Soil / Sand substrate ammonia levels

[Moz]

Hello All! I would like to thank everyone for their help lately, and especially your patience in helping me out with my questions. I'm a noob at this hobby, and I'm enjoying it!

I have a 10gal tank with 1" or so of soil and 2" or so of sand. Live plants. I lost some fish recently due to an ammonia spike.

It was recommended to do a water change that eventually killed the rest of the fish and shrimp after the water changes. Ammonia was pretty high, I guess. Betta was an only survivor, Shohei (named him after the baseball player 😉) is a fighter! I'm going to continue to do water changes until water is safe for more fish.

My question is... Does the type of substrate that I have raise the ammonia levels? Every once in a while I see bubbles, which I know is normal. I few bubbles popped under my nose as I was looking close and had a smelly scent. I would think it's normal for the substrate to have a smell, and it wasn't a really bad rotting smell like stagnant water would, but it had a smell to it, and I was wondering if it can raise or keep ammonia levels high.

Again, thank you for your help!!

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 3/25/2024 at 8:51 PM, Moz said:

Hello All! I would like to thank everyone for their help lately, and especially your patience in helping me out with my questions. I'm a noob at this hobby, and I'm enjoying it!

I have a 10gal tank with 1" or so of soil and 2" or so of sand. Live plants. I lost some fish recently due to an ammonia spike.

It was recommended to do a water change that eventually killed the rest of the fish and shrimp after the water changes. Ammonia was pretty high, I guess. Betta was an only survivor, Shohei (named him after the baseball player 😉) is a fighter! I'm going to continue to do water changes until water is safe for more fish.

My question is... Does the type of substrate that I have raise the ammonia levels? Every once in a while I see bubbles, which I know is normal. I few bubbles popped under my nose as I was looking close and had a smelly scent. I would think it's normal for the substrate to have a smell, and it wasn't a really bad rotting smell like stagnant water would, but it had a smell to it, and I was wondering if it can raise or keep ammonia levels high.

Again, thank you for your help!!

What sort of soil do you have under the sand cap? Is it aqua soil (and if so, what brand?) or is it potting/garden soil? How long was your tank running before you saw the ammonia spike?

I ask because some soils (thinking specifically of ADA Amazonia, but that's not the only one) come pre-loaded with a fairly high ammonia level, which can be good for plants but often needs a lot of water changes at start-up to get the tank ready for animals.

[Moz]

On 3/26/2024 at 9:22 AM, Rube_Goldfish said:

What sort of soil do you have under the sand cap? Is it aqua soil (and if so, what brand?) or is it potting/garden soil? How long was your tank running before you saw the ammonia spike?

I ask because some soils (thinking specifically of ADA Amazonia, but that's not the only one) come pre-loaded with a fairly high ammonia level, which can be good for plants but often needs a lot of water changes at start-up to get the tank ready for animals.

I have organic garden soil. I believe its miracle grow without the slow release fertilizer stuff, organic. It's been running a few months now. The water changes have been recently these past few days.

I understand that bubbles are normal and it should have a curtain smell. My concern if it raises the ammonia levels.

Thank you!

[AllFishNoBrakes]

1” of soil in a 10 gallon tank is A LOT, in my opinion. Just like everything else, it breaks down and releases nutrients for plants. 
 

Assuming you don’t have any other ammonia sources, the soil is probably the cause as it’s breaking down. 
 

I have a dirted tank, but I did like 1/4” of soil. 

[Moz]

On 3/26/2024 at 10:51 AM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

1” of soil in a 10 gallon tank is A LOT, in my opinion. Just like everything else, it breaks down and releases nutrients for plants. 
 

Assuming you don’t have any other ammonia sources, the soil is probably the cause as it’s breaking down. 
 

I have a dirted tank, but I did like 1/4” of soil. 

Yeah, I had my suspicions. What do you think about Fluval Stratum or Aqueon?

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 3/26/2024 at 9:09 AM, Moz said:

Yeah, I had my suspicions. What do you think about Fluval Stratum or Aqueon?

I’ve never used them so I can’t speak on them. Gravel and root tabs when necessary for me. And my single dirted tank. 

[Moz]

On 3/26/2024 at 11:44 AM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I’ve never used them so I can’t speak on them. Gravel and root tabs when necessary for me. And my single dirted tank. 

I didn't sift the soil at first to remove woody pieces. That could also be the issue. 

Thank you for the advice!

[knee]

On 3/26/2024 at 8:09 AM, Moz said:

Yeah, I had my suspicions. What do you think about Fluval Stratum or Aqueon?

If you want to use aquasoil without worrying about it leeching ammonia, use UNS controsoil. I’ve been using that brand for years now and never encountered an issue with ammonia spikes. 

[johnnyxxl]

On 3/26/2024 at 10:29 AM, Moz said:

I have organic garden soil. I believe its miracle grow without the slow release fertilizer stuff, organic. It's been running a few months now. The water changes have been recently these past few days.

I understand that bubbles are normal and it should have a curtain smell. My concern if it raises the ammonia levels.

Thank you!

Organic soil's can raise ammonia spikes as the compounds break down.

[Moz]

On 3/27/2024 at 2:59 PM, johnnyxxl said:

Organic soil's can raise ammonia spikes as the compounds break down.

I been looking into the Diane Walstad method. I'm going to let the tank go through the cycle for a few months. Im adding more plants to the tank.