smell???

[ravenfan8705]

Well my tank has been up for 3-4 weeks and has been doing very well. All the water parameters went way up and then down and the cycle is complete. However, now there is this terrible smell coming from the tank. Anybody have any clue what this might be from? Also, what can I do to eliminate it. Thanks

 

[dustin_P74]

are you curing live rock? if so that would be my guess

 

[ravenfan8705]

I am, but how long does that normally take? The rock has been in the tank for 3-4 weeks.

 

[dustin_P74]

id mine was quick. just wait it out

 

[Gooseman]

cycles are a funny thing some can take up 2 months to finish ... then you will get the diatom outbreak ... after that you can safely say that your cycle is done.

 

[ravenfan8705]

Alright, hopefully it will go away. I just don't understand how the rock could be in there for so long with out the smell and then all of a sudden start to stink. I would have thought the smell would have started a couple days after I put the rock in.

 

[kyle]

u could run carbon, but i think this could slow down the curing

 

[ravenfan8705]

How long is live rock in the tank before it starts curing? And then how long does it take once it starts? Does everybody think thats what the smell is?( I know its hard to say when you can't actually see and smell it)

 

[kyle]

if it smells its proably started. just do some test for ammonia or nitirates check out ur levels are at. this should help you find out were u are in ur cycel

 

[ravenfan8705]

I'll check it out. Yesterday I was at about 5 on the nitrates and 0 on ammonia, I'll test it again when I get off of work.

 

[dustin_P74]

best thing to do is just grab a piece of rock and smell it. if the rock smells then you found the smell, if not keep using your nose til you pinpoint were the smell is coming from.

 

[ravenfan8705]

Thats a good idea, I'll do that when I get home too.

 

[reeffreak]

Check your ammonia,nitrite and nitrate levels.There's no set time frame for curing/cycling live rock.If the smell is bothering you then run carbon.It will greatly reduce the smell and has no adverse effect on the cycling.If ammonia and nitrite is at zero and the nitrates are above zero than do water changes to get nitrates close to zero.

 

[ravenfan8705]

freak, where does the carbon go? In the sump? I tested tonight and my reading were: ammonia=0, nitrate=5, nitrite=.25 and ph=8.0. Thats not too bad is it?

 

[reeffreak]

It looks like the cycle is almost over.Try putting carbon in a media bad and place it where water can pass through and not just around the media.

 

[kyle]

well if ur ammonia is at zero and nitrates at 5. then ur cycel is almost over tested for nitrites and see how high they are. i think once u have no nitrites the cycle is complete and you can proably put ur rock in ur other tank

 

[ravenfan8705]

I will check it again tonight for everything, hopefully I will be ready for fish soon. I'll pick up some carbon this weekend. Thanks

 

[IraqVeteran]

having that kind of wicked smell could mean die-off on your rock is still happening. If your rock looks like it might have some stuff on it that is mushy then put it in a bucket of saltwater and scrub it off and then put it back in the tank.

 

[ravenfan8705]

I haven't really noticed anything mushy, but then again I wasn't looking for that either. I'll check it out, thanks.

 

[IraqVeteran]

having that kind of wicked smell could mean die-off on your rock is still happening. If your rock looks like it might have some stuff on it that is mushy then put it in a bucket of saltwater and scrub it off and then put it back in the tank.

I should reword what I wrote. Dont put the mushy stuff in the bucket and then back into the tank. What I meant to write was, put the rock in the bucket of saltwater, gently scrub it, then kind of swish it around in the bucket to get as much loose stuff off as possible, then put the rock minus the mushy stuff back into the tank.

I always cure my rock in buckets before putting them in the tank for the reason of it being a pain to cure the rock in a new tank (sometimes at least it is a pain).