Stinky Gravel

[Cowboychris]

Hello all need some help on this one!!!

Picked up some used gravel from my LFS and the guy was going out of business so i don't think he really cared but the gravel may have snail eggs in it so he told me and i have read online to clean it with running water, then fill up the bucket and let sit for a few days to see if anything rises to the top, i did that i let it sit for a week cause i do believe it was snails and or something foreign has been coming up and i have been skimming it off. Now i was just about to bag it up and move onto the next bag and the gravel smells like something has died in it and it did not smell that way before i put it in. The other gravel does not smell one bit. Any ideas why?:confused:


Thanks

[vince0]

Probably a mix of leftover poo and dead beneficial bacteria... I'd give it another good rinse, and let it sit again for a couple days... Repeat the process till it's clean. Make sure you stir the gravel while you rinsing it to get anything out of it too

[CACAdmin]

It doesn't take many dead snails to cause a stink. One idea might be to rinse it in a bucket with a running hose until it runs clean... just a thought.

[Cowboychris]

Thanks i will try that i have separated the stinky gravel form the non stinky so hopefully i will not need the smelly stuff to cover the bottom of the tank

[sunshine]

You can use a bit of vinegar in the water let it soak for a few hours then rinse very throughoughly so you cant smell any vinegar then rinse some more. The vinegar will kill a lot of stuff but is also acidic which if left behiund can cause problems. So rinse well. I use that to clean used tanks, gravel, decorations..etc as long as its rinsed well it works well.
Sunshine