2 Weeks After Dirt Conversion, Sand Turning Black

Hi,

it has now been two weeks after my dirt conversion and everything is going great (i think) Even though i havent seen any improvements on my plant growth, I was happy with the way it looked. Until couple of days ago.

I started seeing black spots on my sand. I dug a little bit deep and found more black spots.

These plack spots are like the white sand changing into black sand!!! No, when i bought the sand, the sand was all white!

So today i was adding some more plants, and i saw more plack spots. Any idea what could be causing this?

And no, the black stuff is not the dirt!!!

Below is a rough idea of what my substrate looks like,

index

wwwwwwwwwwwwwww w = White Sand

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb b = Turning black sand

wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwm = Dirt

mmmmmmmmmmmm

You can see the blackstuff on the video... Its right next to my microsword!!!

I have used some more white sand to cover the black sand up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEBqsRVSA1Y

This is the sand i used;

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=quikrete+pool+filter+sand&...

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Permalink Reply by PK on August 10, 2011 at 11:18pm

That doesnt explain why my sand is turning black!

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Permalink Reply by PK on August 10, 2011 at 11:18pm

Plus, Changing sand to gravel would be be a difficult process!!!

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Permalink Reply by Hmoobthor on August 11, 2011 at 8:09am

gases building up from the dirt and causing the sand to turn black.

Cause you have a thick layer of sand...air can't get in much..stir it up would help

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Permalink Reply by 2apes2gp667wr on August 11, 2011 at 8:30am

This is copied and pasted from another thread cause I don't feel like typing it all out again, but should pertain to what you are talking about.

When plant matter and detritus get into the soil anaerobic bacteria start to feed on them. A byproduct of their feeding are gasses that get trapped in pockets under the soil. If the bubbles have a rotten egg smell when they reach the surface that is bad (hydrogen sulfide) can also get some methane and I think ammonia. All of these will kill. I am still getting bubbles from my dirt and it's been a couple of months, but no smell. So I am sure it is just O2 and CO2 in the dirt. Get something that burrows in the substrate Malaysian trumpet snails, freshwater clams these will stir up the dirt when they dig and prevent air pockets from forming, but they move so slowly that they won't make a mess of the dirt.

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Permalink Reply by PK on August 11, 2011 at 8:39am

Thanks for all the replies guys!!! it might be because of the anearobic pockets... Everytime i push down the sand with my palm, alot of air bubbles starts coming out from everywhere!!!!

An inch of sand for an inch of dirt!! That was the rule i followed... Maybe i should have done 3/4 inch of sand for an inch of dirt huh????

I'll take the excess sand our this weekend... Probably the excess sand will be all the black stuff!!!! Thanks for the replies again guys!!!

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Permalink Reply by PK on August 11, 2011 at 8:41am

how many snails should i get for this 40g?

And where from? My lfs dont have them!

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Permalink Reply by 2apes2gp667wr on August 11, 2011 at 12:35pm

It's not the depth of the sand that is the problem, it's the fact that is compact and doesn't let gas escape. Don't put more on top. I put 25 MTS in a 46 gallon and I have no problems. Just letting you know in advance if your water conditions are right and you have nothing to eat snail children, they will overrun your tank.