Haven't Stirred Sand In ~ 3 Months - What To Do?

[jiffy]

I have had a tank setup for about 3 months now with aragonite sand in it. The sand is up to about 3" deep in some spots, probably about 2" on average, and the tank has a bunch of large rocks.

I was reading some old posts and realized I should have been stirring the sand on occasion to prevent gas pockets. Since I have not done this yet, what will be the safest way for me to do this?

I was thinking of stirring/poking whatever sand I can get at with a stick, and then doing a large water change incase any gas is released, but I don't know if that is the best option.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jayjay]

I had a gas on these pockets after having set the tank up 4 days before I got the pockets. It turned patches of my sand black and smelt like sluphur, none of my fry died though. So I don't think they would kill your fish but it's proably better to stir it anyway.

 

[BigIan]

stir it, then do a water change and keep your eye on your fish your probably ok

 

[scubadoo]

yep - better out than in as they say!

When you stir the sand the vast majority of the gas will shoot to the surface and end up in the air not the water - so it could well stink if its hydrogen sulphide!

Most anaerobic reactions (which create the H2S) which occur should only be in areas where the sand is deeper than 2".

But as Ian said, a good water change afterwards should sort out any gas that does dissolve into the water.