Woke up this morning to Black spot on my sand..

[maddmaxx]

my system has been up and running for pretty much 3 months now. and today I woke up to my sand bed in the fuge to a nice black spot. I know what causes it (death in the sand), I know not to siphon it out or disturb it, usually I only see black spots at the bottom of sand beds. I know they can occur anywhere there is sand. but im kinda baffled by this discovery..soooo any suggestions from experienced ppl? any suggestions what to do, or is this a let it be and run its coarse type deal?

 

[unclejed2]

It will run its' course, however, I would add some good bacteria like Nitrobacter at double the marine dose and then wait for 3 days and add a regular dose, this will help the colonization of the sand and rock.

 

[maddmaxx]

It will run its' course, however, I would add some good bacteria like Nitrobacter at double the marine dose and then wait for 3 days and add a regular dose, this will help the colonization of the sand and rock.

tank has been up a week shy of 3 months. and I have 3 damsels and some coral in the main display. should the nitrobacter affect anything??

 

[unclejed2]

tank has been up a week shy of 3 months. and I have 3 damsels and some coral in the main display. should the nitrobacter affect anything??

If you mean adversely, no, of course not. It is only a benefit.

 

[maddmaxx]

If you mean adversely, no, of course not. It is only a benefit.

sweet. I never used that product, lil pricey, but what isn't in this hobby. so I was unsure of the affects of it...

 

[MARINECRITTERS]

Not sure why you would add more bacteria, the tank has been running for three months and has fish. There is plenty of bacteria on the sand and rock, even the glass.
What you are seeing is really just hydrogen sulphide formation, basically it forms from die off, in such a small space like you have there it is harmless, when a fish or two die and are left then the formation will really cause some problems.
Right now you have nothing to worry about.

 

[unclejed2]

Not sure why you would add more bacteria, the tank has been running for three months and has fish. There is plenty of bacteria on the sand and rock, even the glass.
What you are seeing is really just hydrogen sulphide formation, basically it forms from die off, in such a small space like you have there it is harmless, when a fish or two die and are left then the formation will really cause some problems.
Right now you have nothing to worry about.

I suggesting re-seeding for the fact that something has caused the die off and bolstering the biological filtering system will be beneficial.