Hydrogen peroxided safe for substrate injection?

[Bert2oo1]

I'll keep this nice and simple, I've got some BGA that I can see spreading under the substrate. I was wondering if it would be safe to inject it into the BGA spots in the substrate? I'm guessing it would still turn to O2 and be fine but I thought I would check [emoji106]

I need it all cleared up before I go on holidays in 2 weeks or I'll come back to a nightmare

 

[Caliban07]

Hmm unfortunate. Hate the stuff more than anything else. Put some black tape along the bottom of the substrate line. Block out its light completely. That's where it always starts and if it reaches the top layer of the substrate you're in trouble.

This should work.

 

[Caliban07]

I've also had good success with better flow and less nutrients and I'm also currently running charcoal in filter. I get the feeling BGA may be dissolved organic related and it could possible release some unwanted chemicals in the water. Hypothesis nonetheless but reefers say it destroys corals in this way I believe.

 

[Bert2oo1]

I've also had good success with better flow and less nutrients and I'm also currently running charcoal in filter. I get the feeling BGA may be dissolved organic related and it could possible release some unwanted chemicals in the water. Hypothesis nonetheless but reefers say it destroys corals in this way I believe.

I tend to agree, it breached the surface at the front of the tank and was growing up the glass abit so I nuked it with 15ml of 3% peroxide. Worked a treat! It was gone in about 8 hours lol. However I now have a big dead patch of Monte Carlo lol

I didn't use the ADA bacta stuff your ment to add with the Ada soil as I thought it was a con. However I feel maybe it's worth a try next time?

So conclusion is I probably shouldn't inject it?

 

[Fresh2o]

If antibiotics are an option, then I would suggest that route (erythromycin).
If you do nuke the substrate, I would follow it up with a large WC. That is what is done with the 1-2 punch (for BBA).

 

[Bert2oo1]

If antibiotics are an option, then I would suggest that route (erythromycin).
If you do nuke the substrate, I would follow it up with a large WC. That is what is done with the 1-2 punch (for BBA).

Can't get antibiotics here, they have to be prescribed by a doctor I might try the black tape trick first and then if that doesn't work I'll just have to nuke it and see how we go. I lost 2 baby shrimp to my first nuke on the surface BGA because they decided they wanted to play in the bubbles. I was fighting them off with a glass scraper [emoji23][emoji23]

 

[coralbandit]

I would be careful injecting H2O2 into substrate.
Most anaerobic bacteria live in zero O2 enviroments .
Very few are capable of dealing with O2.
So if you inject and kill anaerobic bacteria it will have an effect on the water parameters in a not good way IMO..
I would just pull the sub and soak it then rinse..Even in small quantities I think this would be safer?

 

[Fresh2o]

I figured such about the AB but thought I would throw that out there. It's like candy here in the states.
The first time I had BGA I had no idea what it was. Every week I would siphon out green, stringy sheets of it from the plants and gravel. I thought it was some type of aggressive algae. This went on for months.
I know hydrogen peroxide and Excel can be harmful to shrimp if dosed improperly. Any idea which is more effective at killing BGA?

 

[coralbandit]

Here is an example of the danger of messing with the sub;
Now that the sand bed is well established, here comes the gravel vacuum. STOOOOOP!!! The gravel vacuum should only be used to pull off detritus that may be laying on top of the sand bed. If you shove the gravel vacuum into the sand or gravel of an aquarium that does not use a UG filter you will be pulling out beneficial organisms, disrupting your anaerobic layer, and worst of all your heavily colonized aerobic top layer will no longer be heavily colonized with aerobic bacteria. When a aquarium that does not use a UG filter is gravel vacuumed it is common within a few days that ammonia and nitrite to silently creep up. Since your aerobic bacteria population that is in contact with the water column has been significantly reduced your ammonia and nitrite (more commonly nitrite) can reach toxic levels. Three to five days after such a cleaning hobbyist start loosing fish
Taken from ;
Aquaworld Aquarium - Article - The Silent Killer - How to Use/Not Use a Gravel Vacuum in the Modern Aquarium
While clearly I don't agree with all of this info[ I vac my tanks ,but in honesty few have any sub{for just this reason and breeding purposes}] and don't see swings in my parameters..

 

[Mebbid]

It all depends on how extensive the cleaning is. If you inject hydrogen peroxide into a small area, then you won't have the major problems that come with large scale cleaning such as ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate spikes.

 

[coralbandit]

It all depends on how extensive the cleaning is. If you inject hydrogen peroxide into a small area, then you won't have the major problems that come with large scale cleaning such as ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate spikes.

I agree with this.
Possibly done in small parts it could work ..
It would be a race to see if you can kill faster then it grows?
IMO the nutrient rise is accounted for by the dying of the bacteria. Any dead thing rots. So that is why I say pull some sub and bath it in H2O2 and then rinse away all bacteria alive or dead. Given proper conditions the bacteria multi exponentially so no 'spikes ' should be noticed and you will quickly re grow any lost needed bacteria .
Quick link for those not familiar with the use of hydrogen peroxide ;
http://theaquariumwiki.com/Hydrogen_peroxide

 

[Bert2oo1]

Thanks for the info guys! Removing substrate isn't really an option at this stage. I'm pretty sure the reason it's popped up is sunlight from a window nearby beaming on the tank. I had it in the last tank I had in the same position aswell but it never broke the surface.

I'm going on a holiday in 2 weeks for 3 weeks so I need to address it quickly or I'll be coming back to a nightmare. I think I may inject some and hope for the best.

Tanks getting a rescape when I get back anyway so just need to keep it clean untill then.

 

[Caliban07]

What is the proposed cause of BGA from a salty perspective? Excess nutrients?

 

[Bert2oo1]

What is the proposed cause of BGA from a salty perspective? Excess nutrients?

There is certainly a relationship between high organics and high lighting causing BGA. Only seem to have it on the sides of the tank where it gets sunlight and Ada is high in organics.

When I had the old 30g with Eco complete it took a lot longer for it to appear but after 6 months it started to grow under the substrate in the same spot. Same window, same lighting. Eco just took longer to build up with organics I'd say [emoji106]

 

[Caliban07]

I have the same issue with crud in the substrate. Even more so since I was only running a powerhead.

I get an oil slick on the surface still. This is probably more pronounced due to the co2 misting and organics sticking to the bubbles and taken to the top only they are not being skimmed like in a protein skimmer.

For this reason I can only imagine o2 is not ideal. High organics high 'biological oxygen demand' coupled with poor surface gas exchange and general poor plant growth may lead to lower oxygen levels that may inhibit BB and swing the environmental conditions in favour of Cyanobacteria who can fix nitrogen at very low oxygen levels.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Well I'm running out of time so I'm gonna go ahead and just inject abit to try and get on top of it. I'll only use 5ml. Should be heaps.

I've lost a 1x5" patch of Monte Carlo from the last treatment but I'm not to worried as the carpets growth rate will fill it in extremely fast [emoji106]