Anarobic conditions

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Kents Aquatics

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 6, 2017
Messages
21
My 75 gallon dirted planted tank hasent been doing all that well since i set it up. I have noticed that i have alot of air bubbles that build up in my substrate causeing unfortanute growth of my plants through the roots is there any way that i can combat this without having to tear down the tank
 
If the gas stinks, it's likely anaerobic conditions.

I have also noticed cyanobacteria will "pearl" even when plants are not growing very well.

What substrate do you have?
 
I have sand substrate i think that plays a big role as it compacts and holds the gases in, i have dirt under that, do you think malaysian trumpet snails would help keep the gasses released
 
Might depend on how deep the bubbles are. If they are in the lower part of the sand, then maybe. If they are in the dirt, then I’m not sure that they will that deep.
 
The bubbles are likely a result of all the organic material being decomposed underneath the sand. I'm assuming you used an organic potting mix, if so there is 0 real "dirt" as is no sand, silt or clay particles. It is all decomposing organic material, so CO2 bubbles will be present along with many other aspects.

Plants may not be growing for a variety of reasons. What kind of sand are you using? How deep is the dirt and sand cap?
 
There is about half an inch to a full inch of dirt capped with 1-1.5 inches of sand, the plants will grow runners as if they were healthy but the roots are not doing well.
 
Jungle val, dwarf sage, amazon swords and a larger plant that i dont remember the name of.
 
Hmm. You've done everything by the book so nothing is jumping out so far.

If you could give these answers it may help narrow down why the plants aren't growing:

Age of tank.
Size of tank (and dimensions)/
Exact light you are using. If you aren't sure take a picture and provide any info you can.
Exact sand you used.
kH / gH / pH of tank.

Pictures of the plants would also help.
 
Here is a pic, when i first re did the tank the plants seemed pretty healthy they were growing but i think that the gasses have built up over time and have started to kill them i have been pokeing the substrate and alot of the gas has been released i also bought some mts snails to try to break down some of the dead plant matter i also got some root tabs to help the plants 20180618_154341.jpeg
 
Hmm. You've done everything by the book so nothing is jumping out so far.

If you could give these answers it may help narrow down why the plants aren't growing:

Age of tank.
Size of tank (and dimensions)/
Exact light you are using. If you aren't sure take a picture and provide any info you can.
Exact sand you used.
kH / gH / pH of tank.

Pictures of the plants would also help.
I used caribia sea natural black sand, all of the water preamiters are good, and i have 4 cheap-o clip on lights with cfl light bulbs
 
Ok i havent put any in yet but if i need to i can, 4 cfl bulbs i belive they are 5000-6000k and i also have a regular 48 inch 5000k bulb
 
Soil needs to be left alone for a very long time. 6 months or more. Anaerobic areas are normal and even critical for certain processes to occur. It’s not the air pockets that is causing the plant issues. Maybe the type of soil as ZxC stated. But eventually everything will stabilise and only then will you see what can be achieved. Patience is everything when it comes to fish tanks.
 
Soil needs to be left alone for a very long time. 6 months or more. Anaerobic areas are normal and even critical for certain processes to occur. It’s not the air pockets that is causing the plant issues. Maybe the type of soil as ZxC stated. But eventually everything will stabilise and only then will you see what can be achieved. Patience is everything when it comes to fish tanks.
Tank has had dirt for about 8-9 months the plants grew great for about the first 2 but after that they just kind of stayed alive i pulled the plants and they were also suffering from root rot which can be caused by anerobic conditions and after prodding around in the soil there were alot more gas bubbles than i had expected enough to cause this. Thanks for all the help
 
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