What am I doing?
Well, first off I would just like to say I'm very excited to be able to work with you guys. I am looking forward to you guys being able to guide me in the right direction. My science fair is about Hydrogen Peroxide (H202). I have already researched Hydrogen Peroxide to a certain amount, however I still have more research to do. First I would like to explain the research I have already done. Hydrogen Peroxide (H202) is the simplest peroxide (Peroxide is a compound with an oxygen-oxygen single bond). Hydrogen Peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent, but has anyone thought of using it as a “super” additive for reef aquariums? Well some people have but not many.
What research have I gathered?
From the information I have already gathered Hydrogen Peroxide can do many things in the reef aquarium, the following is what Hydrogen Peroxide is said to do. Hydrogen Peroxide will oxidate ammonia to nitrate there for lowering your overall ammonia but raising your nitrate. Hydrogen Peroxide can also be used as coral dip. It is said to kill algae off within 30 seconds of the coral being in the mix of Hydrogen Peroxide and water from your tank (50/50 mixture) However it isn't clear if it kills unwanted pests such as flat worms nudi branches etc; I hope to find that out in my project. Hydrogen peroxide used as a dip is thought to actually make Zoas happier and cause them to open more often, (I need to research more on dipping LPS corals in the mix and will explain how later) however SPS are very sensitive to hydrogen peroxide dips and most will start to lose flesh within 30 seconds coral minute It is also thought to boost the growth rate and the color of all color including SPS, however not a lot of people have tested with this so it could be a coincidence, I hope to test this in my project too. The last thing that I have researched so far is that it can kill dinoflagellates. These creatures are actually microscopic plankton that are very tough to get rid of. However some reefers have attempted with a Hydrogen Peroxide dosing into their tanks. Many people have had excellent results using Hydrogen Peroxide to kill dinoflagellates, and it has been "decided" that the dosage amount is 1 ml per 10 gallons. Could Hydrogen Peroxide be dosed in your tank long term? Some aren't committed because they think the Hydrogen Peroxide will kill all their good bacteria, however it shouldn't penetrate it as it only kills free swimmers like dinoflagellates.
How do I plan to continue to research?
That is all the research I have done so far. I want to further research If this chemical can kill aiptasia. I plan to research this on the website reef2reef.com. This site has some good information on the use of Hydrogen Peroxide. I'm also hoping to be able to talk with some local reefers who have done this. Then of course find research from my project I plan to do in the future. My other subject I plan to research is if I smothered unwanted algae with a syringe would it die or have no affect? Again the website reef2reef has some good information about this and I plan to study their info. And of course gain research through my project I plan to do as well. I plant to combine all of the information I gather through my research and various trials to bring me to my hypothesis and conclusion.
What do I plan to do?
I will carry out my experiment with 2 JBJ Picotope 3 Gallon Aquariums. I want to use these aquariums for all the experiments and would "redo" them once the current experiment is done. I plan to have 1 experiment running at a time, We only have a 4 month period to do the experiments so I planned out a schedule of experiments. I plan that the first experiment I am going to do is going to be the color and growth of corals while dosing Hydrogen Peroxide. I plan on doing this over a two month period. (This does not include time for the tanks to cycle, but this is just a "rough draft" of a schedule) This longer period will give minimal growth and coloration for corals. In one tank I will have some coral (not decided on which ones yet), and in the other tank I will have the same corals. I am undecided on my main variables at this moment but that is subject to change. I plan to take daily observations of the selected corals color and growth and of parameters in a journal that is for recording data. That would conclude this experiment. I would then empty the tanks wash them and the rock out and "restart". My second experiment would be testing if Hydrogen Peroxide can decrease the amount of ammonia. I would set up the tanks as normal however what I haven't decided yet is how I plan to raise the ammonia in each of the tanks. I am thinking one of two options; the first one would be to create a cycle in both tanks or to add a piece of raw shrimp into both the tanks. I plan to do this in both aquariums however in one aquarium I would be dosing more Hydrogen Peroxide then the other. I would do this for only one month. I am thinking about (but not sure) on putting corals inside the tanks to make sure the doses of Hydrogen Peroxide will have an affect on corals. I would test the ammonia every day with an API ammonia test kit and watch for increases and decreases, and I would record the information in my journal. I would run this experiment for 1 month for accurate results. The next experiment I plan to do is test if Hydrogen Peroxide can kill dinoflagellates. I again would empty the tank and rinse it then start the tanks again. I plan to collect the dinoflagellates from a local reefer who is currently battling them. I would then split the dinoflagellates up evenly and put one half in one tank and one half in the other. I am thinking of letting the algae grow for one week and dosing for 2 weeks then for the fourth week I would see if the algae comes back. In this experiment I want one tank to have the light on and the other to have it off and see if it affects the algae. I would record if algae recedes or increases. For the last 3 experiments I would do them at the same time. I could do this because these experiments do not require the use of aquariums. The one I would do first (though it doesn't really matter) would be the coral dip. I plan to use a specimen sample cup with a 50/50 mix of Hydrogen Peroxide and tank water. I hope I can get a hold of some pest such as flatworms or unwanted nudibranches and let them attach to the frag plug. I would use the 50/50 mixture and see if the flatworms or nudibranches go off the frag plug. If I can't get a hold of any of those I would just use a bristle worm. I would do this project 3 times to make sure it is consistent. I would use the same coral and the same type of frag plugs. I plan to also wait a week after doing the dip to make sure the coral survives. And I would of course record the affects of the mixture. The second to last experiment I plan to do would be, if you smother Hydrogen Peroxide on algae will the algae die. In this I would do the experiment in a bagging *cup. I would take some algae and put it in the bin. I would put some water in the bin and then take a syringe and smother the algae with Hydrogen Peroxide and see if there's a difference. I would do this a second time , the same procedure but this time without water in the cup. In this experiment I would record by putting the algae in water and than waiting one week to see if it recedes or increases growth. The last experiment would be, can Hydrogen Peroxide kill aiptasia. I have a few aiptasia that could be used for the experiment. I would fill the fish bagging cup with water and then put one aiptasia in it. I would then let the aiptasia extend fully. After that I would fill a syringe up with Hydrogen Peroxide and inject it in to the aiptasia. I would then observe it for the next 10-20 minutes (not sure how long yet), I then would record the observations I made. I plan to do this experiment 2-3 times. All the experiments above are sub-points to my hypothesis and conclusion. Then wrapping up the 4 Month period I would be done with all my experiments.