Sour milk

[wjm6449]

How many inches is the waterline? Every skimmer has a max and minimum depth of water it’s designed to run in. If your dial is maxed then the skimmer needs to be in deeper water.

If it’s on a stand, then lower it. Or move it to a deeper compartment. Or the skimmer is not compatible with the sump you have. Or the skimmer is overrated and you don’t have enough bioload to make the skimmer function properly.

So I looked. The adjuster knob on my skimmer that has water line sticker is just under the water. Not even an inch.

 

[wjm6449]

In my experience the "sour milk" smell comes from stagnant water. Also, corals and snails dying give off a nasty putrid smell. If you had a snail crawl out of the tank and die that could be part of the problem. Is it the water itself that smells, the skimmer cup that smells, or is it something else?

I mean I have the proper sized pump. A mp40 and Nero 3 running. I know I will need more eventually but there is movement

 

[wjm6449]

Another update. So I can stand above the tank and take a big whiff, little to no stench. It was coming off strong from the sump. I do believe a 1.5” helfirich firefish passed. There’s really no way to locate him. I have a carbon sheet resting on top of my skimmer. But not a bag of activated carbon.

 

[tbrown]

Another update. So I can stand above the tank and take a big whiff, little to no stench. It was coming off strong from the sump. I do believe a 1.5” helfirich firefish passed. There’s really no way to locate him. I have a carbon sheet resting on top of my skimmer. But not a bag of activated carbon.

Stink Sink is an option. They're a vendor on here I believe.

 

[RWReefer]

Hey @wjm6449 did you ever figure this out? Just noticed a sour milk smell (great description, couldn’t put my finger on the way to describe it) on my tank today.

 

[wjm6449]

Yes actually. Cleaned my sand bed put carbon on my skimmer and removed skimmate and it resolved.