The "Earthy Smell" Factor...

[ArtesiaWells]

My water, when generally clean and mostly after a water change, has an "earthy" scent...which I have read is actually good and what is strived for...

Is this right? Should good, clean, healthy aquarium water smell somewhat "earthy"?

 

[molliwopp]

Mine does. Love the smell and im pretty sure it should.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Thanks for putting my mind at ease, molli!

Can anyone else confirm this for us? Should fresh tank water smell somewhat "earthy" and even "organically herbal" in some sense when it's in prime, healthy condition?

 

[Sambo7475]

I guess I don't understand what you mean by "earthy" or "organic," when i think of those terms, I think of a freshly plowed field. My tanks have never smelled like that.
Most healthy freshwater tanks seem to smell like a pond in the spring to me, or a lawn after rain, if that's what you're asking. Not like dead fish, or stagnant backwater inlets.
It seems you're asking me to define and describe a color. It's dang near impossible for me, and it would seem as though you'd get ten different responses from ten different people.

 

[mfdrookie516]

My tanks never smelled at all, except while cycling.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

I guess I don't understand what you mean by "earthy" or "organic," when i think of those terms, I think of a freshly plowed field. My tanks have never smelled like that.

No; I don't mean like a "freshly plowed field."

Most healthy freshwater tanks seem to smell like a pond in the spring to me, or a lawn after rain, if that's what you're asking. Not like dead fish, or stagnant backwater inlets.

Of course it shouldn't smell like "dead fish" or "stagnant backwater inlets" I definitely don't experience that; it's more like, I suppose like you put it, "a lawn after rain"...I know the term "earthy" is often used to describe clean tank water, that's why I asked, because it seems to me that's what's coming out of my aquarium...at any rate, it just smells "clean." But now that I am thinking about it further, indeed it may smell like "cut grass after a rain" or along those lines, as you suggest...

It seems you're asking me to define and describe a color. It's dang near impossible for me, and it would seem as though you'd get ten different responses from ten different people.

No, not really what I was asking or intending; I suppose the first member to reply was more in jive with what I was trying to inquire of with regard to this scent.

 

[shellieca]

When I do a water change my used tank water smells like . . . a pond or lake. I only smell it during a water change.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

When I do a water change my used tank water smells like . . . a pond or lake. I only smell it during a water change.

But what about, say, like after a water change is done and the filters have been running awhile with the fresh water...does it smell kind of like a clean, "wet lawn" or "earthy" or something along those lines? I mean, if you were to lift the hoods, glass tops or canopy and kind of sniff the surface of the agitated-by-the-filters water...

 

[shellieca]

Well I had to go stick my nose into my 46g to check it . . . there is a faint smell & yeah I'd describe it as you have.

 

[Sambo7475]

I promise you I wasn't trying to be derogatory, I was just trying to ascertain what exactly you were describing. I was also trying to say that typed words do not do justice to the other senses. I grew up on a farm, and a freshly plowed field is what smells "earthy" to me.
If your tank smells "clean" to you, it probably is.
I personally can't smell my tank unless I'm right there doing a water change or manipulating the decor. The smell always reminds me of my lawn after rain, or a pond in the spring.
The dead fish or stagnant water comment referred to what one of my tanks smelled like when a tiger barb died in one of the ornaments, and began to decay. I didn't find the poor bugger for 2 weeks, and I just wanted to make sure this was not the odor you were calling "earthy." Thank you for clarifying.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Well I had to go stick my nose into my 46g to check it . . . there is a faint smell & yeah I'd describe it as you have.

LOL...thanks...

I suppose I just wanted to know if any of these scents indicate that the water is somewhat healthy and clean...

 

[ArtesiaWells]

I promise you I wasn't trying to be derogatory, I was just trying to ascertain what exactly you were describing.

No worries. Thanks for the clarification.

I was also trying to say that typed words do not do justice to the other senses. I grew up on a farm, and a freshly plowed field is what smells "earthy" to me.

Okay; I've often read that people describe their "clean water" as smelling "earthy and organic" so that's why I asked, as I can see it being described that way after I put my sniffer to the surface of the water.

If your tank smells "clean" to you, it probably is.
I personally can't smell my tank unless I'm right there doing a water change or manipulating the decor. The smell always reminds me of my lawn after rain, or a pond in the spring.

Indeed; I can't smell mine either, really, until I lift up the dual hoods and do an actual sniff test of the water, getting pretty close to the surface where the HOBs are returning the filtered water via healthy ripples. I suppose it can be described as a "lawn after rain," and what I originally perceived as "earthy."

The dead fish or stagnant water comment referred to what one of my tanks smelled like when a tiger barb died in one of the ornaments, and began to decay. I didn't find the poor bugger for 2 weeks, and I just wanted to make sure this was not the odor you were calling "earthy." Thank you for clarifying.

Oh, no -- I wouldn't have called a dead fish smell "earthy"; I was trying to explain that the water has a kind of "clear, organic grass lawn" kind of scent...not anything fishy. When I do suspect there is a trace of this offputting odor, I do a water change immediately -- even without testing parameters -- in case ammonia or something else has spiked, or for fear of an overfeeding session...