Smelly tank
 

So I have noticed over the last while my house is starting to smell like a fish tank. We just got home from dinner and it is really noticeable. I just cleaned out the skimmer cup last night so it's not that. I've got a lot of detritus on my sand that is now turning red, so hello cyano....tank transfer took place at the beginning of March. I added a sand starfish last night as well but haven't seen him since he went in. I did a water change last weekend and tried to get out as much crap out of the sump as I could, but my vacuum kept clogging up (it attaches to the sink and sucks). Have water ready for salt for a large water change this weekend. What am I doing wrong?

A dead snail in the tank could smell like that too, not just from a skimmer cup like I had a problem with before.

Does the water smell in the display? or is it coming from the sump area?

Any algae or liverock exposed anywhere? Do you run carbon? Carbon will def help with odor but lately I have been seeing more and more people having issues with running carbon in a reef setting. I would read through the "carbon threads" before making a decision on that.

Seems like it's coming from the display tank, sump isn't that bad. I moved one of the power heads down a few inches to try to move more flow over the sand and I'm seeing more solids floating around, had to look closely to make sure it wasn't bubbles.

Mentioning a dead snail, I added 20 sand snails but haven't seen a single one come out....could they be causing this if they are dead??

I've followed the carbon threads, bought some a week ago but haven't used as a result of the problems people are having. I bought premium bituminous coal activated carbon from wais aquarium, specifically manufactured for Wais. Like I said I haven't used it.

No rock or algae exposed or has been since set up, this smell is new over the last couple of days, no changes to the tank.

Test your water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates right away.
If things are rotting, you'll find out pretty quick.

Is your DT open or covered?

+1
This just happened here too.
Checked a few snails that hadn't moved for a while and when I brought the oozing one out ...ACH :shocked: It reeked so bad I nearly blew chunks. Tanks smell dissipated (I don't use GAC) shortly after I flushed it.

A couple dead snails could def put off a pretty nasty smell. I find it usually only lasts a day or 2 though. The rest of your clean up crew should take care of them pretty quick (providing you have a decent CUC).