Subject: Re: NANFA-L-- Bubbles from the substrate
Moontanman-in-aol.com
Date: Tue Dec 28 2004 - 09:12:06 CST
In a message dated 12/28/04 9:38:57 AM Eastern Standard Time,
sajjadlateef-in-yahoo.com writes:
> In my book, if you can't smell it, it's not a problem,
>
> I stirred up the substrate with a stick and there were a whole
> lot more bubbles that were released. The odorless gas is niether
> H2S nor CH4. I am now thinking that it is likely C02.
>
>
I'd have to know how long the substrate has been set up before I would hazard
a guess but gasses from the substrate is usually blown out of proportion
anyway. If you have ever been in a position to observe underwater you will find
that the mud and or substrate-in-the bottom of ponds, lakes, and rivers give off
much in the way of gasses with no real problem. Of course you have to take
into account the confined nature of an aquarium. a reasonable amount of aeration
will negate any harmful effects of all but the worst of gas release problems.
I am wondering about your statement that the odorless gas is neither H2S or
CH4, while CH4 is odorless H2S should have a distinct odor to it so if it is
odorless then it isn't H2S or SO2 for that matter either. To get back to my
point, if your tank doesn't have that rotten egg odor fairly strong and regular
then aeration should take care of the problem. that is one area where a tank
with a fairly air tight lid can be a problem. Activated Carbon should be a help
also if it is a good grade like the kind used in marine tanks. but again you
would have to be generating quite a bit of H2S for it to be a problem. I like my
aquariums with natural substrates, often harvested from the wild, and they
tend to give off quite a large amount of gas with no problem. I do however
aerate the water as much as possible.
Moon
/-----------------------------------------------------------------------
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association (NANFA). Comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of NANFA. For more information about NANFA,
/ visit http://www.nanfa.org . Please make sure all posts to nanfa-l are
/ consistent with the guidelines as per
/ http://www.nanfa.org/archive/nanfa/guidelines.html. To subscribe,
/ unsubscribe, or get help, visit the NANFA email list home page and
/ archive-in-http://www.nanfa.org/archive/nanfa/.
: Sat Jan 01 2005 - 12:42:07 CST