Ok, I give up, bubbles in sand

jonnywater

jonnywater

Member
Why do I keep having bubbles form about 1/2 to 2 inches down in my sand bed? Is it the nitrification process or something? I have seen a lot of tanks but not many with bubbles in the sand. I hope they arent bad. If I stir the sand and make them come up to the surface, they are just there again 20 minutes later.
 
dburr

dburr

Active Member
DO NOT STIR THE SAND.
Your bed is working, the bubbles are good and they will come out on their own.
 
jumpfrog

jumpfrog

Active Member
Could be the end of the nitrogen cycle (a good thing). In a deep sand bed set up the nitrates deep within the sand bed turn to nitrogen gas. This can be released and you'll see the nitrogen bubbles rise to the surface. If you're sure the bubbles are coming from below the sand then that's my best guest. You may have some animals in the sand bed that are moving around. At some point they dislodge the nitrogen and it escapes.
It all sounds good to me.
Others' thoughts?
 
jonnywater

jonnywater

Member
Its been doing it for a month or so now. I just started getting annoyed at it, not very good looking. I have about 40 nassarius vibex, 2 tongan fighting conchs and a sand sifting sea star. The bubbles mostly just stay there and gather. Then I run something along the glass in the front just because it looks bad - and they float to the surface. There are also some green patches in the sand bed (down a little) and some red patches (down in the sandbed too). I also have what looks like hair thin spaghetti all around the sand bed that I can see through the front of the glass. Everything seems fine. All my snails are releasing "gambits" or whatever they are called and my nassarius are laying eggs on the glass. My dwarf Zebras are hanging out together (two by two) in little caves. My sand sifter has been in there for about 2 months and is still very active.
 
jumpfrog

jumpfrog

Active Member
Ah, now that changes things a bit. As you probably know algea is a plant that consumes co2 and respirates o2. What you are probably seeing is 02 being released from the algea.
One way to check is to look at the tank just after the lights come on. Are the bubbles there? Then check towards the end of the lighting cycle. Are you now seeing bubbles? If so, then you're seeing breathing.
It won't go away until the algea is removed and that's a whole nother topic.
 
jonnywater

jonnywater

Member
Well, just for reference. My tank is 50 inches long and the algae only covers about 5 inches of that in the front. The bubbles are there 24/7. Then the bubbles are also formed even in the shallowest areas of my sand bed (around an inch) and there is no algae there.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
If you'd like to clean glass below the sand that's fine. Just run a plastic card along it. It won't stir up enough to harm anything.
 
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