# Sand turning green?



## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

I am seeing green in my sand. This happend before to me and it ended up purple and smelling horrible, like septic.
Is it because I used MG organic potting soil by mistake? I now realize I was supposed to use MG organic topsoil.
Am I going to have to tear down this tank again? I hope not. I'm thinking malysian ts if they'll survive my puffer.


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## SunnyD (Oct 15, 2010)

Do you think it could be Blue Green Algae (BGA)? That's what I had when I tried sand.


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

The fact that it smells septic almost definitely means that you've probably gone anaerobic; not good at all. I've never had this problem, but inevitably, someone else here will show up with some info. But yeah, MTS should help.


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## scape (Nov 27, 2010)

Does your algee growing on top of the sand look like this?


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

That is BGA.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I think BGA smells bad when you have a lot of it. I have noticed that when I get any sunlight on my tanks I soon get BGA growing where the sun shines. It does like good light, but it hates nitrates.


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

psalm18.2 said:


> Is it because I used MG organic potting soil by mistake? I now realize I was supposed to use MG organic topsoil.


Not sure why you'd think using the organic potting soil was a mistake. I assume you capped it with something, in which case it should be fine. I have a med-high light tank with MG organic potting soil capped with Flourite black sand. Other than a mess last week when I was careless during a water change and dug a huge crater, spewing wood chips throughout the tank, I've had nothing but good results from it.


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

I have been using MGOPS in mine for over a month and nothing evil has sprouted from it. I did get some brown diatoms but I think that was partially caused by the tank getting some direct sunlight for a couple of hours. The white sand has gone partially brown due to it but nothing horrible. There may be something else going on in your case.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

how would i supply nitrates to my tank? cuz i have bga problems


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## jahmic (Jan 30, 2011)

As others already said...sounds like anaerobic bacteria. How many inches of sand did you cap your miracle grow with? The consensus around here seems to be that anything >1" could cause issues like you're having. Do you have a hardscape in your tank? Any rocks or wood laying directly on the substrate could be causing dead areas where the soil can't "breathe". You can also attempt to poke around the sand a little bit and see if you're able to aerate the substrate a bit until you get some MTS in there.


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## astrosag (Sep 3, 2010)

MG organic potting soil was not a wrong choice. Its confusing I know...potting soil vs. top soil. Most people who used the MG organic stuff used potting soil. 

Unless you packed in 3+ inches of the potting soil or capped it with 3"+ of substrate, it should be ok. 

Consensus is about 1" of MG organic potting soil capped with 1-2" of a selected substrate. I have MGOPS and Eco-Complete.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

orchidman said:


> how would i supply nitrates to my tank? cuz i have bga problems


Read the fertilizing forum sticky on dosing methods, for information about dosing nitrates, etc.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

i just cant remember what the chemical formula is. ill check it out though.


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## VeeSe (Apr 16, 2011)

It's potassium nitrate. KNO3.


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## orchidman (Dec 15, 2010)

sorry for hijacking


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