sand turning black?

rajkovich207 · 09/18/2011, 01:26 PM

So I set up a small fuge, after it cycled externally for about a week I added another inch of sand. I let it continue cycling for another two weeks with a piece of live rock and what is now about 3" of sand, it has an activated carbon/zeolite mix in it but the ammonia had reached over 4ppm and the white sand had started to turn black and smell like a lake so i tore it down and started over again. I do not have pictures before I tore it down, but I was wondering if anyone knows why this might have happened as I would like to have another attempt at cycling it while its not connected to my tank. I have broken it down and boiled the sand and rocks to sanitize so that I can start the process over again. Thank you in advance, Tony.

Sk8r · 09/18/2011, 01:30 PM

Yep. Bad stuff. Rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulfide. Not enough flow. [I keep hearing about limiting flow in the fuge, and I'm dubious. My 20 + g fuge gets the force of a 1 and 1/2 inch downflow from a 10 foot drop driven by an Iwaki 100, admittedly a little throttled back, but that's FLOW.] You've gone to too much work, and your sand and rock will have to cycle again, sorry to say. Add it back in slowly, 1/10 of mass every week for 10 weeks and let your tank do it. What you need down there is some nassarius snails, that work under the sand to keep it clean. Maybe some crabs, regular snails, brittle stars, etc.

Todd_Sails · 09/18/2011, 01:34 PM

Is this why I don't have a 'fuge'?

Sk8r · 09/18/2011, 02:37 PM

It's very rare for this to happen. Just don't make it a standing pool, and have some cleaners down there. I recommend flow. A fair amount of it.

mc-cro · 09/18/2011, 07:09 PM

If I understand correctly, you added another inch of sand on top of existing live sand?

if that is so, then basically you smothered it. (in its most basic terms) Its got nothing to do with the amount of flow.

Yes it is hydrogen sulfide, and yes it is bad.

same thing can happen if you put a piece of rock on top of live sand, or if you put a piece of live rock down into the sand.

Microcosmos · 09/18/2011, 07:38 PM

Sounds like anaerobic bacteria somehow managed to get a foothold on the surface of the sand. However it happened (not enough flow, an extra layer of sand trapping it in there), it's not detrimental to a tank unless disturbed--it's just nasty-looking. If you break open any piece of live rock or lift a piece from sand that it has been embedded in for a long time, you will see (and smell) the same thing: anaerobic bacteria just trying to get by. Since you went and boiled everything you will definitely have a new cycle, since all that live stuff is now dead and will rot. Next time I recommend: 1. more flow; 2. add all sand at once and then don't disturb it. Or better yet: if you don't plan to have anything that needs sand to live (burrowing critters) then you can skip the sand altogether. LR can handle the task of biological filtration just fine all by itself, and won't release sulphur compounds whenever you try to move it. (My 2¢!

)

rajkovich207 · 09/18/2011, 08:10 PM

My DT is 5.5 gallons and I do have a sand sifting snail in there, but the fuge is made out of a 1 gallon jerry rigged gold fish bowl that is fed by a Rio pump doing about 60gph or so. I intended to kill everything with the boil, but I wanted the sand bed to be a "deep sand bed," and contain some macro algae and I figured this would be to small to hold the snail I have now. Would just recycling be ok? Or do I NEED to get a new stronger pump to feed the fuge?

Microcosmos · 09/18/2011, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajkovich207

My DT is 5.5 gallons and I do have a sand sifting snail in there, but the fuge is made out of a 1 gallon jerry rigged gold fish bowl that is fed by a Rio pump doing about 60gph or so. I intended to kill everything with the boil, but I wanted the sand bed to be a "deep sand bed," and contain some macro algae and I figured this would be to small to hold the snail I have now. Would just recycling be ok? Or do I NEED to get a new stronger pump to feed the fuge?

Hmmm...I think recycling would be fine...it would help us all to understand what you've got going on there if we could see a pic though...doesn't have to be good quality, just want to get the jist of your setup. I don't think you would have had anything toxic in there if it wasn't disturbed, like I said before, just not pretty to look at. But if you're going to try to grow stuff in there then yeah maybe some extra flow would be appreciated by whatever you are growing besides bacteria, which isn't so picky.

09/18/2011, 01:26 PM	#1
rajkovich207 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 177	sand turning black? So I set up a small fuge, after it cycled externally for about a week I added another inch of sand. I let it continue cycling for another two weeks with a piece of live rock and what is now about 3" of sand, it has an activated carbon/zeolite mix in it but the ammonia had reached over 4ppm and the white sand had started to turn black and smell like a lake so i tore it down and started over again. I do not have pictures before I tore it down, but I was wondering if anyone knows why this might have happened as I would like to have another attempt at cycling it while its not connected to my tank. I have broken it down and boiled the sand and rocks to sanitize so that I can start the process over again. Thank you in advance, Tony.

09/18/2011, 01:30 PM	#2
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Yep. Bad stuff. Rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulfide. Not enough flow. [I keep hearing about limiting flow in the fuge, and I'm dubious. My 20 + g fuge gets the force of a 1 and 1/2 inch downflow from a 10 foot drop driven by an Iwaki 100, admittedly a little throttled back, but that's FLOW.] You've gone to too much work, and your sand and rock will have to cycle again, sorry to say. Add it back in slowly, 1/10 of mass every week for 10 weeks and let your tank do it. What you need down there is some nassarius snails, that work under the sand to keep it clean. Maybe some crabs, regular snails, brittle stars, etc. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

09/18/2011, 02:37 PM	#4
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	It's very rare for this to happen. Just don't make it a standing pool, and have some cleaners down there. I recommend flow. A fair amount of it. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

09/18/2011, 07:09 PM	#5
mc-cro (macro) Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 2,238	If I understand correctly, you added another inch of sand on top of existing live sand? if that is so, then basically you smothered it. (in its most basic terms) Its got nothing to do with the amount of flow. Yes it is hydrogen sulfide, and yes it is bad. same thing can happen if you put a piece of rock on top of live sand, or if you put a piece of live rock down into the sand. __________________ Time is the most valuable thing you have... spend it wisely Current Tank Info: 60x26x24 AGE 3 sided starphire

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09/18/2011, 01:34 PM	#3
Todd_Sails Moved On Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: A Texan in Franklin WI. Posts: 443	Is this why I don't have a 'fuge'?

09/18/2011, 07:38 PM	#6
Microcosmos Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Hagerstown, MD, USA Posts: 328	Sounds like anaerobic bacteria somehow managed to get a foothold on the surface of the sand. However it happened (not enough flow, an extra layer of sand trapping it in there), it's not detrimental to a tank unless disturbed--it's just nasty-looking. If you break open any piece of live rock or lift a piece from sand that it has been embedded in for a long time, you will see (and smell) the same thing: anaerobic bacteria just trying to get by. Since you went and boiled everything you will definitely have a new cycle, since all that live stuff is now dead and will rot. Next time I recommend: 1. more flow; 2. add all sand at once and then don't disturb it. Or better yet: if you don't plan to have anything that needs sand to live (burrowing critters) then you can skip the sand altogether. LR can handle the task of biological filtration just fine all by itself, and won't release sulphur compounds whenever you try to move it. (My 2¢! )

09/18/2011, 08:10 PM	#7
rajkovich207 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 177	My DT is 5.5 gallons and I do have a sand sifting snail in there, but the fuge is made out of a 1 gallon jerry rigged gold fish bowl that is fed by a Rio pump doing about 60gph or so. I intended to kill everything with the boil, but I wanted the sand bed to be a "deep sand bed," and contain some macro algae and I figured this would be to small to hold the snail I have now. Would just recycling be ok? Or do I NEED to get a new stronger pump to feed the fuge?