filter smell

[Meredith]

My filter smells sorta like mildew. Is that how they are supposed to smell? Its not so strong as to stink up the house, but I noticed when I changed the filter cartridge, It was very strong smelling, musty, mildewy.... Hard to describe. Any thoughts?

 

[QTOFFER]

Meredith, what kind of filter do you have?

I have Penguin Minis and I just rinse the crud off the cartridge in some tank water. Only when the fibrous pad starts wearing thin, do I splurge for a new filter. I have light bioloads and change 40 - 50% of the water weekly, so I don't concern myself about the carbon in the cartridge.

As far as the smell, most tanks have a rich earthy odor - it really should not be unpleasant. Musty, strong, and mildewy doesn't sound good. Perhaps you're overfeeding or need more filtration, or more frequent gravel vacs? How often do you change the cartridge? Maybe you could try rinsing off the decaying crud between changes like I do.

 

[Meredith]

the filter I have is a regent aquatech 30-60. My tank water smells ok, not gross at all, just the filter.

 

[TankGirl]

If the tank is established (at least 3 months with stable water chemistry) then I would just replace the filter media. If not, rinse it carefully in dechlorinated water or spent tank water to get the musty smell out. The only time it would be musty is if water flow is low and the filter is damp without have the water flowing through it entirely.