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Sand as bottom layer sure to create toxic gasses?

Thank you, Darrel. Very consoling.
This is what the tank looks like with out the floating weave of egeria now removed. Would be so sad to have to rip it all apart and start all over.
 

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FrozenShivers said:
Am I correct in thinking that this is less of an issue if it's a thin layer of sand, for example 2-3 cm at the front of the tank? Is there any visible signs of pockets of harmful gases building up or does it only become apparent if the pockets are disturbed and released into the tank?
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As long as you avoid getting the bottom layer of the tank stale in terms of flow - lack oxygen distribution in particular - and keep visible buildup of organic waste to a minimum I wouldn't worry - both are good practices regardless of substrate. However it might be more prudent with sand as you don't have the natural erosion, flow (water turnover) etc. as you would have in a natural environment. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) buildup would cause occasional bubbles from the substrate upon release and smell like rotten egg. In general, it's always a good idea to keep the substrate undisturbed, but especially in the case of H2S buildup it could be quite detrimental if a lot of H2S is suddenly released.

Cheers,
Michael
 
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MichaelJ said:
As long as you avoid getting the bottom layer of the tank stale in terms of flow - lack oxygen distribution in particular - and keep visible buildup of organic waste to a minimum I wouldn't worry - both are good practices regardless of substrate. However it might be more prudent with sand as you don't have the natural erosion, flow (water turnover) etc. as you would have in a natural environment. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) buildup would cause occasional bubbles from the substrate upon release and smell like rotten egg. In general, it's always a good idea to keep the substrate undisturbed, but especially in the case of H2S buildup it could be quite detrimental if a lot of H2S is suddenly released.

Cheers,
Michael
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Makes sense, thank you 🙂
 
It's natural to have bubbles built up in thick substrate due to anaerobic condition. The composition of the bubble gases vary depending on the amount of organic matter. If the gas doesn't smell, it is harmless nitrogen gas from anaerobic denitrification of nitrate. Bubbling occur when I disturb the substrate during water change, specially beneath rock and thick substrate area where oxygen penetration is restricted. If it smells rotten egg, it is H2S and methane from anaerobic degradation of organic matter. So if you maintain thick substrate, you have to be careful not to over disturb the substrate to release toxic H2S in high quantity. This can occur in dirty canister filter too in prolonged power outage so it is advisable to open up the filter before power resumption.
 
Thank you all for your kind and useful responses.
I feel at ease now keeping the sand + weekly maintenace as is and dial down feeding to the advised "30 seconds"-pinches.
Thank you again. 🙂
 
Honestly, if plant roots and snails are in the substrate it should be fine. I've had a friend panic with a deep sand bed with Discus when they have been poking around and got a whiff. But for me, some of my easiest to maintain tanks had 4 or 5 inches of play pit sand at the back, an inch or so at the front, and just the odd root tab poked in for crypts and other greedy root feeders. Poke about mud flats and beaches and in the bottom of ponds and a slight sulphur odour can be found. I have several inches on sand, soil, find gravel and a light topping of rounded pea gravel - the latter is only to help me not catch sand in my magnetic glass cleaner, scratches are the real negative of sand - on my main tank, now running for 6 plus years, no issues whatsoever, pulled out some over large lilies and crypts last week, a little bit of a sulphur smell, no fish losses no water change by me.
 
Deep sand bed is fine as long as the bottom is not abruptly stirred up in water change or by rough fish. I keep large cichlid that dig deep and often, so my sand bed is paper thin and I grow mostly epiphytes and a few stem and rosette plants rooted in net pots. If I placed root tabs in pots and repot the plants, I can smell H2S coming from anaerobic reduction of sulphate.
 
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