bubbles from the gravel !!!

[LMOUTHBASS]

hello, last night i noticed some bubbles coming from the back of my tank from time to time, i'm not sure what it coul be other than maybe thiose anerobic pockets of gas??? If so i know this is not good news!!! what shoul i do??? Other than that the fish are all still very active n everyone looked good this morning, amonia 0 nitrite 0 - 20 gallon tank - i haven't moved anything in the tank or disturbed the ornaments or stuff so not sure, my water in my tank is a little low because it evaporated over the weeken just a bit from the heat,so when the water pours into the tank from the filter it's hitting the water a little hard , causing lots of small bubbles, but the filter is on the right side of the tank, these are coming form the back left side, any thoughts??? thanks for help

[OrionGirl]

Any smell associated with the bubbles when they break the surface? How long has that tank been setup?

Gas from anearobic pockets will smell of rotten eggs (sulfur), very noticable, even in small amounts.

Some substrates will hold pockets of air for a long time, and random, slight disturbances like someone walking heavily by the tank, can cause them to surface, even a few months after the tank was setup. Usually, there are not any organic materials that make it deep into the substrate to feed the bacteria and cause problems.

[LMOUTHBASS]

the tank has been running since early june, the other day i noticed my room stunk, i thought this was because my tank is open a bit in the back near the filter cause i broke a piece of plastic off to make room for a bigger filter so a little more water is exposed - however the smell has cleared since, and i really noticed the bubbles last night, theyre about a half inch in circumference , but i didnt notice a smell last night ? Also if it is anerobic bubbles wont the fish be dying soon? or already? is it possible it's nothing or if it is the poison bubbles what shoul i do now?

[OrionGirl]

Doesn't sound like anaerobic build up to me. I wouldn't worry much, just monitor the situation. The problem here: if you do have pockets, disturbing them will release toxins that right now are confined. Gas bubbling out isn't enough to poison the tank, but disturbing the area really will. So, I'd leave it be, watch it, see if it's happening in other areas, or if it's just a one-time thing left over from the initial setup of the tank.

[LMOUTHBASS]

thanks for your help

[momopoms]

Is there anything that one should do to keep anaerobic gas build-up, ie; gravel vacuum, stirring the gravel? etc?

just seems there must be something that some do that others should do, otherwise everyone would have these pockets.

[Andy16]

Vacuum your tank once a week and disturb all of the gravel. Thats the only way to prevent it from happening that im aware of.