Clean algae from zoa frag

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by Borderjumper

Awesome! Wonder if the dip would melt these nasty blue clove polyps growing on my zoas?

Unfortunately I have to say no at least in my experience. Those "Japanese Clove Polyps" are tougher than the algae. I'm about to eradicate mine using a very intensive means... Laser!!

re: H2O2 Dipping - I've done (and plan to always do for new coral frags) H2O2 dips. Depending on the reason for the dip determines the amount of H2O2 and the amount of time the frag is dipped. I can tell you for sure that a dip of H2O2 will kill Bryopsis, GHA and a whole plethora of other nisance algae. I can't say one way or the other on Bubble Algae because I always pick it off outside of the tank then do a H2O2 dip.

Here are a few pictures I snapped of before & after treatments:

Before (Grande Palys)


After (5 min dip in 50/50 @3%)


The following day there were no sign of any nuisance algae and 3 months later it's still clean as a whistle.

One thing I have started doing is trying to keep as much of the coral tissue as possible OUT of the solution. I'd got a piece of eggcrate in the dish and I will add the mixture only deep enough to cover the whole frag base to try and minimize long-term tissue damage with H2O2 exposure.

Here are a couple of videos of the actual dip taking place (it's been a while)



and here's the same frag disc but later in the DIP process


and here you can see the next say any remaining algae is bleached and expiring.


So from the above testing I decided many months ago that all new frags (if I can get the majority of the coral out of the solution) going into my tank will get a min of a 3 minute 50/50 @3% dip. It has worked wonders for me and my tanks.

[nerdz]

Does anyone know if this would be safe for a candycane frag?

Sure seems like a simple and effective method provided you can access/remove the piece of rock.

Thanks

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by nerdz

Does anyone know if this would be safe for a candycane frag?

Sure seems like a simple and effective method provided you can access/remove the piece of rock.

Thanks

I did this exact treatment on a (Neon Green) CC frag. I kept the "Meaty" portion of the frag out of the mixture the best I could but some of the heads were submerged in order to get ALL the algae into the mixture. Just remember what works great in one tank may or may not work as well or at all in another. Trial and error will be your guiding light and as always YMMV.

[phi delt reefer]

i pour un-cut peroxide over all my zoa frags before putting them in the tank for it seams all of them always have algae. No frags have died from the treatment

i use a shot glass for dipping frag bases on more sensitive corals.

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by phi delt reefer

i pour un-cut peroxide over all my zoa frags before putting them in the tank for it seams all of them always have algae. No frags have died from the treatment

i use a shot glass for dipping frag bases on more sensitive corals.

I like both ideas here. I may implement them both on my systems asap.

[Reefie]

H2O2 dosing in the DT is possible. However, it depends on what corals you have. H2O2 dosing is also ONLY a temporary fix, keep your water params in check to properly control GHA. I was dosing H2O2 straight-up with a baster on my LR, it was a last resort for me as none of the corals, clams could be removed without harm. It WORKS, however keep in mind that it will only be a temporary quick fix. I can tell you that it is safe for all fish and inverts, but be warned that there are a few corals that won't tolerate H2O2. Open Brains are one of them, as well as Xenia's. I would also assume quite a few softies don't tolerate H2O2 also, I don't have any softies in my tank so I can't tell you in detail.

H2O2 also works well against Cyano. My one piece of advice is to dose your DT, wait 15 mins or so for the H2O2 to work, and then do an immediate WC. You will find that the fish appreciate the extra oxygen in the tank, and your CUC will work a little over-time and feast on the easier to digest oxidized GHA.

Here is some good reading on tank-wide dosing if anyone's interested.

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...owtopic=268706

[lastlight]

Amazingly enough the roots somehow survived dip one on my blue zoas. They're slowly growing back so it's time for a second dip. This time I'm also going to switch the frag around more and maybe poke the roots to make sure they are fully wetted. Who knows maybe with all the bubbles given off the deepest crevasses under the roots are protected.

[lastlight]

Seems a person needs to wait a long time in this hobby to know anything for certain. The exact same algae that I was trying to eradicate on 3 separate frags has returned on all of them. I'm not sure if I should continue dipping or increase the concentration. The zoas fully open within hours/a day as it is. This is an insanely intrusive algae that threads between polyps and chokes the colony. It spread from frag 1 to frag 2... a single tendril of the stuff that snaked to a neighboring zoa colony. It will even fuse nearby sand and try to choke it!

Thinking perhaps I should just play it safe and get rid of them...

[ashr]

I say add a clean up crew. They always clean mine up

[lastlight]

My tank currently has no hermits or snails but I'm contemplating that idea thanks.