rotten egg smell after re-connecting chiller

[SuperSaltwater]

so i noticed my chiller was disconnected, i plugged it in without thinking. then noticed a rotten egg smell. i assume the water in the chiller turned rotten, my guess is 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon or so of dirty water went into my 40 breeder reef. what should i do? i assume water change, whats your opinion?:headwally:

 

[Marchillo]

I did the same thing with a canister filter in a 40g. I added some prime for peace of mind but everyone reassured me I'd be ok. Nothing bad happened to my tank. I don't think I did a water change but it certainly wouldn't hurt. Maybe a 5g water change for peace of mind.

 

[SuperSaltwater]

I did the same thing with a canister filter in a 40g. I added some prime for peace of mind but everyone reassured me I'd be ok. Nothing bad happened to my tank. I don't think I did a water change but it certainly wouldn't hurt. Maybe a 5g water change for peace of mind.

what did you do about the smell? i will do 5 gallon water change and add a little carbon. thanks.

 

[Marchillo]

It took about 24 hours to go away. Carbon is a good idea as well. It was in my basement so I could avoid them smell.

 

[dendrite]

you get the same smell from auto air conditioners that have sat idle in the past. It's from mildew on the coils. Harmless, killed by salt water or run vinegar and water thru the chiller

 

[Member No. 1]

you get the same smell from auto air conditioners that have sat idle in the past. It's from mildew on the coils. Harmless, killed by salt water or run vinegar and water thru the chiller

I will have to disagree with this. While I'm sure with an auto AC mildew could be the problem, what you are smelling from your chiller is hydrogen sulfide which is caused by the dead and decomposing of organic matter. In large enough concentrations, it has wiped out entire tanks. That is why it is a bad idea to not disturb a deep sand bed.
But with the small amount we are talking here, I wouldn't worry.

 

[dendrite]

I will have to disagree with this. While I'm sure with an auto AC mildew could be the problem, what you are smelling from your chiller is hydrogen sulfide which is caused by the dead and decomposing of organic matter. In large enough concentrations, it has wiped out entire tanks. That is why it is a bad idea to not disturb a deep sand bed.
But with the small amount we are talking here, I wouldn't worry.

No disagreement with your final conclusions but the underlying cause of the hydrogen sulfide smell in an unused auto and stagnant chiller is organic decomposition from biologic processes by opportunistic organisms enjoying a meal in dark , warm, protected and moist environments.

 

[Marchillo]

I did clean my canister filter after my experience but the water was already mixed in. But I rinsed the media in old tank water, tossed the sponges, and cleaned out the plastic with paper towels. Again at that small quantity of water I had no issues except a smelly room for a day or so.