Musty smell

[Capt_Cully]

In 10 years of keeping reef tanks I've never had an issue. Anyone who saw the sump system at our old house knows the evaporation made it look like a Bolivian jungle down there. Still no musty smell.

The new 120 has the living area smelling like a musty old ladies sweater. Never an issue with the last tank which was bigger. It's on our jackets when we leave the house. I ran a dehumidifier all day yesterday, to no avail. There is a gas fireplace which we use to heat the room exclusively so it's generally quite dry in here. No build up of moisture on the windows.

The ONLY thing that's different about this tank is that it's lined with a high gloss backer board, and the stand is about 90% closed.

Do you guys think that has anything to do with it? I realize it's probably a tough call, but I'm starting to lose sleep over it. Can't figure it out.

Maybe someone can spitball ideas for me to check or try. It's a shame because I'm lovin' this tank.

 

[terrypercula]

It's definitely your radions...I'll take them off your hands for free :lmao:

In all seriousness have you smelled the tank itself or dies the whole room stink?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Different skimmer/ sump location from previous arrangement?

 

[Capt_Cully]

The whole room. As soon as you become immersed in it, you lose the ability to pinpoint it. It's hard to find a source of moisture when there 140 gallons of water staring you down. I'm not 100% convinced it's the tank. Like I said, looking for any ideas I can get.

 

[oneradtek202]

You passed out drunk letting your beer spill under the couch

 

[gary greguire]

I would blame it on the children.

is there much different with this setup than the last?

 

[mr86mister]

The room you say is dry. But what about condensation on windows? Any pockets of mold growing may create that musty smell. Maybe a secret tunnel to the closest bar is under the floor boards and you just haven't found it yet?

 

[Capt_Cully]

I just moved literally 3000# of snow away from the back side of the house outside the fireplace etc. we haven't had this much snowfall in a few years. Perhaps that was causing moisture to get in through the dryer vent or fireplace???

Otherwise, no significant changes, no condensation or mildew on windows. Children, especially the male child, have an entirely different....scent.

 

[pascal32]

anything wet on the floor around the tank? any water lines in the area that might have frozen and are mow trickling due to the cold weather?

 

[reefer buddy]

Do you have a laminate flooring could have water trapped under it if so. Is it a propane fire place because water is the by product of burning lp.

 

[Capt_Cully]

Specialist just left. No mold. No mildew. No leaks. No moisture. No aberrant humidity.

I've crawled over every square inch of floor, basement, crawl space, and attic. Can't pinpoint it. Sniffed every switch plate cover and outlet cover. Infrared camera and moisture meter yielded nothing.

Experts best guess, dead rodent in ceiling or wall.

Has anyone had a dead bird, squirrel, mouse, rat, or cape buffalo dead in their walls before?
Would this permeate your clothing?

IF the odor was partially due to new skimmate, how could one mitigate this? Carbon on top of skimmer? Baking soda?

My musty family is stumped! :uhoh2:

 

[Conesus_Kid]

How long have you noticed this?

 

[Capt_Cully]

Been about 2-3 weeks. The smell is still present. Dissipation is unclear. Living in it, desensitizes us to it. But leave and come back, and you smell it. The timeframe would support an unknown corpse but two things continue to vex me. #1, can't pinpoint it. #2, how can it get into my clothing just by being in the room??? Can this happen with a dead 1/4 pound critter? Was there a mass suicide? I'm picturing a bunch of dead mice in velvet sweatsuits and purple sneakers.

 

[gary greguire]

my berlin skimmer had an extra tray for carbon if you just put some in a media bag and laid it over the top it should work. I would think if it was skimate it would be obvious though.

 

[Capt_Cully]

my berlin skimmer had an extra tray for carbon if you just put some in a media bag and laid it over the top it should work. I would think if it was skimate it would be obvious though.

You'd think, but I'm reaching for anything at this point.

 

[Conesus_Kid]

Sounds like dead rodent(s). It can be pretty pervasive. Remind me to tell you my Norway rat story next time I see you.

 

[Capt_Cully]

You said Norway rat right? I don't want it to get confused with your other rat stories.

 

[Gravesj1s]

Bag of charcoal (BBQ) open it up as much as you can to expose it and turn on ceiling fan.

 

[Capt_Cully]

I like it! Worth a shot Steve.

 

[Neoz]

Ok Cully here is what happened to our family in short story. It was so bad smelling....

Long story short we had a possum climb into a crawl space, then into the sub floor somehow and died! When we couldn't pinpoint the smell we called in a professional. It took him quite awhile and several openings later to finally find the carcass. What didn't help with us was that we also had a heating duct that had split a small opening and was pulling the smell in threw the heating duct. Took us a long while to get rid of that smell after the carcass was removed.

Needless to say we repaired the duct work and the hole that the possum gained entry thru. Hopefully that isn't the case with you. Good Luck bud...