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?

"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

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

Hi..

Am I the only one
who "tests" water chemistry by sniffing it?

Well, you (Gill and you) aren't alone..! :-)
--
cu
Marco

Well, you (Gill and you) aren't alone..! :-)

Oooops, Gill, Koi-Lo and you..
--
cu
Marco

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

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. :-)

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

"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.

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