Tank is rank

[Sonatine]

So my tank smells a bit like the underside of a wharf in July and I think a few margarita snails that I recently added who disappeared may be the cause. Not entirely sure what caused their demise. Ammonia has been zero per seachem badge and nitrates are 0-5 (it's the API test which sucks, but I think it would register something if they were extremely high). I won't be getting any more of that type of snail, as I've now read that they prefer cooler water. My resident snails are all alive and accounted for.

But the point of my question: how long can I expect the smell to linger? I can't see the shells of the missing/presumed dead snails, and I might have to take apart some rockwork to find them. Is this something my nassarius snails and an extra water change can handle, or am I going to have to go corpse searching?

The smell itself is kind of hard to describe, but "beach at low tide in hot weather" is the best way I can think of it. It's pungent enough to be unpleasant when I shift the lid and take a whiff, but I can't smell it across the room or anything. I've got a bit of an algal bloom happening (ugly stage is in full swing), so that might also contribute to the smell.

Thoughts?

 

[Quietman]

Great job on noticing smell. One of the underrated ways to monitor your tank. Assuming the cause is snail demise and you have a good clean up crew the smell shouldn't last long. Algae blooms can also cause some unusual odors as well as bacteria blooms. I still remember the tank funk from my dino outbreak. As long as it's only noticeable when you put your face over the tank, I'd take as an indicator something is out of balance and to monitor. If it's clearing out the room (which I've never experienced) - massive water changes would be order of the day.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Run some carbon. Poly Filter may help also.

 

[Sonatine]

Run some carbon. Poly Filter may help also.

I've actually already got carbon running in the filter. It's just the stuff that came with the tank though (it's an AIO). I thought it had a longer lifespan than 5ish weeks but maybe I'll try replacing it and see how it goes.

 

[Quietman]

Run some carbon. Poly Filter may help also.

I haven't run it regular in so long I forget about it. I do keep it just for stuff like this though and everyone should have some polyfilter for emergencies.

Carbon will last 3 weeks - ish normal load. If you have an issue/contaminants...then less.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

I've actually already got carbon running in the filter. It's just the stuff that came with the tank though (it's an AIO). I thought it had a longer lifespan than 5ish weeks but maybe I'll try replacing it and see how it goes.

The thing you never know is how long it was sitting in a warehouse and what the conditions were.

 

[Sonatine]

I haven't run it regular in so long I forget about it. I do keep it just for stuff like this though and everyone should have some polyfilter for emergencies.

Carbon will last 3 weeks - ish normal load. If you have an issue/contaminants...then less.

Ahhh. The fluval instructions lied to me then, about how long between replacements. I'll see if I can pick some up today.

Still will keep an eye on things; don't want to miss any bad changes. It's hard with a new tank I guess, since they change so much as they get set up and mature, it's difficult to get a solid feeling for what's "normal" (I'm pretty sure I'd notice something disastrously wrong but I'd rather get to it sooner than that).

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I've actually already got carbon running in the filter. It's just the stuff that came with the tank though (it's an AIO). I thought it had a longer lifespan than 5ish weeks but maybe I'll try replacing it and see how it goes.

personally I change my carbon every week. Nothing should be in your tank for 5 weeks without being changed or cleaned.

 

[Sonatine]

personally I change my carbon every week. Nothing should be in your tank for 5 weeks without being changed or cleaned.

I rinse it when I rinse out the filter sponges, so it's not like I've entirely neglected it. But it sounds like it's probably at the end of its life. I'll change it as soon as I pick up some more.

 

[Quietman]

Probably should also say it's best to run GAC amounts as recommended by online calculators (1 TBSP/10 gals is common) and replace frequently (3 weeks or so) rather than try to add a bunch as make go longer.

I have noticed on my ORP that it'll start dropping after a few weeks GAC sometimes longer and never really dramatic. I've never clocked it or anything and like I said, I only run if I'm seeing problems now. But the 3 weeks on a "normal" system seems about right with what I've seen.

 

[Graemesreef]

I made the mistake of adding some large turbos during a dino outbreak, they consumed it died and the tank wreaked. I didn't want to do a water change being my #s were already bottomed so I put a large bag of carbon in one of the filter socks and siphoned directly from the display into that sock in the sump. I probably turned the tank over twice and the smell was gone.

 

[Sonatine]

Okay, so. One of those "dead" margarita snails just showed up on the back wall of the tank. There's every possibility the other one is alive too, I guess.

I'm thinking the algae is the cause of the smell. It's pungent, but not really a rotten smell, and it seems... plant-y? Like seaweed and hot vegetables that have been steamed too long? I dunno how to describe it. It's only really noticeable when I stick my nose right up to the water and take a whiff.

The two places I stopped didn't have the activated carbon so I'll have to order some. I think it'll probably be fine until then, since everything looks good on the tests and it would seem my inhabitants are all alive after all.

 

[Sonatine]

One last update: I have now laid eyes on both snails, cruising around just fine, so dead snail is no longer a part of the differential. I wonder where they were hiding before?

The smell is milder than before, and I'm pretty sure it's just algae. I'll keep an eye (nose?) on it, and I still have some new activated carbon coming in the mail to switch out during my next water change. But I gotta say that I'm actually just pretty happy I didn't kill my snails after all. Thanks everyone!