Reef bad smell

andreasch · Nov 3, 2020

Dear reefers,

i need your help with an issue i have with my reef tank. I have a problem with bad smell coming out of my reef tank and makes house stink. I added a fan in my sump to take the air outside the house but that didnt help.
I guess smell is also coming from the display tank. I had my display tank open on top cos my lights are 60cm above water level, but to solve the problem i decided to make custom cover from plexiglass with some holes on them but even after that my problem didnt fixed.

Anyone else who faced this problem and found the reason and a solution to it? Any help would be appreciated please

Jseimo · Nov 3, 2020

First is find the cause, running carbon would help remove toxins causing as well

andreasch · Nov 3, 2020

Some more details that my help:

Reef tank is from August of 2018 (so is a kinda old one and not in cycle period)
Display tank = 600liters
Sump = around 100liters

Equipement and media:
DOC Tunze Skimmer 9410
Bubble Magus Biopellet Reactor
Aquaforest Phosphate Reactor
Using sponge and cotton filter media as a filter
Red Sea Reef Spec Carbon - active carbon
AF Phosphate Minus
NPX Bioplastics - biopellets
Hydra 64HD lights

andreasch · Nov 3, 2020

Jseimo said:
First is find the cause, running carbon would help remove toxins causing as well

I dont know how to find the cause.. am running carbon as you can see from my reply cos i forgot to mentioned at first post. And this smell is for months, is not something it started suddenly now..

Jseimo · Nov 3, 2020

andreasch said:
I dont know how to find the cause.. am running carbon as you can see from my reply cos i forgot to mentioned at first post. And this smell is for months, is not something it started suddenly now..

Any loss of fish or corals? Do you run a refugium? With all the phosphate removal you do, have you had an algae problem?

Streetlamp · Nov 3, 2020

Any red "algae", Cyano stinks.

Dan_P · Nov 3, 2020

andreasch said:
Dear reefers,

i need your help with an issue i have with my reef tank. I have a problem with bad smell coming out of my reef tank and makes house stink. I added a fan in my sump to take the air outside the house but that didnt help.
I guess smell is also coming from the display tank. I had my display tank open on top cos my lights are 60cm above water level, but to solve the problem i decided to make custom cover from plexiglass with some holes on them but even after that my problem didnt fixed.

Anyone else who faced this problem and found the reason and a solution to it? Any help would be appreciated please

Please, describe the odor as best as you can. How do you know that the odor is coming from the aquarium? What is it like? Do you also have other pets in your house? Any possibility that you have a plumbing problem in your sewer line?

KorD · Nov 3, 2020

Just remember we are ruining small oceans in our homes. The main ocean when we go has a smell to it also.

there are ways of getting that smell down some, but it takes finding and locating the issue first.
I have noticed the header I skim the water the sleds smell there in because I’m taking out extras that should not be there.
also over feeding will cause a bacteria bloom you do not see but can smell.

Mike from TN · Nov 3, 2020

Dan_P said:
Please, describe the odor as best as you can. How do you know that the odor is coming from the aquarium? What is it like? Do you also have other pets in your house? Any possibility that you have a plumbing problem in your sewer line?

We had a pretty bad smell in our house (not tank related but this might help).
We have one of those huge “garden tubs” in our master bathroom that NEVER gets used. I went crazy trying to find the source of this nasty smell. Turns out that all the water in the drain trap for the garden tub had evaporated over time and we had methane fumes coming into the house.
We run the tub a couple times a week now and the smell never came back.
What I’m getting at is that smells can be very hard to track down. May not be your tank at all.
Once the smell is burned into your sinuses, it see,s to be coming from everywhere.

andreasch · Nov 3, 2020

Jseimo said:
Any loss of fish or corals? Do you run a refugium? With all the phosphate removal you do, have you had an algae problem?

Well loss of a fish i have every now and then, but smell is something constantly.. it is there for months now. Refugium i dont have. Algae problem i also dont have. Ill attach some photos that may help...

andreasch · Nov 3, 2020

Streetlamp said:
Any red "algae", Cyano stinks.

Hm not sure but i think no..ill attach photos to help me on that

andreasch · Nov 3, 2020

Dan_P said:
Please, describe the odor as best as you can. How do you know that the odor is coming from the aquarium? What is it like? Do you also have other pets in your house? Any possibility that you have a plumbing problem in your sewer line?

hard to describe it but is bad

i dont have other pets and no plumbing problem. is definitely the tank cos if i put my head on top of water level of my display tank, i get this bad smell from in there

andreasch · Nov 3, 2020

KorD said:
Just remember we are ruining small oceans in our homes. The main ocean when we go has a smell to it also.

there are ways of getting that smell down some, but it takes finding and locating the issue first.
I have noticed the header I skim the water the sleds smell there in because I’m taking out extras that should not be there.
also over feeding will cause a bacteria bloom you do not see but can smell.

dont think am feeding much (once or twice per day).. is it much?
smell comes also from display tank, not just the sump. even after i clean skimmer i still have it

andreasch · Nov 3, 2020

KorD · Nov 3, 2020

andreasch said:
dont think am feeding much (once or twice per day).. is it much?
smell comes also from display tank, not just the sump. even after i clean skimmer i still have it

I feed once a day, and just enough all get a little without fighting. Nothing hits the bottom of the tank anymore.
what are you feeding?

Pntbll687 · Nov 3, 2020

How long has the smell been strong enough to smell in the room?

mindme · Nov 3, 2020

I never had bad smells in my tanks...unless there is algae that is hitting the air. I would look for places where algae is maybe being exposed to air, or something else similiar is being exposed to air.

As long as things are underwater, there shouldn't be a smell issue.

ca1ore · Nov 3, 2020

Depends on what the ‘bad’ smell is. If it is a rotten egg, hydrogen sulfide smell then that’s a problem. If it’s a ‘bay at low tide’ smell then it’s less of a problem. I get the latter occasionally. If I feed to much at one time or a coral decides to spawn. PE mysis can also cause it. Generally it means not enough circulation and or nutrient accumulations. Get the water moving a bit more and check your nutrient levels.

JohnGP · Nov 4, 2020

Have you cleaned your skimmer recently? I've found that skimmers can put off some nasty odors sometimes. Any chance a fish has jumped and landed under the couch or behind something and you haven't noticed it? Just throwing some ideas out there.