Protein Skimmer Smell (Smells Like Death!) – How Do You Combat It?

[Chrism1330]

Alright reef fam… I need some advice because my skimmer cup smells absolutely HORRIBLE. I'm talking straight up death.
I know skimmers pull out all the nasty waste from the tank, but the smell is next level.

For those of you running larger reef systems:

• Is this normal for skimmate to smell this bad?
• Do you rinse the cup daily or let it fill?
• Has anyone used carbon filters on the skimmer lid or air line to reduce smell?
• Any tricks like adding carbon, ozone, or anything else to neutralize the odor?

Right now I'm just dumping it and rinsing it out, but the smell lingers in my living room since thats where my tank is. Curious what everyone else does to manage it.

 

[Turkeysammich]

Daymn. Newbie. 2 years in and still. Toss a bag of carbon on top and it will absorb the stank. You do know that a skimmer is constantly breathing poop into the air. Clean that cup once a month at least.

 

[Chrism1330]

Daymn. Newbie. 2 years in and still. Toss a bag of carbon on top and it will absorb the stank. You do know that a skimmer is constantly breathing poop into the air. View attachment 78047

Hahaha alright I’ll give that a try.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

The worse it smells, the better it’s working!

 

[Kensington Reefer]

And...
Everyone’s skimmer “flavor” is unique to that system!
Savor that flavor, it’s yours, and yours alone

 

[L/B Block]

I say take a deep whiff and then…
So how is your PH? Reason I ask is that i did a recirc loop with the skimmer and closed up the vents so I now I don’t smell anything or really hear anything as an extra benefit to higher PH.

What are you feeding and what are your nutrient levels? And how often are you shutting down the skimmer daily?
Now that I have been carbon dosing -smells a lot better when I do clean it out once a month.

 

[Slingfox]

I have a drain line on my skimmer cup so I can empty it once a week or every few days without cleaning out the cup. I clean out the cup once a month or so—it smells bad but isn’t too terrible. I feed mostly rinsed frozen food with a small amount of TDO pellets. I run both carbon and ozone but my skimmer smells the same as it did when I was not running either carbon or ozone.

 

[Alexander1312]

Alright reef fam… I need some advice because my skimmer cup smells absolutely HORRIBLE. I'm talking straight up death.
I know skimmers pull out all the nasty waste from the tank, but the smell is next level.

For those of you running larger reef systems:

• Is this normal for skimmate to smell this bad?
• Do you rinse the cup daily or let it fill?
• Has anyone used carbon filters on the skimmer lid or air line to reduce smell?
• Any tricks like adding carbon, ozone, or anything else to neutralize the odor?

Right now I'm just dumping it and rinsing it out, but the smell lingers in my living room since thats where my tank is. Curious what everyone else does to manage it.

I wish mine would look (and smell) like that….

 

[Alexander1312]

Daymn. Newbie. 2 years in and still. Toss a bag of carbon on top and it will absorb the stank. You do know that a skimmer is constantly breathing poop into the air. Clean that cup once a month at least. View attachment 78047

I do the same (but mainly due to use of ozone). But helps with the smell too.