Bubbles in sand? What is it?

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

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

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

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



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


Boomer

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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
:
:
:
:

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

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
:
:
:
:

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

"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,...

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