Why does my tank smell so bad?

[Spare time]

Yes and you can use the same carbon for both in tank and in the stink sink. Just make sure you get high quality carbon if you are putting in the tank and rinse it well. Carbon has been linked to HLLE.

Specifically lignite carbon, though imo any carbon when grinded up can do this.

 

[KrisReef]

You started with live rock, that can take time to sweeten up.

It’s beautiful btw!

 

[F i s h y]

I vote it needs to change it's socks...


Ok ok bad reefing joke...

But it's still funny!

 

[mythesis]

Bought some carbon & media bags from BRS. Hopefully that'll help.

I'll put them where the water flows over the baffle back into the pump so they get a lot of flow.

 

[KrisReef]

I vote it needs to change it's socks...


Ok ok bad reefing joke...

But it's still funny!

Does it have a reef diaper?

 

[ReeferinTX]

I think its a dino or bacteria outbreak. My 75 smelled pretty musty as the cycle finished even before I added any livestock @ about 5 or 6 weeks, I vowed not to add anything until I got it under control.
Cycled with Dr. Tim's and ammonium chloride. Started with Tropic Marin Syn Biotic salt. Cycle went great and then the brown film and sand started with the musty smell. Vacuumed sand good 2 weeks in a row with 30-40% water changes (changed the salt to Tropic Marin Pro Reef as planned), started the skimmer and UV on 4x turnover. No more smell smell and its crystal clear. I have a feeling it was the pro-biotics added to the syn-biotic salt.
I chalk it up to the life cycle. Keep checking back here, its what got me on the right track. I was pretty discouraged at the start until we got that small bump in the road ironed out. I'm sure there's bigger bumps than that down the line...

 

[mythesis]

I think its a dino or bacteria outbreak. My 75 smelled pretty musty as the cycle finished even before I added any livestock @ about 5 or 6 weeks, I vowed not to add anything until I got it under control.
Cycled with Dr. Tim's and ammonium chloride. Started with Tropic Marin Syn Biotic salt. Cycle went great and then the brown film and sand started with the musty smell. Vacuumed sand good 2 weeks in a row with 30-40% water changes (changed the salt to Tropic Marin Pro Reef as planned), started the skimmer and UV on 4x turnover. No more smell smell and its crystal clear. I have a feeling it was the pro-biotics added to the syn-biotic salt.
I chalk it up to the life cycle. Keep checking back here, its what got me on the right track. I was pretty discouraged at the start until we got that small bump in the road ironed out. I'm sure there's bigger bumps than that down the line...

I don't have UV right now, but would definitely want one at some point.

I just can't figure out where I'd plumb it in!

If part of the ugly stage is also a stinky stage, then I'm definitely in it!

 

[Hockeypunk1]

The tank looks great, the algae looks like normal surface type algae and not dinos or any other weird stuff. Your soft coral in the bottom left looks a little shriveled, which is normal, but I've noticed with soft corals that whenever they shrivel up and she'd their skin that they also release a stinky chemical into the tank! I have a feeling that you are smelling the soft coral, and the carbon will take care of that.

 

[mythesis]

The tank looks great, the algae looks like normal surface type algae and not dinos or any other weird stuff. Your soft coral in the bottom left looks a little shriveled, which is normal, but I've noticed with soft corals that whenever they shrivel up and she'd their skin that they also release a stinky chemical into the tank! I have a feeling that you are smelling the soft coral, and the carbon will take care of that.

Pretty sure this was the root cause.

I'm still waiting on the carbon to arrive from BRS, but smell had gone down quite a bit. Today we had to mess with the Leather on the left because of some Aptasia. And boy does stuff STINK in here right now.

So, hopefully the carbon will fix it when it gets here, but at least now I know that's it's probably because of that Toadstool...

(Aptasia, Barnacles, Spiroid Worms, and now the stench....that coral may have been a bad decision. And, the clowns ignore it anyway which is the whole reason we tried it....)

 

[Tamberav]

My young/new tanks are always a little smelly, carbon can help. It does get better once the tank finally comes into its own.

 

[KrisReef]

Almost any reef or fish tank is more pleasant smelling than either a dog or a cat(box).

 

[Scottiemac]

I've noticed the smell is getting a lot worse. I took out the filter sock thinking that it was just collecting detritus and wasn't cleaning it often enough.

It's an almost 3 month old tank with at least one fish and several corals. I'm guessing there's some inverts like crabs and snails, as well.

Your nitrifying bacteria is still trying to bloom and probably can't keep up with the waste yet. With a new tank I assume you also have a new skimmer, which may still be breaking in. It'll be fine, but until the bacteria builds up you're going to get some smell.

 

[mythesis]

Wow, the Carbon is a miracle worker!

I put 2/3 cup in a media bag in the sump (90 gal tank + 20 gal sump, figured 2/3 cup = 10-11 tbsp)

And then put another media bag on top of the skimmer...

No smells at all, even when I open the cabinet below the sump! Big fan!

(well, unless that means I've got Covid and lost my sense of smell entirely....gonna hope it's the Carbon....)

Thanks all for the help, this gets me one step closer to convincing my wife we *can* put a giant tank in the wall and it *won't* stink up the living room :)