darkangel Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Not sure if this is the right place for this but here goes, I have a ten gal tank with about 2" of black geo system substrate in it. My question is can boiling this stuff cause it to release any toxins into the water. The tank has been redone about 2 months ago and I boiled the substrate, now anything that goes in the tank seems to disappear overnite and no trace of bodies anywhere.The only thing that seems to live in there is plants and @#*#ing snails. Tested the water every day for the last week and came up with amonia-0, nitrite-0, nitrate-0, ph-7.2 any answers or thoughts will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 I have no clue what's in GeoSystem substrate, but if you can find someone with different metal test kits (copper, lead, etc.) you might be able to find something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parachromis1 Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 i use geosystem substrate with no problems at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkangel Posted March 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 I have geo system substrate in 2 other tanks with no problems, 1 is a 55gal and a 5gal. It's just the 10gal that i'm having trouble with. As i said in my first post I boiled it so that might be the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 I have geo system substrate in 2 other tanks with no problems, 1 is a 55gal and a 5gal. It's just the 10gal that i'm having trouble with. As i said in my first post I boiled it so that might be the problem. It might be an ammonia spike that is killing the fish. If there are no fish currently in there, then the tank is not cycled. It does not take long for a 10gallon tank to have water problems. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkangel Posted March 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 It might be an ammonia spike that is killing the fish. If there are no fish currently in there, then the tank is not cycled. It does not take long for a 10gallon tank to have water problems. Kevin I have been testing the water every day, amonia-0 nitrite-0 nitrate-0 ph-7.2. I have an adult danio in there for 2 days and 1 night, so far it is still alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finbert Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Could there be something living in there that you don't know about? For example, do you have breeding pairs of some kind of carnivorous nocturnal/well-camouflaged species, and could an egg have gotten in there and hatched? (It's the no trace of bodies that has me thinking along this tack) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkangel Posted March 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 Could there be something living in there that you don't know about? For example, do you have breeding pairs of some kind of carnivorous nocturnal/well-camouflaged species, and could an egg have gotten in there and hatched? (It's the no trace of bodies that has me thinking along this tack) Very good reply, But the only things in there are a few plants and snails, However I don't think that the few snails that are in there would be able to devour the bodies of 100 + fry overnight. Snails are just small ramshorn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shai Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 I used to use black GeoSystem substrate and though I never boiled it I did have trouble with it. Fish just seemed to die off quickly or otherwise have health issues. I've had more luck since getting rid of it. I'm suspicious of your test readings. If the tank is cycled, nitrAte should not be reading zero. How old are your test kits? The bags for GeoSystem warn that it can have a buffering effect on water. Even if you aren't experiencing pH swings, perhaps "reading between the lines" of this warning lends to their being "other stuff" to be careful of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkangel Posted March 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 I used to use black GeoSystem substrate and though I never boiled it I did have trouble with it. Fish just seemed to die off quickly or otherwise have health issues. I've had more luck since getting rid of it.I'm suspicious of your test readings. If the tank is cycled, nitrAte should not be reading zero. How old are your test kits? The bags for GeoSystem warn that it can have a buffering effect on water. Even if you aren't experiencing pH swings, perhaps "reading between the lines" of this warning lends to their being "other stuff" to be careful of. My test kits are anywhere from purchased last week to 2 months old. 4 different test kits and all readings are the same. I have had some danios in the tank for about a week now and all seems to be going well. Water test today, amonia-0, nitrite-0, nitrate-0-5ppm, ph-7. I also agree with the black geo-system substrate, it looks good but it's a pain in the a$$ to get going Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 If you live in an area that already has moderate hardness, and a pH value in the 8.0 range, chances are you will not experience any issues with pH when using the Geosystem substrate. Hagen responds to this issue i their Q&A section. The stability of pH is related to KH (carbonate hardness) as well as your local water conditions. If your local water is very soft you can expect a temporary increase in pH as the gravel may impart some buffers to your water chemistry, thereby causing a rather quick increase in pH. As the aquarium matures biofilms will become more widely spread on all inner aquarium surfaces, including the gravel, this will in effect help to subdue any potential effects the gravel may impart on water chemistry. It is important to thoroughly rinse any natural gravel and employ a pH and KH test kit to accurately adjust values with the appropriate Nutrafin pH Adjust product to within the recommended range. The use of Fluval Granulated Peat and a CO2 system is also recommended to help control and maintain the desired pH and KH levels. The exact same thing could be said about crushed coral, crushed limestone, etc. IME Geosystem substrate is fairly dirty straight from the bag, and as recommended by Hagen should be washed prior to adding it to ones tank. Other than that, I don't see this substrate as causing any health issues with fish, even IF one was to boil it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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