Qustion about moving sand.

about 4 months ago I had my tank runing for about 6 months now and I had never shifted the sand. the tought finnaly came to my head that I sould so I took everything out and just shifted the sand up really good. the only problem was that the water turned black and smelled like rotten eggs. I cant really find out why that happen. and just to let u know I shift the sand a bit ever month now.

 

aww man you really shoud have done some research before going about this. im no scientist but i can tell you that when we stir up a deep sand bed we release bad nutrients into the tank that were trapped in our sand.

 

by doing that , you released all the detritus that had built up in the sand. and also released a whole whack of nitrates im sure. no need to do what you did. if this is a salt tank, you should have some sort of cuc that wil ltake care of your saand. also vacuuming it will clean it up alot safer than what you did.

 

wow thanks i feel like a bad person now

 

no need for bad feelings its a simple mistake. just as long as we learn and move on

 

quick question anything I will help me with the sand in the long run?

 

a good clean up crew will do wonders without us humans messing things up. snails / crabs etc. sand sifter gobies. sand sifting starfish. my personal favoite are snails and sleeper gobies.

 

the rotten egg smell you got was from sulphur build up from your sand being anaerobic.I have a damsel and clarkii clown that stir my sand more than I want them to,Im constantly having to smooth it out.

 

for sure , dont feel bad about it hd. simple and easy mistake to do. if i listed all my mess ups, the server could crash. . also hermit crabs and brittle stars will help eat the detritus or uneaten food. have you tested for nitrates since stirring up the sand?