Bubbles in sand? What is it?

[SA]

Hi all,

In my sand bed I see little air bubbles approximately 1/4 to 1/2 half inch
deep from the surface of the sand on the glass. Is that de-nitrification
going on? I thought that this occurs deeper in the sand bed?

I have about 3-4 inches of sand on my tank and was hoping to benefit from
anaerobic activity, however right now I am not sure as to what those bubbles
are. Trapped air... or actually nitrogen.

Any ideas?

TIA

Steve

[CheezWiz]

Bubbles percolate up through the sand...

"SA" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> In my sand bed I see little air bubbles approximately 1/4 to 1/2 half inch
> deep from the surface of the sand on the glass. Is that de-nitrification
> going on? I thought that this occurs deeper in the sand bed?
>
> I have about 3-4 inches of sand on my tank and was hoping to benefit from
> anaerobic activity, however right now I am not sure as to what those
bubbles
> are. Trapped air... or actually nitrogen.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> TIA
>
> Steve
>
>

[Mort]

How old is the sand bed?


"SA" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> In my sand bed I see little air bubbles approximately 1/4 to 1/2 half inch
> deep from the surface of the sand on the glass. Is that de-nitrification
> going on? I thought that this occurs deeper in the sand bed?
>
> I have about 3-4 inches of sand on my tank and was hoping to benefit from
> anaerobic activity, however right now I am not sure as to what those
bubbles
> are. Trapped air... or actually nitrogen.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> TIA
>
> Steve
>
>

[Marc Levenson]

Hi Steve,

Those bubbles are nitrogen gas. As they rise and pop, the
are removing nitrates from your system. It is good thing
to observe, and these bubbles forming near the upper 1" of
substrate is quite common.

Marc


SA wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> In my sand bed I see little air bubbles approximately 1/4 to 1/2 half inch
> deep from the surface of the sand on the glass. Is that de-nitrification
> going on? I thought that this occurs deeper in the sand bed?
>
> I have about 3-4 inches of sand on my tank and was hoping to benefit from
> anaerobic activity, however right now I am not sure as to what those bubbles
> are. Trapped air... or actually nitrogen.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> TIA
>
> Steve
>
>

--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Boomer]

More than likely the bubbles in the sand are O2 from algae and not N2 gas


Boomer

Want to talk chemistry ? The Reef Chemistry Forum
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Please Join Our Growing Membership
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If You See Me Running You Better Catch-Up
"Mort" > wrote in message
. ..
: How old is the sand bed?
:
:
: "SA" > wrote in message
: ...
: > Hi all,
: >
: > In my sand bed I see little air bubbles approximately 1/4 to 1/2 half inch
: > deep from the surface of the sand on the glass. Is that de-nitrification
: > going on? I thought that this occurs deeper in the sand bed?
: >
: > I have about 3-4 inches of sand on my tank and was hoping to benefit from
: > anaerobic activity, however right now I am not sure as to what those
: bubbles
: > are. Trapped air... or actually nitrogen.
: >
: > Any ideas?
: >
: > TIA
: >
: > Steve
: >
: >
:
:

[SA]

The sand bed is 2 months old now. 20Gl nano-reef with 15lbs live rock and
30lb sand.


"Mort" > wrote in message
. ..
> How old is the sand bed?
>
>
> "SA" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Hi all,
> >
> > In my sand bed I see little air bubbles approximately 1/4 to 1/2 half
inch
> > deep from the surface of the sand on the glass. Is that de-nitrification
> > going on? I thought that this occurs deeper in the sand bed?
> >
> > I have about 3-4 inches of sand on my tank and was hoping to benefit
from
> > anaerobic activity, however right now I am not sure as to what those
> bubbles
> > are. Trapped air... or actually nitrogen.
> >
> > Any ideas?
> >
> > TIA
> >
> > Steve
> >
> >
>
>

[SA]

Hmmm,

Interesting point... after I turned on my lights (left the rock to cure and
the tank to cycle with lights mostly off) I do have a bit of an algae bloom.
However I don't know how one can make a positive ID in terms of the
composition of the bubbles. O2 is certainly a possibility... what puzzles me
is how it is accumulated there.... there's really no algae at that depth
that I can see of. I'd much rather it be N2

Thanks for responding and the links I'll check them out.

Steve

"Boomer" > wrote in message
...
> More than likely the bubbles in the sand are O2 from algae and not N2 gas
>
>
> Boomer
>
> Want to talk chemistry ? The Reef Chemistry Forum
> http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/index.php
>
> Want to See More ?
> Please Join Our Growing Membership
> www.coralrealm.com
>
> If You See Me Running You Better Catch-Up
> "Mort" > wrote in message
> . ..
> : How old is the sand bed?
> :
> :
> : "SA" > wrote in message
> : ...
> : > Hi all,
> : >
> : > In my sand bed I see little air bubbles approximately 1/4 to 1/2 half
inch
> : > deep from the surface of the sand on the glass. Is that
de-nitrification
> : > going on? I thought that this occurs deeper in the sand bed?
> : >
> : > I have about 3-4 inches of sand on my tank and was hoping to benefit
from
> : > anaerobic activity, however right now I am not sure as to what those
> : bubbles
> : > are. Trapped air... or actually nitrogen.
> : >
> : > Any ideas?
> : >
> : > TIA
> : >
> : > Steve
> : >
> : >
> :
> :
>
>

[SA]

Marc,

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping that they are nitrogen. My sand bed is
about 2 months old. I did use live sand however. Is that long enough you
think for anaerobic activity to start?

Steve

"Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
m...
> Hi Steve,
>
> Those bubbles are nitrogen gas. As they rise and pop, the
> are removing nitrates from your system. It is good thing
> to observe, and these bubbles forming near the upper 1" of
> substrate is quite common.
>
> Marc
>
>
> SA wrote:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > In my sand bed I see little air bubbles approximately 1/4 to 1/2 half
inch
> > deep from the surface of the sand on the glass. Is that de-nitrification
> > going on? I thought that this occurs deeper in the sand bed?
> >
> > I have about 3-4 inches of sand on my tank and was hoping to benefit
from
> > anaerobic activity, however right now I am not sure as to what those
bubbles
> > are. Trapped air... or actually nitrogen.
> >
> > Any ideas?
> >
> > TIA
> >
> > Steve
> >
> >
>
> --
> Personal Page:
> http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
>

[CapFusion]

"SA" > wrote in message
...
> Marc,
>
> Thanks for the reply. I was hoping that they are nitrogen. My sand bed is
> about 2 months old. I did use live sand however. Is that long enough you
> think for anaerobic activity to start?
>

I would agree with Marc on this one. If there no algae or air pocket that
was trap, I would or can assumed it nitrogen gas that being release from the
sandbed. Critter that roam in the sand can release their own gas and get
trap in the sandbed too.

CapFusion,...

[Marc Levenson]

Yes, within 3 weeks I saw it occur in my tank. Within 6
months, your sandbed should be mature and doing this
throughout the tank.

Marc


SA wrote:

> Marc,
>
> Thanks for the reply. I was hoping that they are nitrogen. My sand bed is
> about 2 months old. I did use live sand however. Is that long enough you
> think for anaerobic activity to start?
>
> Steve


--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Happy'Cam'per]

Very interesting, where did the concept of a DSB originate from anyway? Is
this how denitrification occurs in nature?
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**

"Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
...
> Yes, within 3 weeks I saw it occur in my tank. Within 6
> months, your sandbed should be mature and doing this
> throughout the tank.
>
> Marc
>
>
> SA wrote:
>
> > Marc,
> >
> > Thanks for the reply. I was hoping that they are nitrogen. My sand bed
is
> > about 2 months old. I did use live sand however. Is that long enough you
> > think for anaerobic activity to start?
> >
> > Steve
>
>
> --
> Personal Page:
> http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
>

[CapFusion]

From some scientist guy that experiement awhile back. I can not seem to
locate the link at this time. Maybe someone else in this NG still have that
link .

Read more about DSB if not already -
http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/r_shimek_090698.html
http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm

CapFusion,...


"Happy'Cam'per" > wrote in message
...
>
> Very interesting, where did the concept of a DSB originate from anyway? Is
> this how denitrification occurs in nature?
> --
> **So long, and thanks for all the fish!**
>
> "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Yes, within 3 weeks I saw it occur in my tank. Within 6
> > months, your sandbed should be mature and doing this
> > throughout the tank.
> >
> > Marc
> >
> >
> > SA wrote:
> >[i]
> > > Marc,
> > >
> > > Thanks for the reply. I was hoping that they are nitrogen. My sand bed
> is
> > > about 2 months old. I did use live sand however. Is that long enough
you
> > > think for anaerobic activity to start?
> > >
> > > Steve
> >
> >
> > --
> > Personal Page:
> > http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> > Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> > Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
> >
>
>

[Happy'Cam'per]

"CapFusion" <CapeFussion...@hotmail.., com> wrote in message
...
>
>
> Read more about DSB if not already -
> http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/r_shimek_090698.html
> http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm

Thanks for the links Cap, most appreciated. :)
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**

[Kevin & Donna Sanders, M.D.]

I have noticed the same thing in my tank and was wondering if that gas was
N2 because it seemed to form close to the top of the sand bed . So I
remembered an experiment from high school

Do a simple test.. collect the gas in an inverted test tube cover it with
your finger then take a pop sickle stick which has been broken, lit with a
match and blown out but still has glowing embers and stick it in the test
tube. If it O2 it will burst into flames if N2 it will go out. If its
CO2 the gas is highly soluble and wouldn't collect in the water. That is
why C02 is used in laparoscopy so it doesn't cause the bends if it gets
absorbed



Kevin.




"Happy'Cam'per" > wrote in message
...
> "CapFusion" <CapeFussion...@hotmail.., com> wrote in message
> ...
>>
>>
>> Read more about DSB if not already -
>> http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/r_shimek_090698.html
>> http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm
>
> Thanks for the links Cap, most appreciated. :)
> --
> **So long, and thanks for all the fish!**
>
>

[SA]

Wow, amazing recollection of chemistry notes. I will try that...

Thanks Kevin!



"Kevin & Donna Sanders, M.D." > wrote in message
news:i3o7d.2386$gk.75@okepread01...
> I have noticed the same thing in my tank and was wondering if that gas was
> N2 because it seemed to form close to the top of the sand bed . So I
> remembered an experiment from high school
>
> Do a simple test.. collect the gas in an inverted test tube cover it with
> your finger then take a pop sickle stick which has been broken, lit with a
> match and blown out but still has glowing embers and stick it in the test
> tube. If it O2 it will burst into flames if N2 it will go out. If its
> CO2 the gas is highly soluble and wouldn't collect in the water. That is
> why C02 is used in laparoscopy so it doesn't cause the bends if it gets
> absorbed
>
>
>
> Kevin.
>
>
>
>
> "Happy'Cam'per" > wrote in message
> ...
> > "CapFusion" <CapeFussion...@hotmail.., com> wrote in message
> > ...
> >>
> >>
> >> Read more about DSB if not already -
> >> http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/r_shimek_090698.html
> >> http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm
> >
> > Thanks for the links Cap, most appreciated. :)
> > --
> > **So long, and thanks for all the fish!**
> >
> >
>
>