# Odd smell from pot scrubbies



## Morwell (Feb 13, 2009)

This might sound odd but I have a pretty nasty smell comming from my pot scrubbies that I've been using in my wet/dry. It's so strong that the whole tank smells like it.

I don't know if this is normal or not- this is the first tank i've ever used a wet/dry on. Everything seems to be fine, just this odd smell.


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## Joephish (Oct 28, 2005)

What does it smell like? In my experience, bad smells usually come from anoxic environments. Is there any chance that some part of the wet dry has been cut off from the air?


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## Morwell (Feb 13, 2009)

I do not think so. The trickle part of the wet/dry is completely out of the water. So it is constantly exposed to the air with the exception of the water raining through it.

It honestly smells like wet plastic- just very, very potent. It's really odd. It's not comming from anywhere in the wet/dry but the scrubbies.


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## TheBanker (Jun 14, 2008)

thats intresting, i just brought 200 scrubbies for a wet/dry i plan to set up, are they the dollar store brand scrubbies?


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## Morwell (Feb 13, 2009)

Yeah they are the dollar store brand. Six for a dollar, untreated scrubbies. They only took on the smell for after being in my sump for roughly two months. I've got about 200 of them in there as well.


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## smellsfishy1 (May 29, 2008)

Are they really loaded with gunk and in need of cleaning?
Is deteriation a possibility?


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## Malawi King (Apr 10, 2009)

i would clean them in some tank water and see if that helps.

if not i would switch to bio balls there not that much $$$ for a 5 gal bucket... and then u would have no smell and not worry about what the pot scrubbies are doin..


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

> Are they really loaded with gunk and in need of cleaning


Would be my guess as well. Excess food and fish waste rotting away. You need more stuff to filter the gunk out before it gets to your scrubbies. My water ran thru a shoebox full of quilt batting before getting to the scrubbies.


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## Joephish (Oct 28, 2005)

I have had those dollar store scrubbies seemingly disintegrate and turn kind of sticky, but that was after many months. Also, I didn't notice any odd smells. If it smells like plastic, it might be the scrubbies releasing some fumes. I'd give them a good washing and see if that helps. If not, bioballs might be in your future.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Any biomedia that is colonized will have a smell, whether it is a sponge, scrubbie or bioball.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

BillD said:


> Any biomedia that is colonized will have a smell, whether it is a sponge, scrubbie or bioball.


 An earthy or organic smell, not a chemical or plastic smell like with these scrubbies.


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## Dutch Dude (Sep 14, 2006)

The filter media in a well established filter should have a potting soil / peat like smell. The plastic almost wax like smell is from chemicals from plastics. Those chemicals make the plastics soft and are no good in an aquatic environment. The smell of a very dirty filter can be very strong and ammonia can be detected in it. Lots of cyanobacteria also give a very bad strong smell and can irritate your skin and eyes. It is obvious something is wrong with the filter. I suggest to take out all of the sponges and add proper media like the blue filter foam used for pond filters (can be cut to the right size with a sharp knife) of media like Eheim (or cheaper similar) Eheim mechanic (those small ceramic tubes).


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Mcdaphnia said:


> BillD said:
> 
> 
> > Any biomedia that is colonized will have a smell, whether it is a sponge, scrubbie or bioball.
> ...


      
Proving, once again... 
Reading is fundamental. 
Sorry, guess the eye to brain link was on the fritz. 
Have not seen any previous posts about a bad lot of scrubbies. 
At a little over $30 invested, I wouldn`t hesitate to start swapping them out.


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## Morwell (Feb 13, 2009)

I've been thinking about switiching to bioballs. If I do, what would be the recommended way of doing so? Removing say, 1/4 of the scrubbies weekly and replacing them with the bioballs until they are are gone? Or do you think I could do it in less time?

Anyway, the other day I took my whole wet dry apart and cleaned everything very well- including the scrubbies. They were washed in water drawn from the tank. The smell went away slightly. It's not as potent as it was. Though they were not really gunky at all since I have quite a large prefilter.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

I don't think I'd wait to remove any of the scrubbies. I would take them all out. If they have a plastic smell, they are not going to be useful as biosubstrate and probably have very little colonization going on. Nothing to gain by leaving them in, and lots to suggest giving them the bum's rush ASAP.


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## BinaryWhisper (May 5, 2006)

Mcdaphnia said:


> I don't think I'd wait to remove any of the scrubbies. I would take them all out. If they have a plastic smell, they are not going to be useful as biosubstrate and probably have very little colonization going on. Nothing to gain by leaving them in, and lots to suggest giving them the bum's rush ASAP.


agreed


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