Possible Problem

[jaylam]

So I done a water change today and as I was vacuuming the sand I noticed that the substrate has turned a blackish colour and the water coming out stank a bit.

I have about a 2" sandbed. I read this could be a buildup but at this point I had all ready moved most of the sand about cleaning it.

I am now expecting to wake up tomorrow and find everything dead is there anything I can do?

I am vodka dosing so that should help to fight off some of the toxins also I have set my skimmer to max to help try and pull some of it out.

 

[lewiss]

Have you got anymore fresh water to do another change?
Any ill effects on the fish that you can see m8?

 

[jaylam]

Have you got anymore fresh water to do another change?
Any ill effects on the fish that you can see m8?

No water, I buy mine mixed from the lfs.

As for the fish they all seem happy, my corals have closed but they normally do this time of night.

 

[ben1987]

Point powerheads up a bit and break waters surface as much as you can, unless you have fish that sleep next to a powerhead as you dont want them sticking. 2 inches of sand shouldnt realky cause a problem though

 

[dayzofspeed]

did it smell of rotten eggs jay?

 

[jaylam]

Powerheads done, rotten eggs yes a little bit.

Should I take my sand bed down to just 1"?

 

[jaylam]

well everything was still alive this morning and no ill signs.

Nitrite 0, Ammonia 0, Nitrate 10, Phosphate 0, pH 8.0

Very strange.

My question is should I take some of my gravel out so its not as deep? if so whats a safe depth? I believe I have crushed coral gravel not sand. Thats another question, should I take some of the crushed coral gravel out and start replacing it with sand slowly, is sand better?

Sorry for all the questions.

 

[ben1987]

2" should be fine...make it 1" if you like though.

glad its ok though, was thinking about this last night

 

[jaylam]

2" should be fine...make it 1" if you like though.

glad its ok though, was thinking about this last night

Well its very strange and im not sure what happened but last night as I was vacuuming the substrate it fell back down from the vacuum black and looking at the tank last night all the gravel was black, however this morning it appears to have gone back to its normal colour!!!

Im confused.

So having a 1" or 2" sandbed doesnt have any advantages I read so much on deep sand beds the pros and cons but no website can seem to come to a conclusions people just argue about one them both being better than the other.

 

[seffieuk]

Jay, dont start mucking about with your sandbed unless you intend taking everything out I suspect you just had a build up of nitrogen (that can smell of ammonia at high levels). Do you have a cuc that sift the sand?

 

[jaylam]

I was think of taking small lumps out every 2 weeks before water change and replacing it with sand.

I have a sand sifting star but that's the only sifter I have, my lfs don't ever have and sifting snails when I go there.

What sifters do u recommend?

 

[seffieuk]

What sifters do u recommend?

Well as you dont have a hawk or the like, why not some vibex or dove snails

 

[jaylam]

What sifters do u recommend?

Well as you dont have a hawk or the like, why not some vibex or dove snails

I would love some but my lfs snail selection is always rubbish