Tank Smells a Little Fishy

[LeanneP]

I have noticed off and on that I can smell my tank a little when I walk into the room. I have a 90 gallon that I do a 15 gallon w/c every week and I clean everything quite regularly. One thing I don't do is clean the detritus off the rocks very often so I was wondering if that is why I am getting a bit of a smell. Will running carbon take the smell away?

Leanne

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by LeanneP

I have noticed off and on that I can smell my tank a little when I walk into the room. I have a 90 gallon that I do a 15 gallon w/c every week and I clean everything quite regularly. One thing I don't do is clean the detritus off the rocks very often so I was wondering if that is why I am getting a bit of a smell. Will running carbon take the smell away?

Leanne

As I was reading the lines, I was thinking of writing a question but you answered it in the last line already No carbon = yes smell. And the strength depends on the water volume and bioload ratio. And the holes at the top of the skimmer cup adds some spices to it too.

[11purewater]

Also check the temp.might be a little high.

[Rogue951]

If u feed frozen foods that really has a punch too

[gregzz4]

Can also be airflow in the house, but I'll agree that carbon is helpful

I find my office, where my sump is, has a strong salty smell until I air the room out

[LeanneP]

Temp is stable as I have a controller and chiller. I do feed frozen food and maybe I am feeding too heavy. I stopped using carbon as I found my corals didn't seem to like it too much, but I guess I will try it again. Anyone know if not getting the detritus off the rocks would make it smell. I am just lazy and my blenny likes all the algae.

Leanne

[Myka]

Originally Posted by LeanneP

Will running carbon take the smell away?

Yes. I even use an open bowl of dry carbon in my fish room to pull the "aquarium smell" out. It works very well.

You don't have to use carbon 24/7 in your aquarium though; there are pros and cons to that. I don't really follow a carbon schedule for my reefs, but I probably average one week every month or so that I will run some in a bag that I shove down between the baffle in my sump. I just keep a bag of it sitting on top of the sump and put it in between the baffles to run it for a day or two, then set it back up on the sump to dry again. Once it is dry I store it in a food container so it doesn't absorb "stuff" out of the air while it is waiting for its next use. I keep a log of tank parameters and record how many days of use the carbon has on it and what day it was changed out. I've found the amount and type of carbon I use lasts for about 30 days of use.

[LeanneP]

Thanks for all the responses. I guess back to using carbon it is!

[frizzo1983]

Try putting a tablespoon of vinegar into your collection cup of your skimmer. Once I did that my wife did not notice the smell as much. Worth a try, without putting anything into your tank. Just a thought

[Myka]

Originally Posted by frizzo1983

Try putting a tablespoon of vinegar into your collection cup of your skimmer. Once I did that my wife did not notice the smell as much. Worth a try, without putting anything into your tank. Just a thought

Although the reasoning is sound, if your skimmer overflows the vinegar will be dumped into your sump. Depending on the amount of vinegar, this could cause a lot of trouble.