Nitrate bubbles

bnicholson · 01/10/2010, 10:51 PM

Hello,

I have a 120G tank that I bought used about 2 months ago.

I added a 4-6" sandbed on top of the crush coral that it had when I bought the tank. The sand is a mixture of Caribsea Select Grade & Suger fine.

Lately it has had bubbles like crazy. They aren't coming out of the return, they are definitely coming from the sandbed. If I move my hand thru the sandbed, it sands a wave of bubbles to the top.

It seems worse when the halides are on.

Is this normal? Will it stabilize a bit? It is rather obnoxious at the moment.

Tank currently has 0 nitrate, 0 nitrite, 0 amonino, KH of 12, and a PH of 8.2

Also, anyone have any feedback on the crushed coral underneath? Will that give me trouble in the long run?

Thanks!

bnicholson · 01/15/2010, 05:35 PM

Anyone?

cdbias2 · 01/15/2010, 05:41 PM

Normal for about a month.

bnicholson · 01/15/2010, 05:58 PM

Just curious, but anyone know why the halides being on make the bubbles worse? There is almost no bubbling with just the T5's but after the halides have been on for a few hours it looks like I have a massive airstone going.

Anybody have any feedback on having 3/4" of crushed coral underneath 4" of sand?

mandingCa · 01/15/2010, 06:00 PM

the bubbles are likely C02, the byproduct of nitrate. it is about to be diffused and exit your system...nitrogen cycle.

Sometimes if you add a DSB on top of an existing sand bed it will increase the bubbles, but then it will reduce over time.

LifeAquatic · 01/15/2010, 06:31 PM

Ive read in the past that it is not good to add a thick layer of sand to an established sand bed. Cant remeber why, but it would be worth checking into for the future.

bertoni · 01/15/2010, 07:00 PM

I suspect they are oxygen bubbles, as a byproduct of photosynthesis. That's why the light causes more of them.

The outgassing from nitrate reduction is nitrogen.

01/10/2010, 10:51 PM	#1
bnicholson Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Posts: 31	Nitrate bubbles Hello, I have a 120G tank that I bought used about 2 months ago. I added a 4-6" sandbed on top of the crush coral that it had when I bought the tank. The sand is a mixture of Caribsea Select Grade & Suger fine. Lately it has had bubbles like crazy. They aren't coming out of the return, they are definitely coming from the sandbed. If I move my hand thru the sandbed, it sands a wave of bubbles to the top. It seems worse when the halides are on. Is this normal? Will it stabilize a bit? It is rather obnoxious at the moment. Tank currently has 0 nitrate, 0 nitrite, 0 amonino, KH of 12, and a PH of 8.2 Also, anyone have any feedback on the crushed coral underneath? Will that give me trouble in the long run? Thanks! __________________ _______________________________ 120G Saltwater with 50g Sump 90G planted South American cichlid tank 30g planted frog & newt tank

01/15/2010, 05:35 PM	#2
bnicholson Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Posts: 31	Anyone? __________________ _______________________________ 120G Saltwater with 50g Sump 90G planted South American cichlid tank 30g planted frog & newt tank

01/15/2010, 05:58 PM	#4
bnicholson Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Posts: 31	Just curious, but anyone know why the halides being on make the bubbles worse? There is almost no bubbling with just the T5's but after the halides have been on for a few hours it looks like I have a massive airstone going. Anybody have any feedback on having 3/4" of crushed coral underneath 4" of sand? __________________ _______________________________ 120G Saltwater with 50g Sump 90G planted South American cichlid tank 30g planted frog & newt tank

01/15/2010, 07:00 PM	#7
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I suspect they are oxygen bubbles, as a byproduct of photosynthesis. That's why the light causes more of them. The outgassing from nitrate reduction is nitrogen. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/15/2010, 05:41 PM	#3
cdbias2 Appalachian Reef Society Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Alum Creek, WV (No more) Posts: 1,433	Normal for about a month.

01/15/2010, 06:00 PM	#5
mandingCa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 119	the bubbles are likely C02, the byproduct of nitrate. it is about to be diffused and exit your system...nitrogen cycle. Sometimes if you add a DSB on top of an existing sand bed it will increase the bubbles, but then it will reduce over time.

01/15/2010, 06:31 PM	#6
LifeAquatic Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 922	Ive read in the past that it is not good to add a thick layer of sand to an established sand bed. Cant remeber why, but it would be worth checking into for the future.