rotten egg smell?

goda · 11/07/2006, 08:09 PM

oki know its hydrogen sulfide i just started a tank up that was stagnant for 2 months...

its a strong smell... is it safe to be in the small room with it..

i have no way of ventilating

its only a 12 gallon tank that went stagnant

bertoni · 11/07/2006, 08:35 PM

If you can stand to be in the room, you're probably all right, but I'd just ditch the contents, personally.

goda · 11/07/2006, 08:39 PM

its clean water. ( besides the lil tiny bit that i couldent get out of the filter area.) i was fillin the tank 2 weeks ago and never finished.
so i finished adding water today and turned on the filter.. its still FW in it

t5Nitro · 11/07/2006, 08:41 PM

My tank had a bad smell to it once before. I put 1 new carbon in the filter and it was gone the next day. Coincidence or is the carbon purifying it? Anyway that might help maybe, then now I put a skimmer on it. Maybe its all dissolved fish poo and food. Do you have a skimmer?

goda · 11/07/2006, 08:47 PM

yea.. its sitting it the trash bin it was one of those nano fission pos lol

smell is going away... or im used to it... W/E as long as it isnt toxic im setting up a suncoral prop tank( 12 gallon)

now back to filling the 75 gallon prop tank

BrainBandAid · 11/07/2006, 10:09 PM

In the sewage treatment business, I deal with H2S daily, and it is very corrosive, explosive, and toxic for humans to breath. But I seriously doubt you've got any concentration to be worried about.
And yes, you do get used to it, which can be a very bad thing if the concentrations are high enough, because you don't know you're in trouble.

It's a natural product of certain anoxic and/or anaerobic bacteria, so I would think once your tank is up and running for a while, it should level out and you'd be fine. Aerate it well and the anaerobic populations should die off or starve. But it may be more trouble than it's worth.
It's one of the problems people have with deep sand beds that lay undisturbed for long periods (years).

goda · 11/07/2006, 10:16 PM

well its in my room.. so i gotta sleep there..
anyways i have it areating witht eh pump

what symptoms should i look for if it is in high enough concentration... remember this is only 12 gallons of water

bertoni · 11/07/2006, 10:39 PM

I would open a window, at least. That should help. Unpleasantly hot, perhaps, but I don't know of a useful way for you to measure H2S levels.

BrainBandAid · 11/07/2006, 10:57 PM

We have special meters for it, but seriously, I wouldn't worry. The crap (he he) we deal with is millions of gallons a day.
Leave the room for about an hour and if you still smell it, it's still there. But a little tank like that would have to be pumping it out.

You're fine.

Read this factsheet if you're really worried.

Phillstone · 11/08/2006, 12:11 AM

just keep changing water every 2-3 days
and have good flow in tank it will take time to clean-up, but it should be fine in a few days smell wise, give it a few months before thinking about coral or fish.

keep swimming!

11/07/2006, 08:09 PM	#1
goda Moved On Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: fortlauderdale florida area Posts: 1,874	rotten egg smell? oki know its hydrogen sulfide i just started a tank up that was stagnant for 2 months... its a strong smell... is it safe to be in the small room with it.. i have no way of ventilating its only a 12 gallon tank that went stagnant

11/07/2006, 08:35 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	If you can stand to be in the room, you're probably all right, but I'd just ditch the contents, personally. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/07/2006, 08:41 PM	#4
t5Nitro Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 4,384	My tank had a bad smell to it once before. I put 1 new carbon in the filter and it was gone the next day. Coincidence or is the carbon purifying it? Anyway that might help maybe, then now I put a skimmer on it. Maybe its all dissolved fish poo and food. Do you have a skimmer? __________________ ATI T5 club Current Tank Info: Left the hobby, looking to re-enter in the future

11/07/2006, 10:39 PM	#8
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I would open a window, at least. That should help. Unpleasantly hot, perhaps, but I don't know of a useful way for you to measure H2S levels. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

11/07/2006, 08:39 PM	#3
goda Moved On Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: fortlauderdale florida area Posts: 1,874	its clean water. ( besides the lil tiny bit that i couldent get out of the filter area.) i was fillin the tank 2 weeks ago and never finished. so i finished adding water today and turned on the filter.. its still FW in it

11/07/2006, 08:47 PM	#5
goda Moved On Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: fortlauderdale florida area Posts: 1,874	yea.. its sitting it the trash bin it was one of those nano fission pos lol smell is going away... or im used to it... W/E as long as it isnt toxic im setting up a suncoral prop tank( 12 gallon) now back to filling the 75 gallon prop tank

11/07/2006, 10:09 PM	#6
BrainBandAid Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 169	In the sewage treatment business, I deal with H2S daily, and it is very corrosive, explosive, and toxic for humans to breath. But I seriously doubt you've got any concentration to be worried about. And yes, you do get used to it, which can be a very bad thing if the concentrations are high enough, because you don't know you're in trouble. It's a natural product of certain anoxic and/or anaerobic bacteria, so I would think once your tank is up and running for a while, it should level out and you'd be fine. Aerate it well and the anaerobic populations should die off or starve. But it may be more trouble than it's worth. It's one of the problems people have with deep sand beds that lay undisturbed for long periods (years).

11/07/2006, 10:16 PM	#7
goda Moved On Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: fortlauderdale florida area Posts: 1,874	well its in my room.. so i gotta sleep there.. anyways i have it areating witht eh pump what symptoms should i look for if it is in high enough concentration... remember this is only 12 gallons of water

11/07/2006, 10:57 PM	#9
BrainBandAid Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Connecticut Posts: 169	We have special meters for it, but seriously, I wouldn't worry. The crap (he he) we deal with is millions of gallons a day. Leave the room for about an hour and if you still smell it, it's still there. But a little tank like that would have to be pumping it out. You're fine. Read this factsheet if you're really worried.

11/08/2006, 12:11 AM	#10
Phillstone Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Waukesha, WI USA Posts: 241	just keep changing water every 2-3 days and have good flow in tank it will take time to clean-up, but it should be fine in a few days smell wise, give it a few months before thinking about coral or fish. keep swimming!