Jessican
Administrator
- Location
- New Braunfels, TX
***Current dosing recommendation for active outbreaks, using 3% hydrogen peroxide***
(a TLDR for people who just need to know how to get started)
Week 1: 1mL/8g, 3x per day
Week 2: 1mL/5g, 3x per day
Week 3: 1mL/5g, 3x per day, plus overnight dosing.
Continue the week 3 dosing regimen for a minimum of 6 additional weeks. This countdown should not start until you've reached the week 3 dosing amounts AND no longer see any visible sign of infection on any fish. This protocol will take a minimum of 9 weeks, maybe more. Run a UV sterilizer to increase the effectiveness of the peroxide.
To calculate overnight dosing, take a single daytime dose, double it, then divide it into however many doses you want to do over 6 hours. I personally did 15 minute increments, which was a total of 24 doses, but you can do more frequent (I do not recommend less frequent than 15 minute increments). You will need a doser capable of producing at least 27 doses. This is the one I used, each head can do 24 doses: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KANTID6/?tag=humblefish-20
I recommend dosing straight out of the bottle, and using opaque tubing. Clear tubing will expose the peroxide to too much light, and cause bubbles in the lines from it breaking down, so you won’t be dosing as much as you think you are. Note that peroxide does have a shelf life (about 3 years from date of manufacture, or 6 months from opening the bottle), so start with a fresh, new bottle.
***DO NOT mix other medications with peroxide!*** At best, one may render the other ineffective. At worst, one may render the other toxic.
Example using 100g of water and 3% hydrogen peroxide:
Week 1 (1mL/8g) = 12.5mL doses, 3x per day
Week 2 (1mL/5g) = 20mL doses, 3x per day
Week 3 and onwards (1mL/5g + overnight) = 20mL doses, 3x per day, plus an additional 40mL divided over 6 hours overnight (if dosing every 15 minutes, this would mean 24 doses of 1.7mL)
A couple of members have put together spreadsheets to help with dosing calculations, which you can find in these posts:
@smsreef : How To - Peroxide (H2O2) dosing for parasites in reef tank (updated to reflect new regimen above)
@danberger : How To - Peroxide (H2O2) dosing for parasites in reef tank
For dose timing, my general recommendation is 9am, 3pm, 9pm, and 12-6am. You can shift this to better correspond with your lighting schedule, but make sure you're hitting at least the hours of 2-6am during the overnight window, as there is some evidence that this is when tomonts release free swimmers (which is what we're targeting). The overnight bit is the important part, so don't sweat it if your daytime doses all fall during a lights on period.
Don't worry about trying to measure the peroxide concentration in the water. Breaking down is how it works, if you can measure a consistent amount, you are probably dosing too much.
Read the original OP below for all of the detail about how this method was developed, and how to use it as a safety net when adding new fish.
(a TLDR for people who just need to know how to get started)
Week 1: 1mL/8g, 3x per day
Week 2: 1mL/5g, 3x per day
Week 3: 1mL/5g, 3x per day, plus overnight dosing.
Continue the week 3 dosing regimen for a minimum of 6 additional weeks. This countdown should not start until you've reached the week 3 dosing amounts AND no longer see any visible sign of infection on any fish. This protocol will take a minimum of 9 weeks, maybe more. Run a UV sterilizer to increase the effectiveness of the peroxide.
To calculate overnight dosing, take a single daytime dose, double it, then divide it into however many doses you want to do over 6 hours. I personally did 15 minute increments, which was a total of 24 doses, but you can do more frequent (I do not recommend less frequent than 15 minute increments). You will need a doser capable of producing at least 27 doses. This is the one I used, each head can do 24 doses: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KANTID6/?tag=humblefish-20
I recommend dosing straight out of the bottle, and using opaque tubing. Clear tubing will expose the peroxide to too much light, and cause bubbles in the lines from it breaking down, so you won’t be dosing as much as you think you are. Note that peroxide does have a shelf life (about 3 years from date of manufacture, or 6 months from opening the bottle), so start with a fresh, new bottle.
***DO NOT mix other medications with peroxide!*** At best, one may render the other ineffective. At worst, one may render the other toxic.
Example using 100g of water and 3% hydrogen peroxide:
Week 1 (1mL/8g) = 12.5mL doses, 3x per day
Week 2 (1mL/5g) = 20mL doses, 3x per day
Week 3 and onwards (1mL/5g + overnight) = 20mL doses, 3x per day, plus an additional 40mL divided over 6 hours overnight (if dosing every 15 minutes, this would mean 24 doses of 1.7mL)
A couple of members have put together spreadsheets to help with dosing calculations, which you can find in these posts:
@smsreef : How To - Peroxide (H2O2) dosing for parasites in reef tank (updated to reflect new regimen above)
@danberger : How To - Peroxide (H2O2) dosing for parasites in reef tank
For dose timing, my general recommendation is 9am, 3pm, 9pm, and 12-6am. You can shift this to better correspond with your lighting schedule, but make sure you're hitting at least the hours of 2-6am during the overnight window, as there is some evidence that this is when tomonts release free swimmers (which is what we're targeting). The overnight bit is the important part, so don't sweat it if your daytime doses all fall during a lights on period.
Don't worry about trying to measure the peroxide concentration in the water. Breaking down is how it works, if you can measure a consistent amount, you are probably dosing too much.
Read the original OP below for all of the detail about how this method was developed, and how to use it as a safety net when adding new fish.
Last edited:
