Stinky Reef Tank? These 10 Fixes Will Clear the Air
- Feb 07, 2022
- Anshika Mishra
- 199 0 0
In today's problem, you may not want to admit it, but your tank and the room stink. So, here we have got top 10 things to get you past this:
If your family or guests at your home are begging you to solve that stinky tank, this article is the solution.
Implement Carbon
Pick up some carbon and a little bag, even better n a media reactor. But carbon does a lot to pull pigments out of the water and the stenches, those things that cause smells.
You will be surprised by how far a little bag of carbon can go. This is the simplest solution. A little filter bag and odor will be a thing in the past.
Carbon on the Skimmer
This time, you need carbon on your tank's protein skimmer. The skimmer is filled with decaying organic matter, fish turds, the whole things, and worse yet, it is blowing air past it into your room. It should smell. If it doesn't, your skimmer is probably not working.
The answer here is to fill a bag with carbon and put it on your skimmer lid. All of the air typically comes out of the little holes in the top. That is the only place for the air to escape. And if you have them covered with carbon, bye-bye stink.
Clean Your Sump
How many times have you picked an instrument out of your sump, and it is filled with flurry detritus and food. Getting rid of that waste and that decaying matter is one way to get rid of the smell.
If this is one of those cases where the sump is out of sight and out of mind, but it isn't out of the nose.
Change Your Filter Socks
Your filter sock is collecting all the organic waste, mixing it in a high oxygen environment where it is rotting fast. This is where so much order comes from.
So, changing filter socks is one of the most important steps to getting rid of them if you cannot do anything else.
Ozone
Try ozone and ozone generator dryer if you want 24-7 clean, clear, non-smelling water. There are a lot of gear pieces in here, but you don't have to change your carbon every week or every two weeks that the ozone is just there for you.
It is only just a small amount of ozone going into your protein skimmer, and it is the end-game solution to pristine water quality.
Air Filter in the Room
Often the ones that have a carbon filter on the sheets of the filter will work, but also, if it has an ion button on there, ozone. So, it will break those practicals in the air and clean up the room.
So, just as air filters in the room, especially those with ion buttons, will also solve the odor.
Clean Your Sand
If you stir up your sand bed adn see this brown poof come out, that could be a source of the smell. Of all the decaying matter, food, and waste in the sand bed, the solution is to vacuum it occasionally.
Sometimes not if you have a bare bottom, cause this isn't your problem, but the sand bed does hold a lot of detritus, the broken down foods, a big source of the nasty stink.
If you wonder if that's true, go to the corner of your tank that gets the least flow, scoop out a cup of the sand and give it a whiff. Then, you will know for sure this is a contributing factor.
Change Your Food
Some of the food stinks more than the other, but most importantly, if it is large and takes a long time to break down, it is probably possible that part of it is rotting in the tank.
So, consider your food and changing it might be the solution.
More Controlled Feeding
On top of that, instead of just broadcast feeding some pellet food hoping your fish catch it, utilize tools like feeding rings and clips.
You can also customize your pump and powerhead to slow everything down and give the fish more time to get the free-floating food, and less food going to waste means less waste smell.
Consider Skimmer Location
If your skimmer is underneath the tank, you would think it might smell, but actually, it is just recirculating a lot of the air, and it's trapped under there.
A little bit might leak out, but you have, like a fish room, and you have your external skimmers. So don't be surprised when it fills up the entire room with that smell, which is one of the best options.
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