# Help dirting complications!!!



## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

Are you sure it's that and not just air bubbles, lol? Take a step stool and a chop stick and poke around the substrate for about twenty minutes. Then repeat this once a week until you don't get anymore bubbles.


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## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

Probably just air.


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## Mariostg (Sep 6, 2014)

Does the gas smell rotten eggs?


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## Virc003 (Dec 3, 2011)

Sounds like the dirt was not rinsed so I'd be willing to bet that it's h2s and not air. Just poke the dirt with a butter knife, chop stick or whatever every day until the gas stops smelling like rotten eggs. Then get some mts to keep the soil aerated until your plants grow in and the roots take over. The bubbles will always be there. The smell should not.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 5, 2015)

Yeah it smells horrible definitely not o2 and this probably sounds really stupid of me but what is mts again?

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## jmelvin (Aug 11, 2014)

MTS = malaysian trumpet snails. I have them in my dirted 55g. I get bubbles on occasion. I still poke the soil once every week to make sure there are no large pockets of air building up.

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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 5, 2015)

Oh ok good i have about 30 of them in there

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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 5, 2015)

Update: ok so the bubbles have been getting worse lots more and still stink even though ive been poking every inch of the substrate everyday any other advice?

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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

You need more plant's,a lot more.
Plant's can transport oxygen to their root's and no worries bout hydrogen sulphide.
Your substrate depth is not deep enough for the H2s boogey man to even be concern.
Trumpet snail's too make H2s non issue.
Is more likely oxygen escaping.
Honestly,, maybe five out of a hundred people could say they have smelt real rotten egg's.
Hydrogen sulphide is rendered harmless once it makes contact with oxygen in the water.
If this were not so,,then those running deep sand bed's in marine tank's would report all kind's of issues and they don't. 
Foul smelling tanks ,particularly those that smell of ammonia are often result of dirty filter's where organic matter collect's and begins to decay.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

It's probably just the smell of the chicken manure in the MGOC. It should go away once it breaks down.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 5, 2015)

roadmaster said:


> You need more plant's,a lot more.


Ok great news then ad what plants should i put in i mostly have access to lots of jungle val, hygrophila polysperma, rotala rotund, some species of lily, and what i think might be DHG (pictured below)







and also do you think the tank is safe to start putting fish in its been cycling for about a little more than three weeks

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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Would wait on the fish and add more of the plant's which also have ability to uptake ammonia and use it for growth.
All the plant's you mention would be fine in my view with exception of the rotala which often does better in CO2 enhanced tank.

Bump:


Monster Fish said:


> It's probably just the smell of the chicken manure in the MGOC. It should go away once it breaks down.


 +one.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 5, 2015)

roadmaster said:


> with exception of the rotala which often does better in CO2 enhanced tank.


 if i get co2 will the rotala be a good plant for it?



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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

+1 that you need way more plants

Rotala grows super fast under medium - high light and CO2

The first few months of having dirt will be weird. Just be patient and wait for things to settle.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 5, 2015)

klibs said:


> +1 that you need way more plants
> 
> Rotala grows super fast under medium - high light and CO2
> 
> The first few months of having dirt will be weird. Just be patient and wait for things to settle.


Ok good thanks that's good to know

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## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

> The first few months of having dirt will be weird. Just be patient and wait for things to settle.


At times you ask your self if it was a good idea or not to make the commitment... Just give it time to settle and try to resist tinkering around to much


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## jasa73 (Jun 3, 2007)

FatherLandDescendant said:


> At times you ask your self if it was a good idea or not to make the commitment... Just give it time to settle and try to resist tinkering around to much


Agreed! Set up a high light and high tech nano if you want something to tinker with.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 5, 2015)

Just a little update on the tank everything has balanced out for the most part got in pressurized co2 some new lights finally got the fish in and there's barely anymore bubbles really no need for poking daily anymore here's a couple of pics that show just three days worth of growth














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## KnownSyntax (Mar 15, 2014)

Glad to hear that you barely have any bubbles now a days, did you ever get the MTS or are you still just poking through in random spots once and awhile?

I have had the same issue as you with the bubbles, however even with MTS and my planted setup being almost 8 months old I still will have pretty big sized bubbles come up now and then (I'm sure the MTS are the reason but it's still crazy). Agree with the awful smell, but I'm sure that isn't relating to specific gasses being produced as much as it is to things just rotting and breaking down.


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## ShadeSlayer (Jul 5, 2015)

KnownSyntax said:


> Glad to hear that you barely have any bubbles now a days, did you ever get the MTS or are you still just poking through in random spots once and awhile?
> 
> I have had the same issue as you with the bubbles, however even with MTS and my planted setup being almost 8 months old I still will have pretty big sized bubbles come up now and then (I'm sure the MTS are the reason but it's still crazy). Agree with the awful smell, but I'm sure that isn't relating to specific gasses being produced as much as it is to things just rotting and breaking down.


I do have a ton of MTS and i am still poking just not nearly as often i still regularly see bubbles come to the surface just not nearly as bad as before 

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## Virc003 (Dec 3, 2011)

If your soil is already anaerobic, then mts won't go near it. Now that the tank has settled the snails will be able to do what they do best and barring some catastrophic event, you should never have to worry about h2s in that tank again. 

I'm guessing the bubbles that come up now smell more like dirt than they do rotten eggs right? If they do then you don't have to pokethe soil anymore. There will always be bubbles with soil tanks. It's mostly free co2.


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## AdamTill (Jan 22, 2015)

Just FYI, the recommendations I've seen (Walstad etc) have usually called for no more than 1" of soil and 0.5" of sand (or 1" of gravel). Otherwise you get the heavily anaerobic conditions you've been experiencing.


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## Virc003 (Dec 3, 2011)

Adam those depths are closer to the minimum for optimal conditions. 1.5 inch of soil with 1 inch cap is the max recommended. Above this anaerobic conditions begin to pose a problem. I'd say heavily anerobic conditions don't become an issue until somewhere between 4-7 inches of total substrate.


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## AdamTill (Jan 22, 2015)

Virc003 said:


> Adam those depths are closer to the minimum for optimal conditions. 1.5 inch of soil with 1 inch cap is the max recommended. Above this anaerobic conditions begin to pose a problem. I'd say heavily anerobic conditions don't become an issue until somewhere between 4-7 inches of total substrate.


I'm just quoting out of Ms Walstad's book. I've seen folks successfully use more.


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## HDBenson (Jan 26, 2015)

AdamTill said:


> I'm just quoting out of Ms Walstad's book. I've seen folks successfully use more.


I use deeper soil, like 2-2.5" plus a 1-1.5" cap - but, I also utilize a lot of Cryptocoryne sp, a lot of Hygrophila sp and, a lot of Echinodorus sp. Plants with advanced root systems help to reduce or, negate anaerobic conditions. However, if you are using JUST stem plants a shallower layer of soil is fine -1" and a 1" cap - is not going to produce anaerobic conditions with healthy plants.


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