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My 3-year old substrate

Costa

Member
Joined
20 Oct 2016
Messages
354
Location
Athens, Greece
Hi all, this is how my substrate looks like, 3 years after putting it in. Is this normal or am I about to run into trouble?

It's a mix of sand and Cal Aqua Black Earth Premium. The sand was placed around the sides of the tank, and the planting substrate was in the middle.



IMG_20181111_200224.jpg
IMG_20181111_200245.jpg
 
Looks fine, that's just where the edge is exposed to the light. If you don't like how it looks you might be able to clean it up with a old credit card (careful not to trap substrate between card and glass and scratch it). Or if you cover it over for a week with some strips of cardboard it will kill off the algae.
 
Ok thank you guys. I'm not so much worried about the looks but mainly about the build up of any poisonous gases or the dreaded anaerobic bacteria.
 
Ok thank you guys. I'm not so much worried about the looks but mainly about the build up of any poisonous gases or the dreaded anaerobic bacteria.

Hi Costa,

I wouldn't worry about it.
"deadly gas pockets" are the boogymen of the substrate world IMHO.

Fil
 
Hi Costa,

I wouldn't worry about it.
"deadly gas pockets" are the boogymen of the substrate world IMHO.

Fil
I wish
All livestock spiralling within 60s
Managed to remove some still alive but they were all dead 10min later

No noticeable smell or visible bubble release
I was just removing the usual Vallisneria shoots - only difference I could think of was that it had been a few months so deeper, more extensive roots - & obviously more Vallisneria plants coming up

Since then I always remove livestock before changing much about in my tanks, and add additional Prime doses if I’m adjusting any plants
 
Nothing measurable

That was fairly early on in my fish/plant keeping and I still had every kit available (as I’d run tests in the lab to sort out if any of them were at all decent)

Note that even surprisingly high levels of ammonia doesn’t kill anywhere near this fast
And removal to clean water will usually see fish recover
 
dreaded anaerobic bacteria.
Sorry about your loss. Many years ago I had a tank substrate go 'bad'. Since then always run undergravel filters. Plants don't mind and root feeders like Cryptocorynes do very well with water column fertilization. Even small natural aquatic environments are massive compared with the largest of home aquaria which can be tipped out of balance.
 
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