|
|
Smell of nitrites
The dead fish thread reminded me of something. I can smell high
nitrites as soon as I walk into a room. That's how I knew the water was probably fine in the tank with the lost guppy before I even tested it. I always know when the nitrites appear in a cycling tank, and I know the smell of a healthy, mature filter. Am I the only one who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it? |
Smell of nitrites
"Altum" wrote in message oups.com... The dead fish thread reminded me of something. I can smell high nitrites as soon as I walk into a room. That's how I knew the water was probably fine in the tank with the lost guppy before I even tested it. I always know when the nitrites appear in a cycling tank, and I know the smell of a healthy, mature filter. Am I the only one who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it? =================== To me a mature tank smells like the nearby lake. :-) My sun-fishroom (also loaded with plants) always has that faint aroma of a lake. I love it. -- Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995... Aquariums since 1952 My Pond & Aquarium Pages: http://tinyurl.com/9do58 Note: There are two Koi-Lo's on the Aquaria groups. ~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o |
Smell of nitrites
Altum wrote:
The dead fish thread reminded me of something. I can smell high nitrites as soon as I walk into a room. That's how I knew the water was probably fine in the tank with the lost guppy before I even tested it. I always know when the nitrites appear in a cycling tank, and I know the smell of a healthy, mature filter. Am I the only one who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it? I quite often sniff my tanks to check that all seems well..any suspicion and out come the test kits...I find using my nose first is a lot cheaper than shelling out on the chemicals... So nope, you are not alone...but maybe the two of us are g Gill |
Smell of nitrites
Hi..
Am I the only one who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it? Well, you (Gill and you) aren't alone..! :-) -- cu Marco |
Smell of nitrites
Well, you (Gill and you) aren't alone..! :-)
Oooops, Gill, Koi-Lo and you.. -- cu Marco |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
"Mean_Chlorine" wrote in message
... Thusly "Altum" Spake Unto All: The dead fish thread reminded me of something. I can smell high nitrites as soon as I walk into a room. --- Am I the only one who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it? No, it's a excellent idea to smell the water. However, what you're feeling the smell of isn't nitrite, but ammonia and mercaptans. Our noses are extremely sensitive to the smell of ammonia and mercaptans, and we can detect them at ppm levels. The rule is that if tank water smells outright bad, a sharp, nasty, smell, then it's got a nitrite/ammonia problem, and you need to do water changes to save your fish ASAP. I don't know if I could detect ammonia with my nose, but I do smell a lot of sulphur in my well water for the last month and it's worrying me for water changes. To compensate, I'm using more turbulence in the water (hoping to dissipate it faster), and I'm refilling the tanks slowly (less than a gallon a minute). I've just started filling 5g water jugs a week earlier, so they will have equalized more by the time I use them. Does anyone know the characteristics of the source of this smell? Does it take long to leave the water, and is the water left harmless after? My only experience with sulphide gases is from anaerobic bacteria under large ornaments and driftwood, so I already know that this stuff suddenly released, can be toxic to fish. However are these sulphide gases the same as what cause the sulphur smell in well water? TIA -- www.NetMax.tk |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
Thusly "NetMax" Spake Unto All:
Does anyone know the characteristics of the source of this smell? Does it take long to leave the water, and is the water left harmless after? Hydrogen sulphide is weakly toxic, and smells like, well, like someone's farted. It's said to smell like rotten eggs, but to me it smells like fart. Anyway, it's a completely different smell than the sharp, putrid, smell of ammonia & mercaptans you get in aquaria which are cycling, and there's no risk of confusing those two smells. However are these sulphide gases the same as what cause the sulphur smell in well water? Probably, yes. Fortunately you can smell hydrogen sulphide at levels much lower than they're lethal to fish, and water changes helps. This link might be of interest to you: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex1160?opendocument Incidentally, it seems crustaceans are far more sensitive to hydrogen sulphide than fish. |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
"Mean_Chlorine" wrote in message
... Thusly "NetMax" Spake Unto All: Does anyone know the characteristics of the source of this smell? Does it take long to leave the water, and is the water left harmless after? Hydrogen sulphide is weakly toxic, and smells like, well, like someone's farted. It's said to smell like rotten eggs, but to me it smells like fart. Anyway, it's a completely different smell than the sharp, putrid, smell of ammonia & mercaptans you get in aquaria which are cycling, and there's no risk of confusing those two smells. However are these sulphide gases the same as what cause the sulphur smell in well water? Probably, yes. Fortunately you can smell hydrogen sulphide at levels much lower than they're lethal to fish, and water changes helps. This link might be of interest to you: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex1160?opendocument Incidentally, it seems crustaceans are far more sensitive to hydrogen sulphide than fish. Yes, thanks, very helpful. I do periodically shock the well (but it's -18C right now and the well cap is under much ice & snow ;~). Discounting their hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, chlorine, ozone and bleach treatments, they talk about aeration, and make mention of an iron reducing valve having variable effectiveness (improves as the water is more acidic). I'm a little more comfortable knowing aeration will have a significant effect, so I'll stick with a routine of aging the water for a week, and see how it goes. OT, regarding Ja b riol in the ' AråchñÕe¤ thread ', these persons are fully capable, willing and planning to bring significant havoc to rafm. Rec.ponds is a wreck and alt.aquaria is currently being overwhelmed. If nothing changes, we will be their next target, and our options are limited. I don't know about you, but I'm rather fond of rafm and have enjoyed many interesting discussions here. When I can repeat conversations to friends, from the newsgroup, then I know the group is part of my life (social, entertainment and academic too). If they choose to snow us under 100s of robo-generated posts, they will regardless. If they want to intimidate me, then they now have a very big target with over 10,000 mostly boring posts from which to gather information from (they'll know more about my tanks than I'll remember ;~). fwiw, I'll take your advice if the exchange is fruitless, but regardless of the outcome, it was worth asking them to stop... the cause justifies the effort, eh? Thanks again for the link. cheers -- www.NetMax.tk |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
Thusly "NetMax" Spake Unto All:
Discounting their hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, chlorine, ozone and bleach treatments, they talk about aeration, and make mention of an iron reducing valve having variable effectiveness (improves as the water is more acidic). Yeah, degassing is more effective at lower pH's. However hydrogen peroxide could help with the smell. I presume you know about devices like this?: http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com.../oxydator.html ;~). fwiw, I'll take your advice if the exchange is fruitless, but regardless of the outcome, it was worth asking them to stop... the cause justifies the effort, eh? Just be careful. I know from personal experience that guys like these can cause real-world effects. |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 18:18:37 -0500, NetMax wrote:
;~). fwiw, I'll take your advice if the exchange is fruitless, but regardless of the outcome, it was worth asking them to stop... the cause justifies the effort, eh? I kind of agree, the sensitive being in me wants to agree, but the geek in me says "just killfile, and hard". We don't have to view the ******** they spout. -- Flash Wilson - Web Design & Mastery - 0870 401 4061 / 07939 579090 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Work: www.wdam.co.uk Personal: www.gorge.org |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
OT, regarding Ja b riol in the ' AråchñÕe¤ thread ', these persons are
fully capable, willing and planning to bring significant havoc to rafm. Rec.ponds is a wreck and alt.aquaria is currently being overwhelmed. If nothing changes, we will be their next target, and our options are limited. I don't know about you, but I'm rather fond of rafm and have enjoyed many interesting discussions here. When I can repeat conversations to friends, from the newsgroup, then I know the group is part of my life (social, entertainment and academic too). If they choose to snow us under 100s of robo-generated posts, they will regardless. If they want to intimidate me, then they now have a very big target with over 10,000 mostly boring posts from which to gather information from (they'll know more about my tanks than I'll remember ;~). fwiw, I'll take your advice if the exchange is fruitless, but regardless of the outcome, it was worth asking them to stop... the cause justifies the effort, eh? One thing these trolls sometimes do is post under a regular poster's name and email address. We've already seen it happen a couple of times If someone suddenly writes something out of character, check whether it's from their regular news server (you can find that in the header) or ask before you assume they've "gone off the deep end." Good luck with that water, NetMax. |
Smell of nitrites
On 18 Feb 2006 10:18:29 -0800, "Altum" wrote:
The dead fish thread reminded me of something. I can smell high nitrites as soon as I walk into a room. That's how I knew the water was probably fine in the tank with the lost guppy before I even tested it. I always know when the nitrites appear in a cycling tank, and I know the smell of a healthy, mature filter. Am I the only one who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it? Well, with a name like "Altum", this doesn't seem surprising. -- Mr Gardener |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
|
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
On 18 Feb 2006 16:56:06 -0800, "Altum" wrote:
OT, regarding Ja b riol in the ' AråchñÕe¤ thread ', these persons are fully capable, willing and planning to bring significant havoc to rafm. Rec.ponds is a wreck and alt.aquaria is currently being overwhelmed. If nothing changes, we will be their next target, and our options are limited. I don't know about you, but I'm rather fond of rafm and have enjoyed many interesting discussions here. When I can repeat conversations to friends, from the newsgroup, then I know the group is part of my life (social, entertainment and academic too). If they choose to snow us under 100s of robo-generated posts, they will regardless. If they want to intimidate me, then they now have a very big target with over 10,000 mostly boring posts from which to gather information from (they'll know more about my tanks than I'll remember ;~). fwiw, I'll take your advice if the exchange is fruitless, but regardless of the outcome, it was worth asking them to stop... the cause justifies the effort, eh? One thing these trolls sometimes do is post under a regular poster's name and email address. We've already seen it happen a couple of times If someone suddenly writes something out of character, check whether it's from their regular news server (you can find that in the header) or ask before you assume they've "gone off the deep end." Good luck with that water, NetMax. Ask whom? -- Mr Gardener |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
"Mean_Chlorine" wrote in message
... Thusly "NetMax" Spake Unto All: Discounting their hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, chlorine, ozone and bleach treatments, they talk about aeration, and make mention of an iron reducing valve having variable effectiveness (improves as the water is more acidic). Yeah, degassing is more effective at lower pH's. However hydrogen peroxide could help with the smell. I presume you know about devices like this?: http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com.../oxydator.html No I wasn't. Interesting device. The odour is not too strong. I don't notice it in the shower, only when I'm using raw well water, and even then it's not strong, just enough to cause some concern for the fish when I get up to 20% water changes. ;~). fwiw, I'll take your advice if the exchange is fruitless, but regardless of the outcome, it was worth asking them to stop... the cause justifies the effort, eh? Just be careful. I know from personal experience that guys like these can cause real-world effects. If you can, email me off line with some real-world effects that I might want to be aware of, but from the cursing I see going back and forth, my questions to them seemed pretty tame. Thanks for the concern (to everyone). -- www.NetMax.tk |
Smell of nitrites
Mr. Gardener wrote:
Well, with a name like "Altum", this doesn't seem surprising. LOL! At least you didn't say I look like a fish. :-) |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
NetMax wrote:
I don't know if I could detect ammonia with my nose, but I do smell a lot of sulphur in my well water for the last month and it's worrying me for water changes. To compensate, I'm using more turbulence in the water (hoping to dissipate it faster), and I'm refilling the tanks slowly (less than a gallon a minute). I've just started filling 5g water jugs a week earlier, so they will have equalized more by the time I use them. Does anyone know the characteristics of the source of this smell? Does it take long to leave the water, and is the water left harmless after? I remember reading in a Ministry of Environment brochure that the smell often comes from iron-reducing bacteria in the well. A solution is to chlorinate your well and water system, which is not a bad thing to do occasionally. That's done by putting lots of water with abundant bleach in it in the well, letting stand, then letting it into the water system and letting stand again, before flushing out. Use the garden hose as output of flushing, and don't run too much chlorinated water into the septic system. It's more easily done in spring/ summer, and please research the details before attempting it. The details are recorded as I remember them from years ago. Another source is supposed to be sulphate (gypsum, anhydrite) in the rocks. that's not uncommon in eastern Ontario. You're near Ottawa, eh? I'd think that using turbulent water into buckets will probably disperse most of the sulphur gas. Steve |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
"Steve" wrote in message
.. . NetMax wrote: I don't know if I could detect ammonia with my nose, but I do smell a lot of sulphur in my well water for the last month and it's worrying me for water changes. To compensate, I'm using more turbulence in the water (hoping to dissipate it faster), and I'm refilling the tanks slowly (less than a gallon a minute). I've just started filling 5g water jugs a week earlier, so they will have equalized more by the time I use them. Does anyone know the characteristics of the source of this smell? Does it take long to leave the water, and is the water left harmless after? I remember reading in a Ministry of Environment brochure that the smell often comes from iron-reducing bacteria in the well. A solution is to chlorinate your well and water system, which is not a bad thing to do occasionally. That's done by putting lots of water with abundant bleach in it in the well, letting stand, then letting it into the water system and letting stand again, before flushing out. Use the garden hose as output of flushing, and don't run too much chlorinated water into the septic system. It's more easily done in spring/ summer, and please research the details before attempting it. The details are recorded as I remember them from years ago. Another source is supposed to be sulphate (gypsum, anhydrite) in the rocks. that's not uncommon in eastern Ontario. You're near Ottawa, eh? I'd think that using turbulent water into buckets will probably disperse most of the sulphur gas. Steve Thanks Steve, that's interesting about the iron. I dug out an old water test and they didn't test for H2S unfortunately, but there was a small (+2) amount of sheated bacteria or iron bacteria, leptothrix spp. This is why I shock the well periodically, as it leaves a red residue inside the toilet tank. I'm attributing the odour to H2S since it is intermittent. I don't think the iron bacteria are anything which would threaten the fish. Is the (gypsum, anhydrite) sulphate characteristics similar to H2S (in regards to threat to fish and the ability to be released through aeration)? -- www.NetMax.tk |
Smell of nitrites
"Altum" wrote in news:1140286709.246608.305140
@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com: the smell of a healthy, mature filter. Am I the only one who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it? Nope, you are not alone. With more than 260 tanks to look after, small is often my first clue to a new potential problem when I walk into the fish room in the morning. I will often follow my nose to the trouble spot. :) Ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate all have their own distinctive smells. |
Smell of nitrites
In article .com,
Altum wrote: The dead fish thread reminded me of something. I can smell high nitrites as soon as I walk into a room. That's how I knew the water was probably fine in the tank with the lost guppy before I even tested it. I always know when the nitrites appear in a cycling tank, and I know the smell of a healthy, mature filter. Am I the only one who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it? That's ammonia not nitrates you can smell and yeah you can smell it across a room if you know what it is. -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home page: http://rs79.vrx.net 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net |
Smell of nitrites
However, what you're feeling the smell of isn't nitrite, but ammonia
and mercaptans. Our noses are extremely sensitive to the smell of As in methyl mercapatate as in rotting corpse stink as in yeah somethings dead in there alright. Great for plants though :-) -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home page: http://rs79.vrx.net 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
Another source is supposed to be sulphate (gypsum, anhydrite) in the
rocks. that's not uncommon in eastern Ontario. You're near Ottawa, eh? I'd think that using turbulent water into buckets will probably disperse most of the sulphur gas. Steve Thanks Steve, that's interesting about the iron. I dug out an old water test and they didn't test for H2S unfortunately, but there was a small (+2) amount of sheated bacteria or iron bacteria, leptothrix spp. This is why I shock the well periodically, as it leaves a red residue inside the toilet tank. I'm attributing the odour to H2S since it is intermittent. I don't think the iron bacteria are anything which would threaten the fish. Is the (gypsum, anhydrite) sulphate characteristics similar to H2S (in regards to threat to fish and the ability to be released through aeration)? We don't have the sulphur smell but do get the orange residue. I use this water straight out of the tap, unconditioned - no problems. These is lots of iron in the water here. Crypts love it :-) -- Need Mercedes parts ? - http://parts.mbz.org Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org 1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home page: http://rs79.vrx.net 633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
Thusly "NetMax" Spake Unto All:
peroxide could help with the smell. I presume you know about devices like this?: http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com.../oxydator.html No I wasn't. Interesting device. The odour is not too strong. I don't notice it in the shower, only when I'm using raw well water, and even then it's not strong, just enough to cause some concern for the fish when I get up to 20% water changes. The human nose can detect hydrogen sulphide at extremely low levels; the material safety factsheet suggests down to ppb concentrations, whereas toxicity to fish is cited in the ppm range. Your fish are probably quite safe. As for oxydator/oxidator, I've tried a home-made variant (a 0.5L pet bottle with a pinhole in the cork, filled with 3% peroxide and turned upside down in the aquarium; the oxygen gas produced by the decomposition of the peroxide pressed out about 10ml of peroxide per day though the pinhole), and it DOES increase the ORP, does oxidize organic compounds in the water, and does seem to make algae miserable, but my home-made contraption released too much peroxide which made the fishes start scratching themselves, and killed off some plants. I'm still quite interested in getting hold of one of the commercial devices, though. WRT hydrogen sulphide, peroxide should work like ozone, and reduce it to non-toxic & odorless sulphate (AFAIK). If you can, email me Details are in the mail. |
Smell of nitrites
On 18 Feb 2006 18:19:32 -0800, "Altum" wrote:
Mr. Gardener wrote: Well, with a name like "Altum", this doesn't seem surprising. LOL! At least you didn't say I look like a fish. :-) You haven't sent me a picture and I haven't seen you on alt binaries. -- Mr Gardener |
Smell of nitrites
On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 23:40:44 -0600, dc wrote:
"Altum" wrote in news:1140286709.246608.305140 : the smell of a healthy, mature filter. Am I the only one who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it? Nope, you are not alone. With more than 260 tanks to look after, small is often my first clue to a new potential problem when I walk into the fish room in the morning. I will often follow my nose to the trouble spot. :) Ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate all have their own distinctive smells. I agree that one can tell a lot about a tank by sniffing it. Like good garden soil, a healthy aquarium has a distinctive and wonderful smell. I generally give each of my tanks a quick sniff during the morning feeding. The fish get to look at my nose before they get their breakfast. And the warm moist air clears my sinuses. -- Mr Gardener |
Smell of nitrites
Mr. Gardener wrote:
On Sat, 18 Feb 2006 23:40:44 -0600, dc wrote: "Altum" wrote in news:1140286709.246608.305140 : the smell of a healthy, mature filter. Am I the only one who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it? Nope, you are not alone. With more than 260 tanks to look after, small is often my first clue to a new potential problem when I walk into the fish room in the morning. I will often follow my nose to the trouble spot. :) Ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate all have their own distinctive smells. I agree that one can tell a lot about a tank by sniffing it. Like good garden soil, a healthy aquarium has a distinctive and wonderful smell. I generally give each of my tanks a quick sniff during the morning feeding. The fish get to look at my nose before they get their breakfast. And the warm moist air clears my sinuses. -- Mr Gardener Hope they never mistake your nose for breakfast - lol Gill |
OT, sulphide gases was Smell of nitrites
NetMax wrote:
"Steve" wrote in message .. . NetMax wrote: I don't know if I could detect ammonia with my nose, but I do smell a lot of sulphur in my well water for the last month and it's worrying me for water changes. To compensate, I'm using more turbulence in the water (hoping to dissipate it faster), and I'm refilling the tanks slowly (less than a gallon a minute). I've just started filling 5g water jugs a week earlier, so they will have equalized more by the time I use them. Does anyone know the characteristics of the source of this smell? Does it take long to leave the water, and is the water left harmless after? I remember reading in a Ministry of Environment brochure that the smell often comes from iron-reducing bacteria in the well. A solution is to chlorinate your well and water system, which is not a bad thing to do occasionally. That's done by putting lots of water with abundant bleach in it in the well, letting stand, then letting it into the water system and letting stand again, before flushing out. Use the garden hose as output of flushing, and don't run too much chlorinated water into the septic system. It's more easily done in spring/ summer, and please research the details before attempting it. The details are recorded as I remember them from years ago. Another source is supposed to be sulphate (gypsum, anhydrite) in the rocks. that's not uncommon in eastern Ontario. You're near Ottawa, eh? I'd think that using turbulent water into buckets will probably disperse most of the sulphur gas. Steve Thanks Steve, that's interesting about the iron. I dug out an old water test and they didn't test for H2S unfortunately, but there was a small (+2) amount of sheated bacteria or iron bacteria, leptothrix spp. This is why I shock the well periodically, as it leaves a red residue inside the toilet tank. I'm attributing the odour to H2S since it is intermittent. I don't think the iron bacteria are anything which would threaten the fish. Is the (gypsum, anhydrite) sulphate characteristics similar to H2S (in regards to threat to fish and the ability to be released through aeration)? The small amount sulphate from rocks that are mainly limestone, should just contibute to your water's hardness. It's not harmful at all, as far as I know, but perhaps other posters better understand the chemistry involved. I suppose you could get H2S developing from any sulphur sources in the well/ aquifer: sulphates, sulfides... and I'd guess that those bacteria probably obtain/ assimilate/ release dilute sulphur from the water anyway. When we had a limestone well, the splined shaft of our 5 year-old washing machine corroded so badly that the agitator slipped. The repairman attributed it to sulphur in the well. I found this strange due to the high hardness/ pH - how could there be acid... but who knows what detergents do? Steve |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 04:16 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
FishKeepingBanter.com