Muddy Crud

[sen5241b]

I cleaned my fuge out last night and there was at least an inch of black muddy crud in the bottom of it. It stank like a back water canal in south Florida probably because there was decaying snail in there. Does anyone else bother to clean this stuff out? Could it have any benefit or is it just a festering detritus trap?

[YHSublime]

I say clean it out.

[gmerek2]

I get brown dusty chunks in my dead spots that I siphon out once or twice a month. Never seen black! Get it out without disturbing it too much

[jaddc]

It's probably an low oxygen area that was colonized by sulfate-reducing bacteria.

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/rhf/

[sen5241b]

It's probably an low oxygen area that was colonized by sulfate-reducing bacteria.

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/rhf/

 

Interesting. Dr Shimek (marine biologists and hobbyist) has said fears of Hydrogen Sulfide in your tank are way overblown. The only benefit I can guess is that the pods loved the muddy crud and I did see giant pods in my fuge before I cleaned it out.

[jaddc]

Interesting. Dr Shimek (marine biologists and hobbyist) has said fears of Hydrogen Sulfide in your tank are way overblown. The only benefit I can guess is that the pods loved the muddy crud and I did see giant pods in my fuge before I cleaned it out.

 

Yeah - I don't disagree with that. I think that out of all my tank worries hydrogen sulfide would rank pretty low. And if you have pods that like stinky black crud, then you should be good to go.

[zygote2k]

keep the crud- grow the pods. maybe you can get a mandarin if you grow enough black crud.

[davelin315]

It is a great breeding ground for pods and mystics. I disagree with Shimek, it can cause a lot of damage in your tank if it builds up and is then released quickly by disturbance or a gas pocket rupturing. I have seen firsthand that it can cause tank deaths in small and also very large systems (100,000 gallons plus).

[sen5241b]

The crud did not seem to be causing any problems and now that I have cleaned it out all of the my big pods seem to be gone. I think the danger is accidentally stirring it up. I seem to recall Paul went out in Long Island sound trying to find muddy crud for his tank! BTW, what are mystics?

Edited August 27, 2014 by sen5241b