sand gone funny ...

[nikon70]

well ive noticed that my sand has changed colour recently... so when doing my water change i noticed that its clumping up and the top layer is hard about 1cm deep.

its getting black/brown bits amongst the sand making it go hard and clumping together....

not sure if its algae or something else...

comments?

 

[jessezm]

Check your Calcium levels--are they abnormally high? that can turn your sandbed to stone. Otherwise, sounds like some kind of algae problem? What are your levels?

 

[nikon70]

ah calcium level really high!!!!!

i read that bottled seltzer water can help not sure how to use it or if it really works.... any advice apart from water changes???

 

[jessezm]

water changes... slowly bring down levels and watch your pH. Good luck! BTW, what are your levels?

 

[nikon70]

i only did a quick test its around 880 ... it use to be 550. not really sure what the norm for people is.

 

[jessezm]

Whoa! normal levels for healthy coral growth is 400-450ppm. Corals can do okay at even less as long as the level is kept consistent. you'll want to check out your pH and alk levels as well. your alk has to be way low for CA to be that high, or else I would assume you'd get some major precipitation. A word of warning--do not add any alk buffers until your CA comes down, or you'll have a huge snowstorm in your tank!

 

[nikon70]

cool will get on the water change nothing seems to be doing badly in the tank only the sand......

 

[IndyReefMan]

I'd recheck that Ca level with a different test kit.

 

[chrismunn]

black spots? like hydrogen sulphide? it doesnt smell like rotten eggs when you break up your sand i hope!