Peroxide Into Res Question

I read a few thread while back about hadding peroxide to watre for extra oxygen boot.I know there are 2 kinds was curious if the lower solution at most stores was usable and in what per gallon strength?

I use H2O2 to kill pathogens (bacteria, fungi) in my tanks. I use the 50% horticultural grade H2O2 available from many hydro shops. 50% H2O2 is a very strong oxidiser and can give you some nasty chemical burns, so use gloves & gogs with the strong stuff. This grade is used at 1ml per 1 litre of tank volume every 3-4 days.

If you can only get 3% pharmacy grade, use 17ml per litre every 3-4 days. Some pharmacies sell a 6% mixture, which can be used at 8ml per litre.

The stuff you can get at your local pharmacy has a stabilizer in it that isn't great for the delicate roots of your plants. Your far better off with the horticultural grade, but watch out for the burns! I ended up in the hospital because I spilled that shit on my pants and thought, like and idiot, "ahh it will be ok." 5 min later my neighbor knocked on my door to see if I was ok due to the screams he heard... but thats what I get for toking up before I change my nutrients.

nt, eeeek, poor you! There's a mistake you won't make twice!

Didn't know about the stabiliser in the pharmacy grade. Thanks for that.

Hydro shops are money factories- they buy in bulk and repackage for retail. They make OODLES of cash on H2O2 this way; a 25L carboy jug of 50% H2O2 sells for about $100, but shops repackage into 1L and smaller bottles and sell it at an immense markup. I've seen 500ml for $15-20 from the greedier bastards. Even know of one hydro shop which was diluting the stuff with 50% water... assholes.

Nothing stopping you from buying in bulk, too. Buy a 25L jug straight from a local chem supply house if you can swing it. Lasts a good long time in storage. Even a fairly big op will take a while to use that quantity. You may have to get a business tax file number or open a commercial account with the chem supply house, but it's worth it.

Is peroxide even nessesscary?

It's not absolutely necessary, but H2O2 is one of the better ways to kill pathogens in hydro nutes because it breaks down into hydrogen and oxygen when in contact with organic debris or pathogens. Some of the O2 stays in solution and oxygenates roots as something of a side benefit. The main purpose of using H2O2 is pathogen control in plant food-rich nute solutions.

Thanks for the explaining, i have plenty of o2 in my res, and i'm not too worried about pathogen's, or should i be?

You probably should be doing something to control pathogens unless you change your tanks so frequently that the chlorine in the tapwater is enough to control them.

Chlorine evaporates fairly rapidly, the amount of time is dependent upon the size of the tank and the surface area exposed to atmosphere. As soon as the chlorine is evaporated down to a certain level, fungi & algae spores floating in the air will begin to colonise the water. I wouldn't expect chlorine as applied by your water utility to protect a tank of water for more than 2-5 days depending on size.

Most pathogens are invisible until they've gathered in great numbers in your nute sauce. Even a plain bowl of water left out for a few days will begin to feel slimy on the bottom as pathogens accumulate in the water. Add light and nutrients and it's protozoa paradise!

I've used a chlorine-based pathogen control sauce before, but didn't have great luck with it. A slight overdosing of the tanks led to some plant damage. Moreover, this stuff didn't break down simply into hydrogen and oxygen.

While straight 50% H2O2 shouldn't come anywhere near your plants, they adore it when applied in proper concentration. Roots love the oxygen and don't have to compete for food with microflora in the nute solution.

If you're going to keep a tank of water for more than 4-5 days or so, you should be using some means of pathogen control. H2O2 works fairly well for the job.

hmmm now I have to find the good stuff.

Well, Al, I've never used the stuff, except occasionally to kill algae on the surface of rockwool.

In my res, when I've used chemical nutes, I've usually added an organic supplement. And now I use organic nutes, with organic supplements.

So what about the good critters in there? The organisms that I'm trying to use to help the roots? Does the super water kill those too? I've heard some say it does, and others say it doesn't.

Just curious about that. I've always done fine just changing the res every 2-3 weeks.

Glad to hear the opinions, i do have a slight slick slimey layer on certain things in my resivor. so if i did decide to use peroxide, don't use pharmacy bought peroxide?

potroast said:

In my res, when I've used chemical nutes, I've usually added an organic supplement. And now I use organic nutes, with organic supplements.

Click to expand...

Good point, potroast- you can't use H2O2 with organic nutes. H2O2 will break that stuff right down. H2O2 should only be used with chem nutes.

Good to hear. i use fox farms.. that could have been trouble

so is there anything i can/should be using in particular for the same effect against pathogens/etc?

russ0r said:

don't use pharmacy bought peroxide?

Click to expand...

That's the advice given up the thread a bit. I'd like to know more about the stabiliser agent used in the pharm grade H2O2. Anyone got linkage?

russ0r said:

Good to hear. i use fox farms.. that could have been trouble

so is there anything i can/should be using in particular for the same effect against pathogens/etc?

Click to expand...

Damn good question. I'm not an expert in organic hydroponics. There would have to be some sort of biological pathogen control available, perhaps a beneficial fungi, if such measures are not contained in organic nutes themselves.

This product claims to contain beneficial bacteria for pathogen control in organic systems:

Hydroguard Beneficial Bacteria at GardenWaves

Hydroguard Beneficial Bacteria
Defeat damping-off and root rot! Add Hydroguard water treatment to your nutrient solution and you automatically put four beneficial bacteria to work banishing fungus from your growing environment. Bacillus subtillus, Paenibacillus polymxa, Bacillus circulans, and Bacillus Amyloiquefaciens gobble up pathogenic bacteria and fungus that cause root rot problems. As they colonize your plant root zones, they strengthen and protect plants and form a barrier against damping-off disease and root rot. HydroGuard is especially effective when used with seedlings and cuttings and it's so versatile you can put it to work in soil or hydroponic and aeroponic systems.

Click to expand...

thanks al, instantly ordered it , needed some other goodies anyway.

russ0r, you know that it's now on you to come back and tell everyone whether the stuff works or not!

I sure don't have any experience with the stuff I mentioned- I just googled for 'organic hydroponics pathogen control' and that's what I got.

I know there's lots of people committed to organic growing... I'm just not one of them. I believe in better dope growing through chemistry!

Funnily enough, in my readings on the topic, I ran across this:

ORGANIC HYDROPONICS

SHS Acta Horticulturae 648: South Pacific Soilless Culture Conference - SPSCC ORGANIC HYDROPONICS

Authors: K. Atkin, M.A. Nichols Abstract:
At first sight “organic hydroponics” appears to be an oxymoron. There is considerable interest by consumers world-wide to purchase organic vegetables, but a considerable antagonism by organic producer councils to accept that it is possible to use hydroponic systems and still conform with the organic philosophies.

In fact by using nutrient solutions derived from acceptable organic sources, and using biological pathogen control measures, and recirculating hydroponic systems, a more sustainable system of crop production is possible than by using a “classical” soil based organic systems.

Our studies have shown that it is possible to produce lettuce using NFT with an organically derived nutrient solution, although growth is slower than when using a conventional inorganic hydroponic solution.

A critique of the current New Zealand organic standards is presented, which permit aquaculture, but disallow hydroponic produce from being labelled organic!

Click to expand...

Crazy effing Kiwis...

Yeah, HydroGuard is a good product, but....

GH's new Floralicious Plus has that stuff in it plus it's a kelp-based additive, and has some subcultures, too, as well as a bunch of other good stuff. I think basically it's HydroGuard and Liquid Karma together.

And it's quite a bit cheaper too.

i never did like the looks of GH stuff. don't ask me why, heh. i guess it looks to chemical for me, and i don't mind a little chemical. that's why i went with fox farms.