Poisonous Gas?

[dkk08]

I've read this before I think... izzit some kinda poisonous gas building up in the sand bed? How to rid them?

[somebody]

fwah! so scary... i also wanna know...

sometimes when i stir my sandbed, got bubbles come out, but ithink they are just CO2, residual air from the bacteria doing their work. haha.

[dreamzcape]

bro read blueheaven's sandbed article...if not wrong that guess probably N2 or O2

[Terryz_]

Those gas pockets are either nitrogen gas or oxygen... The poisonous one are the black-ish patches in your sandbed... I forgotten what is it liao.. hydrogen sulpide or something like that...

[dkk08]

Those gas pockets are either nitrogen gas or oxygen... The poisonous one are the black-ish patches in your sandbed... I forgotten what is it liao.. hydrogen sulpide or something like that...

so meaning the gas in my sandbed is bad lar... hmmm ok will go read up on them... scary...

[Terryz_]

The bacteria in your sandbed will convert nitrate to nitrogen gas if it is mature and it will produce the sulphide thingy that is poisonous to fishes... The nitrogen gas dun really affect the fishes as nitrogen gas is harmless...

Anyway just dun disturb your sandbed if you can... Let the gas escape it self...

[dkk08]

The bacteria in your sandbed will convert nitrate to nitrogen gas if it is mature and it will produce the sulphide thingy that is poisonous to fishes... The nitrogen gas dun really affect the fishes as nitrogen gas is harmless...

Anyway just dun disturb your sandbed if you can... Let the gas escape it self...

hmmm got it thanks Terryz

[atos]

Hi,

Well, we can say from the pick, it is some kind of gas. I do not belive is O2 , because in deep sand it is virtualy imposible to be present, so coul be nitrogen gas converted by bacteria? I doubt so, I belive it is an Hydrogen sulfide , very very, bad and poissonious gas. It is a product of the so called hemosintezis, the proce that is contrary to fotosyntesis, the one that were present bilions of years ago on the earth when there was no oxygen, like in the deep sand bad. The bacteria develop the abilyti in tha lack of the oxygen to extract non carbon comapounds like hidrogen and produced the hydrogen sulfude gas.

My toughts

[angelfish]

yup, H2S is poisonous if accumulate in very large qty. but if your tank doesn't have the rotten egg smell, it hasn't gone up to poisonous level yet (read it in a sandbed article)

[atos]

Yap...not dangerous in samll quantites, however you do not know when it goes to much..

[dkk08]

Yap...not dangerous in samll quantites, however you do not know when it goes to much..

So how to get rid of it? I've been changing 10-20% of my water everyweek...

[blueheaven]

If you have read my article, the black stuff is not hydrogen sulphide as H2S is a gas and not a ppt.

The black stuff is iron sulphide and unless you do not stir it and release it into your system, it should be ok

[angelfish]

H2S will become toxic far beyond the smell, as long as you're not getting any of those rotten egg smell in your tank water. it should be ok

[blueheaven]

As long as you do not have an obscenely thick sandbed, you would not have to worry about H2S

[dkk08]

As long as you do not have an obscenely thick sandbed, you would not have to worry about H2S

Er how does 2.5-3in sound? Sighz think I'll need all the help I can get as well as suggestions... thinking of upgrading my 2ft tanks to better 2ft tanks (as they're both 2nd hands 6mm thick)... already am upgrading to a 4ft T5 and getting a prizm n via aqua skimmer soon... I think its maybe I'll start a new thread on it...

[atos]

Just my opinion 3 inch is deep, yet as I can see it is very fine granulation, from my point of view this setup are just a terible nutrition traps. I dont want to start here a debate abouth DSB or not....

[blueheaven]

It's all stated and explained in my article

[May&Bruce]

Poisonous gas from ...bed? Sounds like what my wife complains about every morning!

But seriously, how big a problem is H2S? There are a lot of DSB tanks around that have been running for years. I have a 5 foot tank that I set up with a plenum and 5 inches of sand (as recommended by the guru Jaubert). I hope I don't have an H2S problem in the future.......