Recent bad tank smell

gemini9 · Nov 2, 2014

I recently upgraded my lighting to some t5 bulbs and ever since, I've noticed some changes in the tank. More rapid brown algae growth on the sides of the glass and equipment is one. But that's no biggie... I don't mind cleaning the glass. But the most unpleasant change I'm noticing is in the smell. Sure there has always been a little fishy smell in the tank, but the tank is really starting to smell, well, not fishy, but just plain BAD. As in, rotten bad. Has any body had experience with a rotten smelling tank? I never noticed it until I upgraded the lights. Could algae growth be causing the rank in my tank? Any ideas how to make it smell better? This really is bothering me and it's starting to spread throughout the room. Very unpleasant.

I thought about putting some baking soda in there since baking soda is known to neutralize odors, but I don't really want to bother my pH. pH is steady around 8.1... so I guess it wouldn't hurt if the baking soda brought it up some. I tested a few parameters and this is what I came up with

pH 8.1
Ammonia looks slightly elevated at .10 or .25 maybe
The ammonia test I have never seems to read correctly so it's questionable. I have a API test kit and it's never seemed to measure ammonia correctly. Even when my tank was in it's initial cycle, it read the same.
Nitrates are 20ppm
phosphate is 0
Salinity measures 1.025

With my ph at 8.1, it may not hurt to put in some baking soda. Before I do, I want to see what others say here. Anybody else have experience with rotten smells? What's a good solution? Just did a 15% wc and changed my blue filter pads, thinking the carbon in them would help.

NanaReefer · Nov 2, 2014

Used T5HO for 3yrs and never had a bad smell. Sounds like something has died in, under or around your tank.

erk · Nov 2, 2014

I also think something has died recently and it must be pretty large to cause a jump in ammonia in a seasoned tank. Any time you can read ammonia, that is not good.

jayhawk · Nov 2, 2014

erk said:
I also think something has died recently and it must be pretty large to cause a jump in ammonia in a seasoned tank. Any time you can read ammonia, that is not good.

Agree +
I would also run carbon in a media bag if not already. The source of ammonia needs to be rectified....

erk · Nov 3, 2014

You could also dose some prime to fix the ammonia before it kills more stuff.

Ford4life · Nov 3, 2014

Run carbon

gemini9 · Nov 3, 2014

The test kit I use for ammonia is api and it has neved been accurate for some reason. I dont think anything is dead. All fish are alive, emerald, cleaner,I have a few larger snails tho. I wonder if maybe one of those have died? 2 of them were a little larger than the others. Ive got some new filters with carbon in there now. Baking soda idea is a no go? Doing another small wc tonigjt.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 3, 2014

Do you notice any black deposits under the sand, like along the edges where it meets the glass?

That's a sign of hydrogen sulfide being produced.

This has more:

Hydrogen Sulfide and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 3, 2014

gemini9 said:
The test kit I use for ammonia is api and it has neved been accurate for some reason. I dont think anything is dead. All fish are alive, emerald, cleaner,I have a few larger snails tho. I wonder if maybe one of those have died? 2 of them were a little larger than the others. Ive got some new filters with carbon in there now. Baking soda idea is a no go? Doing another small wc tonigjt.

No, never add baking soda to a reef tank unless it is being added as an alkalinity supplement. It won't do anything for smells once it dissolves.

gemini9 · Nov 3, 2014

I did a thourough check of my inhabitants and I don't see where anything is dead or missing. Everything is alive and well, nothing is dead. I look along the edge of the glass beneathe the sand in the spots where it is high enough to see and I didn't see any black deposits.

I have some algae here and there. Some brown stuff mainly on the glass and equipment... a tiny bit of black stringy stuff (black beard algae?) dangling from my HOB filter, and a few spots of green fuzzy stuff about the size of nickels, but nothing real severe. At the top of my skimmer, there is some reddish/brown algae growing inside the chamber... where I guess it's getting light from the T5 setup. Although I have more algae growth than I did before, there's nothing really severe.

I probably should cut back on my nighting time tho. Actinics are on from 9 am until 9 pm, and the 10000k come on from noon to 7. Maybe cut back on the lights a bit and cut back on my feeding to help better control the algae.... But the smell.... algae won't make it smell will it? :-/

Okay, I'll hold on the baking soda. LFS instructed me to dose baking soda if my pH got too low, that's why I have it.

ecam · Nov 3, 2014

For the algae issues. How old are the t5s.. once the spectrum shifts when the bulbs age it will grow algae

gemini9 · Nov 3, 2014

T5 fixture is about 2 or 3 weeks old. I just bought it.

fishroomlady · Nov 3, 2014

I don't think that algae smells like what you're describing.......I would maybe add some new carbon and run that and I would definitely shorten your lighting period - I don't think you need that much light for your tank needs at this point and it can contribute to algae growth if you have the nutrients. Do you have a good amount of flow in the tank? I'm sorry I don't remember what you have in place for flow - moving water can keep yucky stuff suspended and then can be skimmed out so nothing to get stagnant to smell.....have you added any new live rock to the system? I know uncured live rock can really stink from the die off

gemini9 · Nov 3, 2014

I have decent flow. I've got a 30 gallon tank 36" long. On one end I have a 500gph powerhead and on the other end I have a penguin 350 hob filter that also generates flow. So I have moderate flow I guess. I did a 15% wc yesterday and just did another 15%. I'll do another 15% tomorrow. I put in 2 new filter pads that have carbon in them. I'll limit my lights a little bit more, too.

As for new live rock, I haven't put any in there. I checked all of my inhabitants and nothing is dead. There's no black deposits under my sand. I don't understand.... I fed my anemone a very small piece of a silverside (just the head). I didn't actually SEE him eat it, but I'm sure he did? If not, could that be the problem? I feed it about one small piece a week.

My skimmer looks kinda gross within the chambers. Maybe it's releasing some stink into the tank? Should I clean it up with distilled vinegar?

fishroomlady said:
I don't think that algae smells like what you're describing.......I would maybe add some new carbon and run that and I would definitely shorten your lighting period - I don't think you need that much light for your tank needs at this point and it can contribute to algae growth if you have the nutrients. Do you have a good amount of flow in the tank? I'm sorry I don't remember what you have in place for flow - moving water can keep yucky stuff suspended and then can be skimmed out so nothing to get stagnant to smell.....have you added any new live rock to the system? I know uncured live rock can really stink from the die off

fishroomlady · Nov 4, 2014

are you still getting the nasty smell after your water changes? I wouldn't think a head of a silverside would cause that much smell even if left uneaten.....it's good to clean at least your skimmer cup about once a week - again, I don't think that would be the source of the smell though although a black, dirty skimmer cup can be smelly - do you empty your cup regularly?

gemini9 · Nov 4, 2014

I empty the collection cup every week, but the chambers of the skimmer look to be harvesting some algae. I just cleaned the skimmer 3 weeks ago so it may be due for a good cleaning. The 10% to 15% waterchanges everyday, are they acceptable or is it too much? As for the smell, still there. I don't get it... everything seems to be ok other than the stinkiness. I'm going to check ammonia again after I do another 10% wc tonight to see if has come down.

gemini9 · Nov 4, 2014

I didn't do my 10% water change yet for today, but went ahead and checked ammonia and it's at 0, so that seems ok now. Maybe i did a bad test previously. Nitrates are reading 20, right where they usually are. Ugh everything in my tank seems fine except for a bit of algae and the smell. The algae is probably from leaving the lights on too much... but the smell UGH it's bugging me! Not so much the smell now as it is not knowing what's going on. I don't understand.... Well I guess I might as well go ahead and do my water change since I've got the salt mixed. Maybe my nitrates will come down a bit more. But what in the world... the smell okay I'm starting to go bonkers here. It's not a fishy smell.... not a skimmate smell.... it's just... rotten. Nothing is dead... params are ok.... ARGH do fish fart???? I just don't get it....