Does 'live' sand stink?

[davidrupe]

Or is that dead sand?
If live sand isn't supposed to stink, I may have discovered my never ending ammonia problems last night. I accidentally broke my fuge...don't ASK!
And, well the sand in the bottom stinks!!!
Is it supposed to or is that the source of my ammonia?

 

[jango]

when live sand is exposed to air it stinks.same as low tide but stronger

 

[davidrupe]

Why does it stink? Does that mean it is DEAD and I don't have anything but a source of ammonia or what? I really hope it isn't causing my problem.

 

[jango]

how long has it been in there.if you think its the problem you could always start a new SB and seed it with a cup or two of the old.anytime i have moved a sand bed from one tank to another it smells horrible and very few ill affects

 

[jango]

i think its like some acros you pull those out of water and they stink some stink bad...

 

[davidrupe]

I have no idea how old the sand is. It was given to me from someone who broke down their tank 3+ months ago. It was just in water for 3 weeks or so. No heat no circulation. I added it to my tank when I setup. It smelled then but I didn't know it was supposed to continue to smell.
I was just making sure it isn't the source of my problems.

 

[wrassefan]

Toss it....better to be safe. If it "stunk" from the beginning...it is probably still dead and continuing to rot.

 

[~Flighty~]

Most chemical processes that involve bacteria smell very bad. Think about what bacteria in your body does to fiber that you can't digest (Beans, or green salsa burritos) These are anerobic bacteria, so exposing them to air will kill them for one, but they are packed away from oxyogen with all of their nasty biprouducts that will escape when you disturb the bed. I think the smell means it is working.

 

[~Flighty~]

now that I read what was posted while I was writing, maybe the amonia was from your sand, but that doesn't meen that the sand wasn't alive or isn't now. There probably were a lot of organics that need to decay though.

 

[davidrupe]

So I got one nod 'yes' to ditch it. Any others... Who thinks it needs to be replaced and who thinks it should stay?

 

[jango]

i think you would be fine with it,but if it makes you fell better start a new bed

 

[davidrupe]

I will give it 1 more month. If my ammonia doesn't go away... IT IS GONE!!

 

[jango]

I have no idea how old the sand is. It was given to me from someone who broke down their tank 3+ months ago. It was just in water for 3 weeks or so. No heat no circulation. I added it to my tank when I setup. It smelled then but I didn't know it was supposed to continue to smell.
I was just making sure it isn't the source of my problems.

i didnt see this,if you have any reefers near you i would start a new bed and grab a couple of cups of live from other tanks

 

[~Flighty~]

I will give it 1 more month. If my ammonia doesn't go away... IT IS GONE!!

This is just the sand in your refuge? Can you run the two seprate for a day or two and see if the display has more or less ammonia? I hope whatever made the smell didn't put nasties into your water too. Maybe run carbon if you can.

 

[davidrupe]

No, the fuge broke yesterday, well I broke it, like I said, don't ask. Same sand though.
Any others with experience or knowledge in this? It would be a lot of work to rip the sand out and replace... and I don't want to do that unless I have to.

 

[Matt L.]

So I got one nod 'yes' to ditch it. Any others... Who thinks it needs to be replaced and who thinks it should stay?

All live sand, healthy or unhealthy, has a foul, low-tide odour, due to reasons Flighty so excellently described.

However, there is smell, and then there is smell. If the sand truly smells rotten, more so then a sample of sand taken fresh from the upper layers of your main tank, then you probably have a problem.

The sand can still be stabilized, though, by removing it and placing it in a bucket with heavy agitation and aeration for a few days to few weeks.

You should not be having ammonia problems, so something is definitely wrong.

Matt

P.S.: You aren't using tapwater, are you? As per our other discussion, the chloramines from your tapwater ay be giving you ammonia problems.

 

[davidrupe]

Umm...still using the tap water but picked up 15 gallons of RO/DI water from AA for my next water change tonight.
Also am getting a 100gph RO/DI unit this weekend...

 

[Swim74]

Just my two cents here, but thinking back to the marine bio days and studying marsh flats and things, that smell is a good thing.

its your system breaking down the waste. the bacteria that are eating all the junk release that smell.

no smell, no bacteria, = dead fish/corals, etc.