Omg Exploding Substrate!

[CandyCoated100]

Arghh, Sittin on my laptop when i noticed clouds of smoke in my tank turns out the substrate has exploded wth? is this common... its plant substrate btw its been in the tank for about 2 months is there anything i should do ie change the water.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Air pockets?

-FHM

 

[CandyCoated100]

Really dunno... but if so doesnt that release harmful toxins?? Hope not.

 

[fatheadminnow]

It can, yes.

Lets see what other people have to say about it.

-FHM

 

[FWFishLover]

I agree with FHM air pockets are probably the problem.
is there any thing you can think of that would cause air compression in your substrates?

 

[back2Fish]

I had this problem with plant substrate many moons ago when I first started keeping live plants. It sounds as though your substrate had a build up of air, an air pocket as previously said, that finally broke through the surface. This gas that is released is potentially toxic, so you will want to keep a close watch on everything to make sure you don't have problems, complete water changes if necessary and keep a close eye on your plants and fish. You really need to make sure that your substrate is getting mixed, or stirred up, occasionally. I know this can be hard to do with live plants, but it must be done. If you are concerned about disturbing plant roots, mite I suggest some MTS, these little snails are great for stirring substrate, you should not get a population explosion if you are careful not to overfeed your tank. The other option is some loaches, they have also been known to help with stirring up the substrate. I wouldn't want to suggest a specific loach as I don't know how big your tank is, but if loaches is the way you want to go, then you can do a little research to determine which would be best for you.

 

[CandyCoated100]

Thanks for the advice!!! I really dont know why it happened but ive changed some water and it seems fine atm.. I have a bristlenose and a upside down catfish so dont really want any loaches but the snails seem like a good idea!! Im gonna be uprooting and completly re-scaping my tank soon so ill be sorting it all out then.

 

[fishnovice]

Thanks for the advice!!! I really dont know why it happened but ive changed some water and it seems fine atm.. I have a bristlenose and a upside down catfish so dont really want any loaches but the snails seem like a good idea!! Im gonna be uprooting and completly re-scaping my tank soon so ill be sorting it all out then.

MTS are brilliant -they keep my sand spotless and even finish off the veg I feed my mollies. They do breed fairly easily but won;t get out of control unless you really overfeed your fish

 

[Honeythorn]

Your bristlenose may have rooted something up and disturbed your substrate, or as they say, it may also be air pockets. MTS (Malaysian trumpet snails) do a great job of rootling through the substrate, and don't eat plants so they're a good addition to have in a tank.

Also, how heavily planted is your tank ? It may take a while but the roots of plants will do a great deal to break up the substrate and reduce air pockets. It could simply be that either you don't have enough plants, or the ones you have , haven't developed enough roots yet to really break up the substrate and dispel the air.

In the meantime I would suggest pricking any open areas of substrate with either a planting stick or a plastic fork, all over like you would a jacket potato This should help release any remaining air pockets without disturbing the substrate and making huge clouds of muck float up.

 

[Truck]

Air pockets are not a bad thing, they're actually beneficial, anaerobic bacteria can produce hydrogen sulphide and in the process convert nitrates to nitrogen which will gas off, yes the H2S is bad, but when it comes into contact with oxygen in an aqueous solution such as the water in our tanks, it oxidizes and forms sulphur dioxide and hydrogen, which are both harmless.

 

[CandyCoated100]

Yeah it could of been the bristlenose but idk.... i say "heavily" planted because its like a jungle with the seriously overgrown wisteria and vals i have seen a few snails in my tank but i believe there pond snails really dont know how there's any left tbh i fought my lovly Angelfish (Now in new tank) ate them all lol.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Air pockets are not a bad thing, they're actually beneficial, anaerobic bacteria can produce hydrogen sulphide and in the process convert nitrates to nitrogen which will gas off, yes the H2S is bad, but when it comes into contact with oxygen in an aqueous solution such as the water in our tanks, it oxidizes and forms sulphur dioxide and hydrogen, which are both harmless.

I thought this only happened in saltwater tanks? This is cool that that it can happen in a freshwater tank.

-FHM

 

[Truck]

Happens in both, hats why it will sometimes smell of rotting eggs when the substrate is disturbed.