Stinky skimmer...dehumidifier?

[dturner]

Hey guys, I run a 120 gallon mixed reef system. I have a 30 gallon sump and a 30 gallon fuge plumbed into the system.

Recently I found out that my sump level was entirely too high for my skimmer to operate correctly. Total idiot mistake of not reading the manual correctly two years ago when I purchased it. It is

a Reef Octopus NWB200 8†Pinwheel In Sump Protein Skimmer (250 gallon rating).

Anyway, ever since I got my sump level to 7.5" where it is supposed to be, my skimmer has been working great but it has been putting out a real nasty mildewy smell throughout my entire house, not just the basement where I keep it.

Even if I empty the collection cup daily I can still smell it throughout the house. When I turn off the skimmer the smell goes away in about 24 hours so I know it's my skimmer causing it for a fact.

Question is, what could be causing this smell and what can I do to fix it? It's not a simple inconveniencing scent it's a full on nasty mildewy smell that even stinks up my clothing which is all the way upstairs and across the house from the tank. I've tried laying bags of carbon over the vent holes without success.

A dehumidifier seems to be my only hope but it don't want to drop $150-$250 on a dehumidifier only to find that it doesn't fix my problem.

After hours and hours of research online I can't find a similar situation so I'm hoping someone with experience can chime in. I really appreciate your time!

Attaching tank shot for the hell of it.

 

[Small triggers]

Is your sump near your air conditioning or heating unit? Or near the house fan draw in? That would make more sense for why it's getting through the house so easily...you may want to figure out how to block off the air circulation for the area it's in, whether that is closing vents or building a wall, if possible.
You could try a dehumidifier...but all that is going tomdomis pull the excess humidity up, which may not do anything for the smell...

 

[dturner]

The sump is kept with the tank which is about 25 ft from the draw for ac/ heat. Even with the air off the smell seeps through the house somehow. That's how strong it is. It takes a few days to build up but once it reaches a certain point it's unmistakeable. Unfortunately building a wall or enclosing the room the tank is in isn't an option. Right now I'm running without the skimmer but I hate not having it on. Also what do you mean the dehumidifier will pull the excess humidity up? I have no experience with them. My theory was somehow the humidity is causing mildew... But I have no experience with mildew either.

Thank you for your response!

 

[dturner]

Okay so I bought a hygrometer today and my basement humidity is only 45% and when I put the meter in the cabinet it was even lower so I'm ruling out the humidity theory. Any other reasons anyone can think of? I know this has to have happened to someone else.

 

[Small triggers]

Pulling any excess humidity, which you don't have, still won't remove a skimate smell...have you thought of a skimmate locker? Have it flow right from your skimmer to a sealed bucket...hopefully bypassing the cup long enough for there not to be a smell build up?

 

[Greenstreet.1]

How often do you clean your skimmer cup ? You have to find a way to get the air coming from the skimmer outside. Do you have a window not to far that you can try and make some kind of vent coming from the skimmer area ?


The Lord is good.

 

[Damon]

Couple suggestions. I sort of know what your taking about, because I experienced a quite nasty chamge when I switched skimmers last year.

What I did that made the most dramatic effect was by this stuff called "onagel". It comes in gel, the liquid refill, and the airwick type of spray container(any hydroponic shop will have it for around 15.00). I just purchased a small can of it. It's designed technically for indoor gardening(hydroponics) with organic nutrient being used. It works extremely well! Short of that, I also used a negative ion generator for quite a while also after the gel wore down to the point of not being able to add water to it.

The smell will dissipate with time and the skimmer working. But during that time, I tried to clean my cup every day, and then made sure the gel always was full.

How this helps you as much as it did me.

Sent from Note 2

 

[mcarroll]

[...]my skimmer has been working great but it has been putting out a real nasty mildewy smell throughout my entire house, not just the basement where I keep it.[...]

A clean skimmer only smells like saltwater.

When's the last time you did a full breakdown cleaning on it? Ditto for all tubing and waste collectors. Tubing may be easier to replace than clean - YMMV.

-Matt

 

[dturner]

@Small triggers, It's absolutely the skimmate smell. even when the cup hasn't yet built up with any skimmate I still smell it. The foam smells so bad that it stinks up the house, not just the stuff in the cup. The locker probably won't work since the air coming out is what smells, I need to filter the air coming out.

@greenstreet, the cup has been cleaned daily in an effort to combat the smell but it hasn't even put a dent in the smell. The air is what is stinky, not just the skimmate. I would love to vent it to the window above the tank but I'm not sure of an affordable way of doing that, my stand is open in the back so I guess id have to enclose it I'm assuming.

@damon, that's a very interesting idea. This gel just sits in the stand or you put it right in the skimmer cup? I might have to look into that for sure, did you notice a difference immediately?

Thanks for your feedback guys, it's very much appreciated!

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Can you run some kind of duct up to the window from the back of the stand on the skimmer side to the window with a reverse running fan to pull the air out the window ? The cost should be low if you DIY you just have to make it look good don't want you getting in trouble at home lol. Just an idea.


The Lord is good.

 

[dturner]

Can you run some kind of duct up to the window from the back of the stand on the skimmer side to the window with a reverse running fan to pull the air out the window ? The cost should be low if you DIY you just have to make it look good don't want you getting in trouble at home lol. Just an idea.


The Lord is good.

Alright so actually after a ton of research lately I found a good solution. I always heard about building a carbon filter lid for the skimmer top but I couldn't figure out what material to use for the chamber. I found a link (which wasn't easy for me to find at first: DIY - Carbon Filtering Skimmer Lid LOTS OF PICS - Blogs - Reef Addicts) and I emailed the company he mentions in the article and they have 8" Acrylic tubing that they can cut for me so I will be doing a little DIY project as soon as I get my tubing from them.

To make sure I'm not wasting my time I found a few filter media bags laying around and was able to cover every cup vent hole with the bag full of carbon and I have noticed a tremendous reduction in the smell! So I know this method will work. I'm going to mark this thread as problem solved. I'll post back my results and pictures after I have time to build the carbon chamber. I'm really excited about solving this smell problem... wife was starting to get annoyed by it, understandably.

 

[Small triggers]

Very cool...and if you are getting parts from avast...they are up here in northern Virginia...and have great customer service...
This looks like a really great idea...never would have thought of it myself....

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Great idea bro. Good luck.


The Lord is good.

 

[mcarroll]

I would seriously consider a simple tear-down cleaning to get rid of the mold/slime that's causing the smell vs spending time and money on a carbon filter first.

Buildup in the skimmer cup drain line is one common source of stink. An untidy "skimmate locker" is another one.

The intended purpose of a carbon lid is really for skimmers that can't be cleaned regularly - the skimmate will start reeking after a day or two. It would work for you too, but you shouldn't need one at all.

Good luck!

-Matt

 

[dturner]

Matt, I'm going to take the full skimmer out and give it a good cleaning this weekend. While the skimmer cup assembly is all sparkly clean from me cleaning it daily, the smell could indeed be coming from the base of the skimmer. When I look at the base there is a decent amount of detritus build up that I never really considered as a reason for the smell but you're probably right, two years of that detritus sitting at the bottom probably isn't helping much lol. Will post back with my results, haven't bought the acrylic tubing yet so I'm hoping that solves my problem.

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Wow bro two years I clean mine every six months.


The Lord is good.

 

[dturner]

Yeah it's a really long tedious process because I have to take almost every item out of my sump to even have room to remove the skimmer. It's not easy at all or I'd do it much more often.

 

[Dowtish]

Yeah it's a really long tedious process because I have to take almost every item out of my sump to even have room to remove the skimmer. It's not easy at all or I'd do it much more often.

Maybe it's time for a larger sump, so you wont be so discouraged to do regular maintenace??

 

[mcarroll]

It sounds like a situation that definitely has some kind of solution waiting to happen!

If what's in the way is not critical plumbing, I'd be inclined to try leaving it permanently out of the way. If a different style of skimmer would help, try not to feel too attached to your present skimmer. I don't know your space limitations, but maybe something like an AquaC EV-120 would have a more agreeable form. (Excellent skimmer too, but just an example.)

-Matt