Developing Problem??...plus a few q's

[drew2582]

So at the suggestion of the masses, two and a half months ago i traded in my crushed coral bed for a moderately deep 4 inch bed of sugar fine aragonite with a plenum built as well. After the day of work was done making the switch over, which seemed like hell at the time, everything seems to be well worth the struggle. aesthetically its ten times the tank now.

Here is where the question begins: since I've put the new bed in , my tank has somewhat resembled a can of sprite. It bubbles ten times more than it did when i had the crushed coral substrate. NOw I've tried to read up on this and from what i gathered, this could just be a part of the denitrification process that you can expect from a sugar fine bed w/ a plenum. Also it will bubble a lot more after the halides have been on for six or seven hours compared to when they just fired up. If anybody can offer their input on what this may be it would be appreciated........

The more pressing issue is what these bubbles are doing to my syphon overflow. I'd say about every three days I'm having to shake the hell out of my u tube to try to break up the large bubble that accumulates from all of these tiny ones being sucked down. I dont mind breaking up the bubbles every 2 or 3 days, i just would like the piece of mind to leave the tank for a short vacation if needed.

Also, i've noticed some strange colorations in my sand bed: some strange dark blues and some reds. Even if i stir the top of it sometimes I'll notice a strange blue just underneath. Anybody have any ideas on that???? sorry about the length and specific nature of the questions. If anyone could shoot me some ideas it would be greatly appreciated.

regards,
drew

 

[Germanman]

the bubbles could be from the denitrification but it could also mean that ther is air trapped under there which u dont want. as for the colors...im a bit confused...green and red or normal over time but blue ive never seen...any supplements u add that color?

 

[LordsSoilder]

When I first started with my 55g acrylic I too used the DSB with sugar sized sand... I had a horrible time keeping the sand bed stirred and I would get those algae blooms just the same... I read that like germanman said the red and green are normal... And with a little research I read that the blue or somewhat blue-green algae was actually a very toxic algae that with time could spread and destroy water quality killing fish and inverts alike...

I decided to get rid of that sand bed and go to the crushed coral... I have never again had those same problems... Diatoms are a whole different story...:mad2:

Long story short, DSB's are great. If you use sugar sand I'd suggest mixing it with crushed coral, LR rubble and then LR on top... My mom has a tank setup this way and even though its a FOWLR and he lighting is comprised with NO fluorescents (Day/Actinic) he sand rarely gets covered with any kind of algae or diatoms...

Her glass on the other hand has to be cleaned daily... or it will build up fast

 

[Reefscape]

My personal opnion about algae building up on a sand bed is not just down to the type of substrate used..The main part is down to flow. If you have a good enough flow going over your sand, then alage cannot build up as its kept in the water column and removed by filtration and skimming...

The main issues with people that people get with using crushed coral as a substrate is not mainly because of algae blooming, it is more down to the particles of food getting trapped in between the parts of the crushed coral which lead to high phosphates and nitrates..

That to me, is one major reason why this type of substrate should never be used..

The blue/green algae that is being refered to at the start of this thread can and does happen on and in a substrate. It a form of cyanobacteria...If any of you have ever studied or read greek, then you will understand where the word "cyano" comes from..Cyan comes fromt he greek word "Blue"..so, yes, blue or rather blue/green alage can and does appear in a tank.

As, always, same as any algae out break, it can be solved by keeping good flow, lessen food and or lighting, removing phosphates...

Just an opinion of course, based on my "own" practical experience..

 

[Squawkbert]

A substrate change is a big deal to a tank. You should anticipate having all the problems you had when you first started (cloudy water, some blooms, minor NO2 & NO3 spikes, etc.), but to a lesser extent. Watch things carefully and be ready to do a PWC at the drop of a hat for a while. If you had pod, worm and other critters in the substrate that are now gone, you should look into replacing some of them or getting additional "stirrers".

 

[jojo22]

I agree with Niko the fact that you get more bubbles after yout lights have been on would also point to cyano!!