Sand and "Dead Pockets"

[Tcal01]

IM planning on rescaping my 20g high this spring break and i want to have the sand taller on the left side of the tank. However from what i have read, u have to aggitate the sand to prevent dead pockets but i don't want to mess with my plant's roots. Do i have to aggitate the sand? What is so bad about having anaerobic pockets in the sand?

 

[Austin.b]

IM planning on rescaping my 20g high this spring break and i want to have the sand taller on the left side of the tank. However from what i have read, u have to aggitate the sand to prevent dead pockets but i don't want to mess with my plant's roots. Do i have to aggitate the sand? What is so bad about having anaerobic pockets in the sand?

Ive read that if left undisturbed, the toxic gas will build up and then release into the water column, killing fish and I'm pretty sure inverts. In one of my 10's I have PFS, and I just use MTS to keep it sifted on a regular basis

 

[OBEYtheFISH]

I think the roots will take care of the pockets no?

 

[StarskreamX82]

I just switched over to soil and gravel last night. I found pockets of dead smelly grey sand at the bottom. I had stirred it a few times over the past month but it still happened. I'm guessing if you don't put too much sand it will be ok.

 

[BillD]

Plants will help and MTS would also be a good addition.

 

[Tcal01]

Yah i read that MTS and other fish that like to make tunnels in the sand will help. IM just wondering what they mean by "agitate". Do they mean move it all around or just poke around in it. Granted, i did read somewhere that u only have to do this about 4-6 times a year but still.

 

[jetajockey]

There's a lot of conjecture on the subject, and honestly I think most of it is hype. For example, look at soil based tanks, they burp gas all the time and are well compacted. Lots of people have soil tanks and yet you don't hear about them wiping out because of anaerobic pockets. Heck, even the freshwater DSB (deep sand bed) works via anaerobic bacteria (i.e. dead zones). I guess a giant gas bubble might do something but even that would offgas pretty quickly in a well aerated tank.

 

[Tcal01]

There's a lot of conjecture on the subject, and honestly I think most of it is hype. For example, look at soil based tanks, they burp gas all the time and are well compacted. Lots of people have soil tanks and yet you don't hear about them wiping out because of anaerobic pockets. Heck, even the freshwater DSB (deep sand bed) works via anaerobic bacteria (i.e. dead zones). I guess a giant gas bubble might do something but even that would offgas pretty quickly in a well aerated tank.

I thought most of it would just be overkill too but i just wanted to check. I like the idea of MTS. I think i will probably go with them. I have read conflicting information on them though. Some info says that they will overrun a tank while other info says they make a great addition. One website sad that they will not overpopulate as long as there is not an over abundance of food for them, which makes sense. What are your guys feelings about MTS?

 

[jetajockey]

I have them in a few tanks and have never seen a population boom, they are livebearing so you don't have tons of eggs everywhere. They are nocturnal and I rarely ever see them out in the daytime.

I don't see how they could be a negative personally. They only burrow in the aerobic areas of the substrate (~1") though so they won't necessarily stir up a deep substrate, but they are still a good addition.

 

[Tcal01]

I have them in a few tanks and have never seen a population boom, they are livebearing so you don't have tons of eggs everywhere. They are nocturnal and I rarely ever see them out in the daytime.

I don't see how they could be a negative personally. They only burrow in the aerobic areas of the substrate (~1") though so they won't necessarily stir up a deep substrate, but they are still a good addition.

Hmm OK. I was thinking about kuhlis too but i know they like to be in groups and i don't have room for them. So i guess the solution to this is going to have to be MTS and substrate agitation.