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Unread 02/24/2009, 05:02 PM   #1
grayson
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Sulfur smell

all the test readings for NH3/NH4, NO2, NO3, PO4 are almost zero. but i still can smell something. finally i figured out the smell from my tank is like sulfur! and it's from LR. How to remove it?


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Last edited by grayson; 02/24/2009 at 05:20 PM.
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Unread 02/24/2009, 05:11 PM   #2
grayson
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my zoanthids ara getting smaller and smaller. I wonder if it is related to the sulfur smell. i haven't done any trace element test yet but I have trace test kit and supplement in the mail.


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Unread 02/24/2009, 06:21 PM   #3
seapug
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Could be hydrogen sulfide but that's uncommon unless your water is stagnant or there's been a major disturbance to a deep sand bed. Try a big water change.

Some more details about the system would be helpful. How long has this tank been running?


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Unread 02/24/2009, 06:37 PM   #4
grayson
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I started my tank w/ 180 lbs LR on Dec 8, 2008. I have been smelling the H2S like smell since i added anther 60 lbs LR from another vendor on Dec 16, 2008. it's a 180g tank w/o sand bed.
sump: 40g, no refugium
432W total T5HO lights (yes, it's too small for 180g).
wavemakers: two tunze 6080, two seio m1100, and 1 Koralia 4.
skimmer: SWC xtreme 200
return pumps: two quite one 4000 (4000 L/H each)
fishes: 2 black-white clown, 2 cardinal, 1 salin tang, and 1 butterfly. feed mysis shrimp every day (I started adding fishes 23 days ago)
two coral banded shrimps
corals: 4 zoanthids (added 2 weeks ago) and 1 sps added 2 days ago.


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Last edited by grayson; 02/24/2009 at 07:30 PM.
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Unread 02/24/2009, 07:44 PM   #5
Aquarist007
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What shape was the live rock in as far as been cured? Was the live rock from one of their tanks.
There is such a thing as bad live rock. Old rock that has been in conditions where is has been able to absorb nitrates and phosphates ect ect into its core. This rock then leaches out these chemicals constantly and slowly into your tank.
If this is the case you need to take out a couple of pieces each week and boil it.


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Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock
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Unread 02/24/2009, 08:06 PM   #6
grayson
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I bot from liveaquaria.com more than 2 months agon the last batch of live rock, which looks very nice but smell very bad. 4 weeks ago one of those live rocks still smelt like hydrogen sulfide but much better. i had thought the smell is from NH3/NH4 but now i realize it's hydrogen sulfide like smell.


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Last edited by grayson; 02/24/2009 at 08:17 PM.
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Unread 02/24/2009, 10:45 PM   #7
Aquarist007
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Quote:
Originally posted by grayson
I bot from liveaquaria.com more than 2 months agon the last batch of live rock, which looks very nice but smell very bad. 4 weeks ago one of those live rocks still smelt like hydrogen sulfide but much better. i had thought the smell is from NH3/NH4 but now i realize it's hydrogen sulfide like smell.
I wouldstill boil the rocks in question


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Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock
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Unread 02/25/2009, 12:00 PM   #8
grayson
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Quote:
Originally posted by capn_hylinur
I wouldstill boil the rocks in question
yes, i took the rock out and heating it up now. thanks


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Unread 02/25/2009, 12:02 PM   #9
grayson
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Quote:
Originally posted by grayson
I started my tank w/ 180 lbs LR on Dec 8, 2008. I have been smelling the H2S like smell since i added anther 60 lbs LR from another vendor on Dec 16, 2008. it's a 180g tank w/o sand bed.
sump: 40g, no refugium
432W total T5HO lights (yes, it's too small for 180g).
wavemakers: two tunze 6080, two seio m1100, and 1 Koralia 4.
skimmer: SWC xtreme 200
return pumps: two quite one 4000 (4000 L/H each)
fishes: 2 black-white clown, 2 cardinal, 1 salin tang, 1 copper-banded butterfly, and 1 royal gramma. feed mysis shrimp every day (I started adding fishes 23 days ago)
two coral banded shrimps
corals: 4 zoanthids (added 2 weeks ago) and 1 sps added 2 days ago.



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Unread 02/25/2009, 12:09 PM   #10
seapug
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It's probably too late now, but boiling the rocks will essentially kill all life on them. I would have first tried removing the suspect rocks and putting them in a barrel with a heater and powerhead and see if the odor goes away from the tank. If it does go away, you can let the rocks cure out indefinitely in the separate container. If kept circulating at a proper temperature, the smell will go away eventually and you'll still have good live rock.


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Current Tank Info: 200 gallon custom Marineland DD peninsular tank. LPS dominated mixed reef. Previous 90 gallon mixed reef TOTM April 2009.
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Unread 02/25/2009, 12:24 PM   #11
IslandCrow
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You should always cure live rock outside of the main tank. Even if the rock as sold as "cured", there's going to be die-off in transportation. If the transportation is driving 10 minutes down the road from the LFS, you're probably fine. If it's 24 hours in a box going halfway around the country in cargo holds and trucks, it's not going to be cured when it gets to you.


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