# Hydrogen Peroxide



## Kdog (Apr 13, 2014)

There are quite a few opinions on this topic. How much & how long H202 do I use to eliminate algae if I:

1) dip the driftwood?

2) dip the plants?

2) dose in a 10 gallon shrimp tank?

I was also wondering if I can use Hydrogen Peroxide on these rocks?

http://www.caribsea.com/caribsea/itempage_rock_southseasbaserock.html

I have these in my African Cichlids tank and have hair algae all over these rocks.

I would not dose the H202 directly in the tank but dose them on rocks outside the tank


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## aquarist (Aug 29, 2012)

There is a great thread on H202 treatment called "The One-Two Punch" if you haven't already you should give it a read, there is discussion in there about dosing with shrimp and certain types of fish and which plants do well and which don't. 

For the driftwood, if you are going to take it out of the tank and dip it into the H202 it would probably be best just to dip it in a bleach solution, scrub with a toothbrush or another brush of some sorts, then soak in regular tap water with some dechlorinator to neutralize any of the bleach. I would do the same process with the rocks and you should be okay. 

If you wanted to spot treat the driftwood and the rocks, you could put the H2o2 into a spray bottle and treat it with that while inside the aquarium still, just turn the filters off and give it a good spray down, but pay attention to how much you are using. The only time you should have your filters off when doing a H2o2 treatment is when you are spot treating, if you are going to do a whole tank treatment (very effective I have done it a few times) you will want to have as much circulation as possible, so you will NOT want to turn off your filter or any of your circulation pumps, but removing the media from the filter is a good idea. I have heard that a whole tank treatment can be hard on shrimp, so give that thread a good read through and see what other have experienced.


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## Kdog (Apr 13, 2014)

why do you recommend bleach over H202?


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## secuono (Nov 19, 2009)

My crypts and moss melted like no tomorrow even in a short dip...so watch out for those issues.


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## aquarist (Aug 29, 2012)

H2o2 does not kill all algae, some algae like BBA it will weaken enough to be killed off by something like excel, but I have spot treated bba with just excel and just h202 and never got the same results as I did when treated in combination. On the other hand bleach does not need anything to be treated after it, it will kill the algae, bacteria, parasites, and pretty much everything else that is on your driftwood or rocks. White vinegar is another option but is not as good as bleach, its cheaper and easier to work with, since bleach will ruin your clothing if you get it on yourself, but to me does not have the same algae killing strength as bleach.


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## Kdog (Apr 13, 2014)

what measurement is the best and safest for killing algae.
and for how long do you bleach?


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## aquarist (Aug 29, 2012)

Depends on how you want to go about it, if you want a quick treatment, spray bleach directly onto the affected area and scrub, scrub, scrub, then soak in clean dechlorinated water for about an hour or two, I usually use hot water for the first soaking, this will help open up the pores of the wood and release the bleach, then half-way through the soaking cycle I will change the water out and use cold water to help close the wood pores. Also I double dose my dechlorinator, I personally use Prime but any brand should work.

If I am going to soak a piece of driftwood or some rocks I never measure the bleach, I add enough to the container I am using till the water smells strongly of bleach, and when you put your hand in it your skin should feel slick. I have soaked pieces of driftwood that I thought were really nasty over night and rocks I have let soak for days before. It all just really depends on how quickly you want to put them back into the aquarium. When I soak them for longer periods of time I always tend to soak in clean dechlorinated water for 3-4 days, changing the water two-three times during the first day, then once a day everyday after that.


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