Question about sulfur smell

Islander84 · 03/29/2011, 07:06 PM

My tank has been cycling for about a week and a half using 75 percent live rock 20 percent. Dry rock and 5 percent half dead stuff on rock. All live sand . So the couple pieces that were half dead I threw in the refugium hoping they would die off and fill with good bacteria. I noticed a rotten smell over refugium so I pulled about 6 gallons out of it and filled with new saltwater but I guess it spread throughout tank....house smelled good! Lol. I have my sump split into 3 sections with skim on left side return in middle and refug on right. Slow flow through refug which explains why smell wasn't being carried throughout tank/ house......what can I do to correct this? Only livestock include couple snails hermits and an emerald crab. I put biospira in couple days ago to speed up cycling process

njjetfan · 03/29/2011, 08:05 PM

Dead rock has to cycle which takes time. You can try to diminish the smell in the meantime with a lot of carbon.

dulkion · 03/29/2011, 10:57 PM

Try increasing the flow thru the refugium. More flow means more oxygen. From my understanding, if it is sulfur (hydrogen sulfide)you smell, it is most likely being created by anaerobic bacteria.

needmore-reef · 03/30/2011, 02:18 AM

yes the smell can be anaerobic bacteria.
I had a pump die on a closed loop w/ canister. I opened it up after a few weeks. Wow I almost fell over the smell was so bad!

be patient and run carbon, weekly 10% water change can help.

Islander84 · 03/30/2011, 06:15 AM

Awesome thanks for the help everyone! I did a 25 percent water change in the fug and pouring new water through fuge helped and then i threw a couple filter bags with carbon in the sump one on fuge side and one on skimmer side and also upped flow through fug. Thanks again!

03/29/2011, 07:06 PM	#1
Islander84 Reefer Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Clarksville Posts: 457	Question about sulfur smell My tank has been cycling for about a week and a half using 75 percent live rock 20 percent. Dry rock and 5 percent half dead stuff on rock. All live sand . So the couple pieces that were half dead I threw in the refugium hoping they would die off and fill with good bacteria. I noticed a rotten smell over refugium so I pulled about 6 gallons out of it and filled with new saltwater but I guess it spread throughout tank....house smelled good! Lol. I have my sump split into 3 sections with skim on left side return in middle and refug on right. Slow flow through refug which explains why smell wasn't being carried throughout tank/ house......what can I do to correct this? Only livestock include couple snails hermits and an emerald crab. I put biospira in couple days ago to speed up cycling process __________________ Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing. - Oscar Wilde

03/29/2011, 10:57 PM	#3
dulkion Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Prince lives here, we have 10,000 lakes Posts: 50	Try increasing the flow thru the refugium. More flow means more oxygen. From my understanding, if it is sulfur (hydrogen sulfide)you smell, it is most likely being created by anaerobic bacteria. __________________ Backwards Never, Forward Forever!

03/30/2011, 06:15 AM	#5
Islander84 Reefer Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Clarksville Posts: 457	Awesome thanks for the help everyone! I did a 25 percent water change in the fug and pouring new water through fuge helped and then i threw a couple filter bags with carbon in the sump one on fuge side and one on skimmer side and also upped flow through fug. Thanks again! __________________ Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing. - Oscar Wilde

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03/29/2011, 08:05 PM	#2
njjetfan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 57	Dead rock has to cycle which takes time. You can try to diminish the smell in the meantime with a lot of carbon.

03/30/2011, 02:18 AM	#4
needmore-reef Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 425	yes the smell can be anaerobic bacteria. I had a pump die on a closed loop w/ canister. I opened it up after a few weeks. Wow I almost fell over the smell was so bad! be patient and run carbon, weekly 10% water change can help.