)

ryry2012 said:


> I might have not closed the lid tighten enough when I first opened. If it doesn't work next time, I will get a new bottle.


Ahh, this could be why the peroxide was less effective. If the seal on the bottle has been broken, a 3% peroxide tends to break down to below 1% in about a month's time, even with the lid tightly closed. It's basically water and oxygen after 1 year. (If you need to keep 3% peroxide handy after breaking the seal, it'll store a bit longer in the refrigerator. We run through so many bottles of peroxide at work because of this... It's impossible to store! >.<)


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

ryry2012 said:


> Thank you for the replies, Mousie!
> 
> When I googled, one of the Youtube video came up was showing treating algae with 35% solution, so I wondered if 3% was too weak to work.
> 
> ...


The main issue with a betta tank is that we have to baffle the flow of water coming from the filter. This makes it difficult to keep good oxygenation in the water column. Most people forget that even though betta are a labyrinth fish, there's other reasons the tank needs good oxygenation in the water column. The good bacteria in the filter require it, and it's needed to help keep a healthy water chemistry balance in the tank. Some betta owners even suffer from having bio-film on the surface of the water, and this is contributed by poor circulation in the tank and not enough surface agitation to help with oxygenation.

In a nutshell; all you might have to do is add a an airstone or bubble wand in the tank right under the surface of the water. This was the key missing factor I had in my cichlid tank. The type of cichlids I have hate any type of water movement so I had been fighting cyanobacteria in there for almost a year. I just couldn't figure out why everything was perfect with my water chemistry but yet there was that ugly green stuff all over my nice white cichlid sand. I was almost ready to dose the tank with an antibiotic when I found out I could try one last thing. A simple bubble wand was all that I needed. I completely cleaned up all the cyano I could see, added a bubbller and waited. No more cyano.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

I added 2 air stones when I was having a cyano issue. I vacuumed the cyano daily and got my phosphates under control (very high in my water source.) I haven't had an issue since changing those things. I never used any chemicals or abx to kill it.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Zhylis said:


> Ahh, this could be why the peroxide was less effective. If the seal on the bottle has been broken, a 3% peroxide tends to break down to below 1% in about a month's time, even with the lid tightly closed. It's basically water and oxygen after 1 year. (If you need to keep 3% peroxide handy after breaking the seal, it'll store a bit longer in the refrigerator. We run through so many bottles of peroxide at work because of this... It's impossible to store! >.<)


Ohhh. Yeah, that's must be it! When I bought peroxide, I broke the seal to smell it, then put back in the shelf for over a month. I will buy another bottle in this weekend and try again. I'll be sure to keep it in the refrigerator once open it. 

Thank you again for the tip


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Mousie said:


> The main issue with a betta tank is that we have to baffle the flow of water coming from the filter. This makes it difficult to keep good oxygenation in the water column. Most people forget that even though betta are a labyrinth fish, there's other reasons the tank needs good oxygenation in the water column. The good bacteria in the filter require it, and it's needed to help keep a healthy water chemistry balance in the tank. Some betta owners even suffer from having bio-film on the surface of the water, and this is contributed by poor circulation in the tank and not enough surface agitation to help with oxygenation.
> 
> In a nutshell; all you might have to do is add a an airstone or bubble wand in the tank right under the surface of the water. This was the key missing factor I had in my cichlid tank. The type of cichlids I have hate any type of water movement so I had been fighting cyanobacteria in there for almost a year. I just couldn't figure out why everything was perfect with my water chemistry but yet there was that ugly green stuff all over my nice white cichlid sand. I was almost ready to dose the tank with an antibiotic when I found out I could try one last thing. A simple bubble wand was all that I needed. I completely cleaned up all the cyano I could see, added a bubbller and waited. No more cyano.


I'm using a Finnex canister filter with spray bar. I'll lower the water level and make the water circulation better and get more oxygen in the water. If it doesn't work, I'll get a bubble wand. I've never thought about having a bubble wand in a betta tank because it's not necessary. But I have always thought bubble wall looked so cool. 

Having cyanobacteria on white sand sounds suck. I have black sand and it already sucks. I'm glad you solved the problem. 

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Without your reply, I'd never known this solution!


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Lilypad said:


> I added 2 air stones when I was having a cyano issue. I vacuumed the cyano daily and got my phosphates under control (very high in my water source.) I haven't had an issue since changing those things. I never used any chemicals or abx to kill it.


Thank you for the reply, Lilypad!

I have never tested phosphates. What brand test kit do you use? I'm going to lower the water level and see if the spray bar can add more oxygen in the water better and get better circulation. 

I like to vacuum clean my tank but I don't like to do that over beby tears. It always sucks up some of them and I have replant... Somehow cyano loves to grow around them.


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

My local fish store tested the phosphate level for me. They used the API phosphate test kit. - -- http://www.amazon.com/API-63L-Phosphate-Test-Kit/dp/B0006JDWGY

Also, for vacuuming, I use airline tubing tied to a chopstick for better control. It was much easier to vacuum up the cyano without disturbing my plants. I think with correct water chemistry along with the air stones, it would have gone away even without vacuuming obsessively.


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

Lilypad said:


> for vacuuming, I use airline tubing tied to a chopstick for better control.



Oh geeze, why didn't I think of that! I've been using airline tubing tied to a length of skinny pvc pipe. Using a chopstick sounds SO much better!!! Now I have an excuse to go out to my fav asian restaurant lol.


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Lilypad: Unfortunatelly, I don't really go to LFS. I usually go to Petsmart that is in walking distance or Petco for the prices. I'll look around online to see if I could get one at better price  

Using a chopstick with an airline tubing is a great idea! I have unused to-go chosticks.

Mousie: You definitely do


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## Lilypad (Oct 15, 2014)

ryry2012 said:


> Lilypad: Unfortunatelly, I don't really go to LFS. I usually go to Petsmart that is in walking distance or Petco for the prices. I'll look around online to see if I could get one at better price
> 
> Using a chopstick with an airline tubing is a great idea! I have unused to-go chosticks.
> 
> Mousie: You definitely do


You can check and see if petsmart will run a phosphate test for you. 



Mousie said:


> Oh geeze, why didn't I think of that! I've been using airline tubing tied to a length of skinny pvc pipe. Using a chopstick sounds SO much better!!! Now I have an excuse to go out to my fav asian restaurant lol.


At my office, it was the only thing I could find that would work. Now, I wouldn't use anything else! I also use chopsticks to keep the lid on my tank (made from that plastic craft mesh) from sagging into the water. I eat a lot of sushi ;-) so I always have an abundance of chopsticks it seems.


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## Mousie (Feb 16, 2015)

Lilypad said:


> At my office, it was the only thing I could find that would work. Now, I wouldn't use anything else! I also use chopsticks to keep the lid on my tank (made from that plastic craft mesh) from sagging into the water. I eat a lot of sushi ;-) so I always have an abundance of chopsticks it seems.


I have 4 really pretty sets of chopsticks that I ordered from online, but really don't want to use those (my daughter likes to use chopsticks when she visits). Since I do a lot of crafting I might have some food safe polyurethane somewhere that I can use to seal a wooden chopstick. If not, I'm sure I can find some food safe sealant at Hobby Lobby or Micheal's!

Eh... suhi. I cannot eat that lol. I'm good with orange chicken, egg rolls, or sweet & sour (I'm such a picky eater lol).


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## ryry2012 (Mar 31, 2015)

Sure I will.

Sushi is good. Do you like toro? if so, try avocado with wasabi and soy sauce. It tastes like toro. A cheape you can do at home ;-)


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## kittenfish (Dec 1, 2013)

Alternatively, you can cut a length of rigid tubing (this) and attach it to the end of your air line tubing.


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