Vinegar dosing - smell from tank

[wdavid]

I've noticed a bit of a distinct smell coming from the reef tank, and was wondering if others were experiencing this issue. Started noticing the smell just about the same time I started dosing vinegar. Not sure how to describe the smell but it's sharp? My family says the air smells soggy and nasty. It's definitely not the smell we're used to from just having a reef tank.

Is this to be expected? How do I deal with this smell? Already running carbon. Can I fix the issue by changing to a different carbon source? Will all carbon sources smell potent while dosing?

Thanks

 

[Diesel]

Prior to dosing vinegar did you had a smell of the tank?

 

[wdavid]

Prior to dosing vinegar did you had a smell of the tank?

Definitely not like this. It had the ocean-y smell that I'm used to having. This is a lot more "chemically"

 

[WWIII]

That's strange. I have no ideas of what it could be for ya? I have been dosing vinegar in my tank for almost 2 years, but never smell the vinegar or any other strange smells coming from the tank. Well, besides the skimmate. I dose around 60 ml of vinegar as a maintenance dose in my 250 gallon system.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I didn't detect any smell change, even when dosing large amounts of vinegar, but depending on what organisms in your tank are consuming it and growing faster, they may be releasing other organics that you smell.

 

[wdavid]

I didn't detect any smell change, even when dosing large amounts of vinegar, but depending on what organisms in your tank are consuming it and growing faster, they may be releasing other organics that you smell.

Not much I can do on that front I guess. Do I just let them be and do water changes and see if it improves over time?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I have had this happen a few times when dosing with vinegar. It's likely a reaction from a strain of bacteria in the tank. Be sure to clean the skimmer cup daily, and you can run carbon or purigen to assist with reducing the odors.

 

[WWIII]

Do you run any carbon on the tank? That may help some? I would just vacuum everything while doing a waterchange and keep the water moving really well and see if that helps. You could switch to a different carbon source, but that depends on how bad the smell is and if you're pretty certain that's what is causing it.

 

[ZoWhat]

I would have to guess since you are super charging good bacteria and that good bacteria is eating organics......you are smelling the after effects of gases being released (?)

Is it the same smell as if you took a larger LR out and got a good whiff of it?


.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Not much I can do on that front I guess. Do I just let them be and do water changes and see if it improves over time?

GAC may help reduce smells.

 

[wdavid]

GAC may help reduce smells.

Do you run any carbon on the tank?

you can run carbon or purigen to assist with reducing the odors.

I'm already running brs carbon, about 20% more then the websites calculated dose and changing every 2 weeks