# build up of hydrogen sulfide gas?



## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

I saw bubbles building up in the soil in my nano el natural. So I started poking the gravel & soil with a bambo skewer to release the bubbles.. There were plenty and it smelt?sp like rotten eggs.. I just have shrimps in the nano.. Will they be ok.. And should I make a habit of poking the soil once in a while to release the gas?


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## 01krisp10 (Feb 18, 2007)

Walstad says as long as your fish and plants are healthy (no blackened roots) you will be fine. What it sounds like is H2S (Hydrogen Sulfide), which is toxic. Do you have Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diana Walstad? It is an essential book for any natural planted aquarium! (there is an e-version as well, much cheaper)

I'm not sure I would pop them, maybe let it do it slowly and naturaly? Anyone?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

I would think popping them so they'd release out of the soil would be a good thing so they don't have the chance to dissolve into the water... And in the process, I'd create 'holes' for aerobic respiration.

My tank nano tank is only a few weeks old... There are some roots... and they're not turning black although the roots on my little sword plantlet did melt.


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## TeutonJon78 (Nov 10, 2004)

I always have tons of bubbles coming out of my soil. It could be H2S, but I haven't noticed any egg smell, just the usual dirt and pond smell. Remember, if you have healthy roots, it could also just be trapped air from setting up the tank or O2 from the roots.


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

It is H2S.......oxygen is released through the leaves (a little from the stems) of plants where photosynthesis occurs.

If your tank is pretty new, it is likely that you have some detritus or other matter in the substrate which has been slowly rotting. It should stop after a little while (few more weeks) as the substrate and everything in it becomes used to being submerged. Your shrimps will be fine as long as you are making partial water changes every week.

If the problem persists, or you are getting a ton of bubbles coming up, you may want to change your substrate in a few weeks. I pretty sure that what you are experiencing is pretty normal, though.

Teuton's bubbles are normal......and most aquariums should have a very slight pond odor.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

I did a test for ammonia.. i'm getting 0.10 ppm..
If there's decomposition going on, shouldn't there be more NH3?

There's plenty of H2S still.


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

I dont think there'll be a lot ammonia in the water if you dint force diffuse them into the water, or if something really bad is happening in the water, like if a rotting 1/2 ft pleco is in it. 

is there a strict threshold where dissolved ammonia gets dangerous? btw, the bubbles in the substrate can be lessened if the substrate thickness is less than 2 inches, plus, aeration by Malaysian trumpet snail would be best.


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