Black Sand

[Noahs ark6]

hi.

i have sand as my substrate, but when i dug to the bottom of it, it was black, and stunk of sulpher, it's not fish waste but i don't know what to do.
thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

Your sand has bot a load of anaerobic bacteria trapped in it, that's all. From everything I've read it's unlikely to harm your fish (I've seen people say it can, and seen people say it can't), but it's not nice. syphon the sand out, wash it well in hot water and you should be able to put it back in.

To stop it happening again you need to stir your sand through when you're doing your water changes; just running your fingers through it or use a fork or spoon to give it a move about. You could add some Malaysian trumpet snails, or even cories or loaches, to help keep it turned over; depends on what you want and your set up.

 

[ron4sum1]

Sulphur smell? Could it be Hydrogen Sulphide, a rotten egg smell? If your sand is deep, you need to agitate it sometimes because some anaerobic bacteria can grow beneath.

You can start rinsing them again (I assume you don't have fish in that aquarium since you can smell it ). And put it back it, let it rest and install filter etc. You can also test the water parameters to see if there might be any chemical that might pose any danger to your fish !