Sps Smell ?

[steve clement]

has anyone who keeps sps corals ever noticed the smell that you get when removing an sps coral from the tank ?. well i have and ive also noticed the same smell coming from the tank when things arnt going quiet right .at the moment most of my sps stock has lost colour and some small amounts of bleaching has occured at the same time ive noticed the smell, is it a stress problem coz the sps are not happy about something or could it be the problem ? ive keep sps for many years and have noticed this pattern with the smell and problems at the same time. as for water quality every thing seems fine nitrate 5 amm 0 nitrite 0 kh 9.6 cal 400 sg .22 temp stable 25 orgnics is the only test havent done yet but iam not sure if this would cause a problem or create the smell if it was a bit high, any help please :thumbsup:

[steve clement]

bump

[keith hellyar]

Yes the smell can be disgusting in some SPS. Some are more prone to sliming than others. Cant say I've noticed the smell in the water though. I would have thought that strong skimming would get rid of it.

Keith

[steve clement]

i think ill have to test for organics though its not one i would normally test, how important is it to test ?

[muzzy]

its very important to test for phosphates when keeping SPS

[fire999]

sg .22 ?? nothin to do with the smell. But is that not a bit low ? NSW is about .26

Only asking :)

[Jonesii]

If you're getting a bad smell from your tank and your acro's are loseing colour and bleaching I'd be pretty concerned. What does the tank smell like exactly? Does it smell sulphurous?

[luker]

Originally posted by steve clement@Jan 12 2006, 18:52
............at the moment most of my sps stock has lost colour and some small amounts of bleaching has occured at the same time ive noticed the smell..................ive keep sps for many years and have noticed this pattern with the smell and problems at the same time. ............
Have you just renewed your lamps by any chance?

[steve clement]

phosphates are 0 , and the lamps are not new but still ok. the smell is not a sulphurous type smell but more like as i said like the smell of say an acro out of the water type smell ( sorry i cant quiet discribe the smell) i had the same smell with my old tank sometimes. whats the best course of action, ive done 2x 30 ltr water changes and renewed the carbon and tweaked the skimmer to max skim 24 7, by the way its about a 650 ltr system with a sump dsb also caulerpa in sump and mangroves. the new tank is about 6 weeks old now , i saved the old water from my old system and rock and sand to aid the tank to mature quicker, it seems the biological side of the filtration mut be working ok as i only have a nitrate of below 5 and nil nitrite and ammonia .is there something ive missed

[keith hellyar]

Have you checked your DSB. Look for signs of blackening of the sandbed which may indicate that its gone sour. I believe the smell assocaited with this is quite strong and like a bad egg smell.

If it is blackened is potentially serious. I assume you would need to remove and replace but not having experienced it, others may be able to advise

Keith

[matt d]

Originally posted by steve clement@Jan 13 2006, 22:39
phosphates are 0 , and the lamps are not new but still ok. the smell is not a sulphurous type smell but more like as i said like the smell of say an acro out of the water type smell ( sorry i cant quiet discribe the smell) i had the same smell with my old tank sometimes. whats the best course of action, ive done 2x 30 ltr water changes and renewed the carbon and tweaked the skimmer to max skim 24 7, by the way its about a 650 ltr system with a sump dsb also caulerpa in sump and mangroves. the new tank is about 6 weeks old now , i saved the old water from my old system and rock and sand to aid the tank to mature quicker, it seems the biological side of the filtration mut be working ok as i only have a nitrate of below 5 and nil nitrite and ammonia .is there something ive missed
hi
maybe the corals arnt happy in the new tank as its too new
you might have done things a bit too fast?
my corals stink when removed for fragging so i know the smell you are talking about
try small water changes but not too often and see how they do
its only my opinion!
i hope someone with more experience will reply and help
matt

[steve clement]

thanx for your replies , its not a sulphur smell which would occur in nitrogen cycle ? but ill keep going with regular carbon changes and water changes and hope this will pan things out then :unsure:

[Stevielad]

Is the water clearer or are the lights lower?
Possible light shock?

Whats the ALK Ca Mg pH?

[Jonesii]

It's certainly a bit odd. It sounds like a filtration problem though. Do you dose any Iodine? Loss of colour might result in a deficiency - whether that's related or not though I don't know...

[steve clement]

i dont does iodine, water changes instead, alk 9.6 cal 400 mg 1200 ph 8.3 .

[Jonesii]

I used to do weekly water changes, albeit small ones, I had a few problems at one point but it was Iodine that sorted the problem out, if you buy some and dose it for a few weeks it might help - what have you got to lose? The smell though isn't something I've come across before unless filtration is failing for some reason.

Sorry I can't be of any more help than that.