Smelly skimmate!

AquaKnight · 10/04/2007, 01:58 PM

Well my 125gal is through the cycle and I am slowly stocking, and my skimmer is pulling a bunch of nice skimmate. The skimmer is an AquaC EV240 (Mag 18 pump), the thing is, it's pretty much completely sealed and all the air and skimmate come out together out the collection cup overflow. I have the overflow plumbed into an old 2 liter. I used 3/4 tubing, which seals tightly to the inside of the neck of the 2 liter. I realized skimmers need to breathe, so I cut a couple holes in the top of the 2 liter.

Everything is fine and I get over a liter of nice skimmate a day. The problem is that is smells so bad, it's stinking up the entire front of the house. So I'm wondering what the cause is, and what to do about it.

I thinking since the skimmer is blowing air (you can feel the air blowing pretty strong) into the vented 2-liter, that's causing the stench to spread into the room. If I add a 'T' in to the line so the air could escape, but the skimmate, would that solve it? Or is the skimmate just that stinky?

Something like this, where there's the T in the drain line so the air(light blue) could escape and the skimmate (green) drains down.

frag master flash · 10/04/2007, 02:07 PM

No question - skimmate generally stinks - and usually very badly. I think that this is due to the organics and the bacteria present that continue to break the organics, but someone else will have to clarify. Some use carbon on the air outlet to absorb some of the odor. Another easier answer may be to add Kalk to the collection bottle or a small amount of dish soap. Both of these seem to help with odor - but that is a lot of skimmate!

AquaKnight · 10/04/2007, 02:21 PM

Yep, I'm aware it generally stinks. Thankfully it's not as bad as bad smelling as the stuff my juiced bak-pak on my 29 pulls, but there's just so much more. I just wanted to see if the fact that the air was blowing right into the skimmate was the main problem (thinking so...)

gabe3d · 10/04/2007, 03:27 PM

I had an AquaC as well and i'm not sure what it is but the skimmate it pulled always stunk a lot more compared to others. Anyways, did you see the collection canister that AquaC also makes? It comes with a carbon air-filter to reduce the smell. Perhaps you can make one yourself for really cheap.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...ct~AC1715.html

10/04/2007, 01:58 PM	#1
AquaKnight Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Emerald Coast Posts: 2,030	Smelly skimmate! Well my 125gal is through the cycle and I am slowly stocking, and my skimmer is pulling a bunch of nice skimmate. The skimmer is an AquaC EV240 (Mag 18 pump), the thing is, it's pretty much completely sealed and all the air and skimmate come out together out the collection cup overflow. I have the overflow plumbed into an old 2 liter. I used 3/4 tubing, which seals tightly to the inside of the neck of the 2 liter. I realized skimmers need to breathe, so I cut a couple holes in the top of the 2 liter. Everything is fine and I get over a liter of nice skimmate a day. The problem is that is smells so bad, it's stinking up the entire front of the house. So I'm wondering what the cause is, and what to do about it. I thinking since the skimmer is blowing air (you can feel the air blowing pretty strong) into the vented 2-liter, that's causing the stench to spread into the room. If I add a 'T' in to the line so the air could escape, but the skimmate, would that solve it? Or is the skimmate just that stinky? Something like this, where there's the T in the drain line so the air(light blue) could escape and the skimmate (green) drains down.

10/04/2007, 02:07 PM	#2
frag master flash Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: FL Posts: 47	No question - skimmate generally stinks - and usually very badly. I think that this is due to the organics and the bacteria present that continue to break the organics, but someone else will have to clarify. Some use carbon on the air outlet to absorb some of the odor. Another easier answer may be to add Kalk to the collection bottle or a small amount of dish soap. Both of these seem to help with odor - but that is a lot of skimmate! __________________ All my corals are rare cause they've survived under my care. Current Tank Info: 35 gallon mixed reef rubbermaid sump and 15g fuge, ER 8-2

10/04/2007, 02:21 PM	#3
AquaKnight Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Emerald Coast Posts: 2,030	Yep, I'm aware it generally stinks. Thankfully it's not as bad as bad smelling as the stuff my juiced bak-pak on my 29 pulls, but there's just so much more. I just wanted to see if the fact that the air was blowing right into the skimmate was the main problem (thinking so...)

10/04/2007, 03:27 PM	#4
gabe3d Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Elk Grove/Sunnyvale/Shibuya Posts: 1,605	I had an AquaC as well and i'm not sure what it is but the skimmate it pulled always stunk a lot more compared to others. Anyways, did you see the collection canister that AquaC also makes? It comes with a carbon air-filter to reduce the smell. Perhaps you can make one yourself for really cheap. http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewIt...ct~AC1715.html