sand discolouration

[silvershark]

i was cleaning out my tank last night, and when i sifted through the sand, the stuff at the bottom was sort of grey coloured, is this normal or should i be worried? it was maily around the plant roots, so is this what caused it?? any ideas, or similar experience anyone??

 

[The-Wolf]

this is where the dangerouse bacteria has built up.
how deep is the sand and how often do you stir it up?

 

[simonbrown403]

Its where its going anarobic, and the bacteria is converting the nitrate to nitrogen gas, you should defenty give it a stir, to release traped gas.

 

[silvershark]

this is where the dangerouse bacteria has built up.
how deep is the sand and how often do you stir it up?

it was only about 2.5-3 cm deep and i stir most of it up every week, however, i have lowere the level by about 1cm.

how are you supposed to stir the sand underneath plants etc???

will my fish be ok???

i'm a little worried now...

 

[Paul_MTS]

odd, i had this in silica sand where ever i used iron root tabs for plants.

i put it down to them as i had 7 banjo cats in the tank doing the sifting.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Take the plants out and give the sand a thorough stir up making sure any compact areas of the sand get mixed up; i would then do a 30% water change after that and put the plants back in

 

[silvershark]

Take the plants out and give the sand a thorough stir up making sure any compact areas of the sand get mixed up; i would then do a 30% water change after that and put the plants back in

yeah i did that but took a few of the plants out semi-permanent and put them into my new 55g, at least till they get some stronger roots, that way i can keep an eye on the sand too...

i think i might stick to gravel with my new tank, however i DID want to keep some more cories in there with the discus so sand is still an option...

 

[simonbrown403]

i use a chop stick just get in and wiggle it about abit to release the trapped gas, its only a problem if you have lots of small plants that are lightly rooted,