Mixing Vat, Bacteria and Hydrogen Peroxide Question

[chicago]

Ok. so i have noticed that there is always a little water left over in my mixing vat. I use tropic marine and that removed issue of clay brown residue on mixing pumps and more.. but I notice that when I do even just a 50 gallon water change on my 700 gallon system some small issues occur. I see RTN on my acro's. just a few here and there and then they recover. I believe my vat has some bacteria always in the left over water... so here is my question

Can I add some hydrogen peroxide to the fresh water make up of 50 gallons. let it run for a day and then add in some tropic marine salt to make up a fresh batch. On a chemistry side is there an issue? - I realize that there might be other issues causing the acros to RTN ect.. but can it hurt to do this.

Randy... ???

 

[Snoopy 67]

Can you easily remove the vat & clean it outside?

 

[chicago]

no. and it's clean to the eye. no issues of film in it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Maybe is not bacteria at all, but the addition of trace element needed by the pathogenic bacteria in the tank?

I’m not sure what happens if you try to sterilize the container before making a batch. If it were me and I was going to try that, I’d ensure there was not a lot of peroxide around when salt is added. It reacts with and changes trace elements in seawater.

 

[Snoopy 67]

How about Vinegar?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How about Vinegar?

If you use straight vinegar and rinse it out, that would work, but you cannot leave it in.

 

[GlassMunky]

Do you test the tank and water change water to make sure they aren’t significantly different in terms of parameters?

 

[chicago]

yes parameters are similar... I have another thought to this that I have held to myself basically over the years..
I believe that do a water change.. and gravel clean to be on point stirs up some organism from the gravel that adversely effects my sps. my water is slowly added back to the tank.. I have a large sump so i can slowly add in the 50 gallons over 10 hours or so.

my question that randy answered is a bummer.. The hydrogen peroxide that remains in the lest say gallon of water in the bottom of the vat will adversely effect the make up water.. I guess to see how bad or adverse I can do a water test in normal course of make up water and then when doing a clean of the vat ...

 

[GlassMunky]

how much water do you have left over in the barrell? I HIGHLY HIGHLY doubt that a small amount of leftover water would grow enough bacteria of the right type to effect a 700Gallon system when you add that water back to the tank.

theres always at least 1-3Gallons of water in the bottom of my mixing barrels, and i never clean them out before just making more water. theres also probably some water left in the 100ft of hose i use to do my water changes as well. so unless you're just super unlucky and happen to be the 1 in 10,000 that just happens to grow the exact right(wrong) type pathogenic bacteria id try looking for other causes.

 

[GlassMunky]

when you say that after doing the WC, you see RTN on some of the Acros, what exactly do you mean by that? do they start peeling flesh from the base? do the tips turn white?

 

[chicago]

2 inch areas of monti turn white.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

2 inch areas of monti turn white.

Did those areas regain color, or were they dead?

Montipora's are known to get burnt tips without adequate N and P at higher alk. Were you monitoring nitrate and phosphate?