Ooooh that smell...Can't you smell that smell

[LisaMarie]

Gotta say I personally LOVE the smell of the ocean in my living room (but I'm blind so it's one of the joys for me). My husband....not so much. UV sterilizer, daily rinsing of skimmer cup and a Winnix 5500 air purifier ($150 on Amazon) keep the peace around here.

 

[jgvergo]

Is your wife related to my wife? My wife's nose can detect even the slightest offending odor. And she's not afraid to tell me about it .

I'm guessing they are twins, separated at birth!

 

[jgvergo]

Gotta say I personally LOVE the smell of the ocean in my living room (but I'm blind so it's one of the joys for me). My husband....not so much. UV sterilizer, daily rinsing of skimmer cup and a Winnix 5500 air purifier ($150 on Amazon) keep the peace around here.

Wow, I have to say that you might be the first blind person I've talked to who enjoys the hobby! It is a very visual experience for me (and I suspect for most of us). What draws you to it?

 

[melanotaenia]

If you are not washing that skimmer cup...oh boy, you are in for a treat when you do decide to rinse it!!

 

[jgvergo]

Side note my wife’s friend is dating Artemis. He is a crazy old man very cool though

I can only imagine!

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Are you running some carbon? That will help. I will say my fuge is slightly stinky if some of the cheato is out of the water. And yes I’m loving some Skynyrd. I’ve seen them over 20 times in the last 27 years. My wife took me front row center for my 40th. So good.

 

[John08007]

Ive had a reactor pump go bad, didnt realize till the reactor became anerobic. You think your skimmer smells bad? You wouldnt believe the sulphur stench i dealt with

 

[motortrendz]

I only get that smell when I dose phyto and my skimmer pulls it out.

 

[jgvergo]

Are you running some carbon? That will help. I will say my fuge is slightly stinky if some of the cheato is out of the water. And yes I’m loving some Skynyrd. I’ve seen them over 20 times in the last 27 years. My wife took me front row center for my 40th. So good.

When I was in college, I tended bar at the school Ratskeller. EVERY Thurs/Fri/Sat night the band would close with a pretty pitiful rendition of Free Bird. It has scarred me for life and I've never seen Skynrd live

 

[jgvergo]

I only get that smell when I dose phyto and my skimmer pulls it out.

Hmmmmm, I dose phyto!!

 

[1stNoel]

Gotta say I personally LOVE the smell of the ocean in my living room (but I'm blind so it's one of the joys for me). My husband....not so much. UV sterilizer, daily rinsing of skimmer cup and a Winnix 5500 air purifier ($150 on Amazon) keep the peace around here.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm curious as to how you fell in love with a hobby that you can't visually enjoy. There seems to be a super interesting story here.

 

[Dana Riddle]

The very first band I ever saw in concert was Lynyrd Skynyrd. They were the opening act for The Who in Atlanta's Omni back in '72. Now that I've revealed my age, use of ozone followed by flow through activated carbon will remove most objectionable odors (assuming skimmer maintenance is routine.) With that said, my girlfriend complained of smelling a natural gas leak from the oven (this in a brand new house.) I called my brother (a Fire Marshal) who inspects for gas leaks with a meter. He told me that it is common for him to respond to natural gas leaks where one in the relationship (usually the female) smells the leak.

 

[sfin52]

I'm interested in hearing the story as well

 

[Patientman]

I put a thin charcoal/carbon pad … like for a pond filter … cut it to fit on top of collection cup lid … seems to help quite a bit.

 

[damselindistress]

I've seen Skynyrd live 5 times and loved them every single time but I will admit the last time I saw them I was sans alcohol and it wasn't nearly as much fun lol. Something about being the only sober person in a sea of sweaty, screaming, dancing inebriated rednecks (I can say that bc I'm one of them lol) that is more mildly annoying than it is a good time lol.

I too have a super sensitive nose, I find running the ceiling fan continuously in the living room (where my tank lives) makes a big difference. Something so simple but believe me, I can tell immediately when I walk in the house if the fan has been turned off that day.

One more quick story - three years ago I was cooking Thanksgiving dinner for my extended family - everything was ready but the rolls. I popped them in the oven, leaving a family member in charge of watching them and ran upstairs to jump in the shower. While in the shower I could actually smell the first whiff of burning bread and had to stomp on the floor and beat the wall to get the attention of someone who was in the same room as said burning bread. That's how sensitive my sense of smell is lol.

 

[Waters]

Aside from cleaning more frequently, what remedy are you suggesting?

They actually sell products designed for it.....the Davy Jone's Skimmate Locker is one of them

Medium Davey Jones Skimmate Locker

No more messy skimmer cup overflows, or accidents! The Davey Jones Skimmate Locker can connect directly to your protein skimmers collection cup drain, and can even shut off your skimmer if the locker ever gets full. Avast Marine easily makes some of the best acrylic products and the Skimmate...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I also clean mine weekly which helps a ton.

 

[Jay Z]

Bathroom fan venting outside = no smell in the house anymore.

 

[Deiblerj]

I hate to point out the obvious here, but we have reef tanks to replicate the ocean...the ocean has a distinct smell to it. Seems inevitable that at some point you’re going to get a whiff of the ocean. Try pulling out one of your rocks and give it a smell. Definitely going to smell like low tide

 

[LisaMarie]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm curious as to how you fell in love with a hobby that you can't visually enjoy. There seems to be a super interesting story here.

I wasn't born blind. I only started losing my vision about 8 years ago. I grew up in Monterey Bay, CA and was absolutely in love with the ocean. I also fell in love with a paratrooper in the 82md airborne so I got into reefing to keep a piece of the ocean with me as we traveled. When I was transitioning to blindness I gave up reefing (fear and self pity make you do stupid things). I got back into it about 6 months ago when my husband told me to go buy an aquarium before I drive him crazy. I argued and said I couldn't do it without my vision, he argued back and won. He was right. I am totally blind in one eye and legally blind in the other so I can still see light, shapes, and even my fish VERY close up. Because my light perception is diffused, my corals are like explosions of color. I can't make them out individually but the color and movement is breathtaking. It sounds crazy but there's much more to reefing than what you can see.....the comforting sound of water, the smell of the ocean, the blue light in the the living room, the bond with my fish, corals, and inverts. You would be surprised how much you can do without vision. I restored an old acrylic tank and built my canopy on my own. I figured if I couldn't do that much, I didn't need a tank. I'm not saying it's always easy, but it's definitely worth doing. Reefing is either in your blood and soul or it's not. You're going to do it for life or give it up within a few years. I'm never going to give it up. Everyone here has been incredibly helpful throughout my build. This community showed me that I can still do it and I am forever grateful that I found R2R.

 

[Heabel7]

If I notice a smell, activated carbon takes it out quick. It’s actually a tell tale sign I should change it.