Does anyone else smell their skimmer cup?

Hemmdog · Jul 16, 2019

It smells so bad. My wife doesn’t even let me flush it anymore, I have to walk my skimmer cup to the sewer drain, my neighbors always give me some interesting looks.

Makers Marc · Jul 16, 2019

Hemmdog said:
It smells so bad. My wife doesn’t even let me flush it anymore, I have to walk my skimmer cup to the sewer drain, my neighbors always give me some interesting looks.

Haha. Sucks its saltwater bc I bet its a killer fertilizer

Daniel@R2R · Jul 16, 2019

Hahaha!! Yes...

Taxus812 · Jul 16, 2019

Hi I’m Terry and I to smell my skimmer cup.

krash7172 · Jul 16, 2019

Love the smell of the ocean but not the cup. Hah. I usually wait until I smell the cup over the tank to clean it. This is a bit off topic but I got an algae scrubber and it gets warm. Add some heat and it's a bit funky. Does algae have an odor?

K7BMG · Jul 16, 2019

Well I needed a laugh and this thread did it.

Well I don't go out of my way to smell it that's for sure, but it just happens.

The other part is how many have dropped or spilled the cups contents...…?

I have to raise my hand here on line item 2. dang. LOL, That brings joy to the household for sure LoL.
Had to toss a pair of shoes.... ;Yuck

vetteguy53081 · Jul 16, 2019

smell it - yes. Make a point of smelling it- seriously?? - NO
That's nasty stuff in there and its meant to be dumped!

Pau Hana Reefer · Jul 16, 2019

Thank you to everyone here for helping me feel a little more normal. Think I'm going to go "clean" my protein skimmer out now.

Gdesquire · Jul 16, 2019

Every. Single. Time.

WVNed · Jul 16, 2019

I make bread with it. Don't tell the family

krash7172 · Jul 16, 2019

When we first started reefing, I told my wife that the cup had to be dumped while I was out of town. That was two years ago and she hasn't done it since. lol. Our deal is she cleans up after the dogs and I empty the cup. Deal!

X-37B · Jul 16, 2019

Yea want to make sure its working. Thats my excuse. I always ask the wife if she would like some skimmer nog! She does not think its funny though.

exnisstech · Jul 17, 2019

The best part is when you have the unsuspecting wife and kids smell it lol. Of course they are not like us, they only smell it one time.

theMeat · Jul 17, 2019

I don’t smell it because I was built backwards. My feet smell and my nose runs

madweazl · Jul 17, 2019

Taking the cap off the cup is enough to gag a maggot, I cant imagine sticking my nose down there.

Fotocha · Jul 17, 2019

I cleaned mine the other day, and my wife accused me of the smell being me! Lol

What’s worse is I usually use a toothbrush to clean it too. Problem is I accidentally used my wife’s brush and not the extra one I bought for the tank “same color” and we made an extra trip to the store that night. Had she only known or had I left it out lol

RalphTech · Jul 17, 2019

ReeferReefer said:
When I open the lid to my skimmer cup and look down the neck to check its production, I tend to give it a little snif. I guess I'm trying to see how stinky the stuff is but it's kind of weird when I think about it.

Anyone else do this?

My 15G nano reef has a small HAGAN skimmer. Tough to tweek but it works fine. I see the filth and don't need to smell it but probably will now.

My tank sits on the kitchen counter and its easy for me to dump the 3 oz of residue into the kitchen sink even with dishes. I figure the germs will come out when the dishes are done. Is there anything toxic I should worry about? Been watching family members and they seem fine.