Sand bubbles???

[aldog51]

I have hundreds of bubbles in my sand. They come out of the sand by themselves and when hermits walk over the sand. What the hell is it???

 

[michael7979]

They might be pockets of air that get trapped by pods digging in the sand and get released later as you said.

 

[dreeves]

How deep is your sand bed?

 

[dburr]

That is your sandbed working. It's doing whats it's suposed to do.
It breaks down nitrates to a gas and bubbles out of the bed.
Don't disturb it.
HTH

 

[thomas712]

It all depends on factors here.
Like was said, how deep is the sand bed?
How old is the sand bed?
Did you just upgrade lighting by chance?
Was the sand bed added in a dry state or pre cured?
What kind of sand is it?
There are algae and bacteria that can create there own oxygen as well that might be forming on top of your sand bed.
Thomas

 

[aldog51]

My sandbed is about 3 inches and I did upgrade my lighting to metal halide.

 

[aldog51]

And my sandbed is about a year old.

 

[thomas712]

Originally posted by aldog51
My sandbed is about 3 inches and I did upgrade my lighting to metal halide.
Sounds like the new lighting may be causing some of it. With new lights you normally get new algae growth. This new algae can form its own oxygen. It can also be caused by the DSB breaking down your nitrates into nitrogen.

 

[aldog51]

Is that a good thing??? The sand breaking down the nitrates to nitrogen??

 

[thomas712]

Originally posted by aldog51
Is that a good thing??? The sand breaking down the nitrates to nitrogen??
Yes perfectly normal and desired for it to finish the nitrogen cycle.
amonia breaks down to nitrites, then to nitrates then to a nitrogen gas that escapes the aquarium.
Thomas