A very odd question

[marcingo]

So I put some live sand into my 55 gal tank that smelt like H2S. Now I have a wierd situation. The H2S smell went away once I spread the sand across the tank and added some water but then their was an odd moldy type smell so I opened my basement window over night and closed the door and put a fan on. When I went into the room in the morning the smell was mostly gone but for some reason everytime I go into the room I get this burning sensation in my nose. Could this just be from the ammonia from the cycling tank or could it be something else.

Anyone have any idea what is making my nose burn when I enter the room where the tank is? I went near the tank water and smelt it up close but it didnt have any strong odor.

I warned you lol its a very odd question.

[demon666]

ok first off are you sure it was an h2s smell????? you can only smell h2s at verry low concentraions like under 10ppm at higher amounts it will cause a burning sensation in your nose throat and eyes. at higher concentrations you will not beable to smell it (no smell at the tank) as it nocks out you sence of smell..... at small amounts h2s is safe im sure any amount that is there which i highly doubt unless you have a huge amount of decaying matter in that sand bed and i mean huge it more then likely is not h2s......... and h2s is solluable in watter so unless u stir up the watter it wont be released and it is heavier then air so it settels in low lying areas...... if it is h2s i would caution you about entering that room alone although the amount that would be there if any at all probably wont be enough to nock you down.......... but better safe the sorry................. next time you enter the room have someone stay at the door just to make sure...... everyone will have a different reaction to h2s............ i doubt it is but you never know..............

[marcingo]

When I was getting the sand from the tank I got it from we smelt the rotting egg smell and the guy told me its h2s he had a 3-4 inch sand bed in his tank. I put the sand in my tank so it has mixed most likely. So if its in my tank water does that make the water unsafe and do I have to remove all the sand clean the tank and throw out all the sand and go out and buy some new stuff? Or will it eventually leave the tank. Everytime I go back in the room or spend time there I do get the burning sensation very similar to the one you get when you ingest chlorine or salt water through your nose in a swimming pool.

I guess my question is if it is h2s will it leave the tank and is the sand fine to keep as long as I moved it all around or should I get rid of it. Thanks.

[danny zubot]

You can leave it in the tank IMO, but run carbon and skim. It should go away by the time the tank cycles.

[marcingo]

Thanks