My tank smells like cat pee?

[TatiannaC]

Hello everyone. As a back story, I have been fishless cycling my 5 gallon Fluval Evo 5 for the past 8 days. I add 2ppm of ammonia, wait until ammonia and nitrite tests read 0 (this has been taking about 48 hours), then dose to 2ppm again. In the past few days, my tank has began to stink like cat pee, and I have no idea why. All that is in the tank is Caribsea live sand (which I rinsed well), and AquaMaxx dry rock, which was also well rinsed before being put in the tank. I run a hydor koralia 240, the stock pump, and a Theo heater. Inside of the filter area, I have an in tank media basket with just the ceramic rings until my cycle is over. Also, I must add, I do have a cat, but I'm 99% sure that she didn't pee in it, as she is never allowed in this room, and she hasn't been in here since before I set up the tank.

 

My tests for today read as follows:

Ammonia: 0.25ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 80ppm

Ph: 8.0

Temperature: 78.8

Salinity: 0.026

 

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing the smell? I don't think the small amount of ammonia should be causing it.

 

[empresto]

Are you by chance using Instant Ocean Reef Crystals as a salt mix?  Back when I used that salt mix I remember occasionally having a cat pee smell, either from a mix bucket or the tank.  I know for a fact any mixed IO salt water I let sit for an extended length of time would get that smell.

[TatiannaC]

1 minute ago, empresto said:

Are you by chance using Instant Ocean Reef Crystals as a salt mix?  Back when I used that salt mix I remember occasionally having a cat pee smell, either from a mix bucket or the tank.  I know for a fact any mixed IO salt water I let sit for an extended length of time would get that smell.

I actually bought the pre mixed "ocean water" that came in a box, and I have yet to do a water change. But I actually was going to use IO reef crystals! thanks for the heads up. What other salt mix would you recommend?

[empresto]

Well, honestly, IO was just fine when I used it.  Reason I switched was due to the magnesium level it had when it mixed up.  I've always found that what the salt mixes to in relation to your goals with the tank is a better determinant of which salt to use.  From what I've seen, it sure seems like people have managed success with almost any salt mix.  BRS TV has had a couple informative videos on the topic that I found useful.

 

I now use Red Sea blue bucket; mixes up really close to where I keep all the levels of my tank and also seems to stay pretty stable if I let it sit mixed for a few days.  I always found the IO salt would precipitate out the kH when left for a couple days with a power head and I would have to readjust the 'new' water before a water change.  The Red Sea salt seems to hold reasonably stable levels for a couple weeks or more.

[TatiannaC]

2 minutes ago, empresto said:

Well, honestly, IO was just fine when I used it.  Reason I switched was due to the magnesium level it had when it mixed up.  I've always found that what the salt mixes to in relation to your goals with the tank is a better determinant of which salt to use.  From what I've seen, it sure seems like people have managed success with almost any salt mix.  BRS TV has had a couple informative videos on the topic that I found useful.

 

I now use Red Sea blue bucket; mixes up really close to where I keep all the levels of my tank and also seems to stay pretty stable if I let it sit mixed for a few days.  I always found the IO salt would precipitate out the kH when left for a couple days with a power head and I would have to readjust the 'new' water before a water change.  The Red Sea salt seems to hold reasonably stable levels for a couple weeks or more.

Thank you for the advice, I'll definitely watch those videos, and look into that mix. Any other ideas as to what could be causing the smell?

[empresto]

Knowing that you haven't used IO and still get the cat pee smell makes me wonder if it is something else causing the smell.  I also used Caribsea live sand, so maybe one of the cultures in the live sand causes the smell in the early stages of a reef?  Who knows.  I know that smell did not spell disaster for my reef and eventually went away.

 

Also, I should mention that I do not have a cat... so it 100% was not a cat causing it in my case 🙂

[Clown79]

Possibly the ammonia being dosed.

 

The smell from cat pee is the ammonia in the cat pee.

[TatiannaC]

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

Possibly the ammonia being dosed.

 

The smell from cat pee is the ammonia in the cat pee.

Hopefully it's just that. Once my cycle is over, what percent water change do you suggest doing?

[HarryPotter]

Do you have a cat? 

[jservedio]

1 hour ago, HarryPotter said:

Do you have a cat? 

This was my exact thought too

[TatiannaC]

1 hour ago, HarryPotter said:

Do you have a cat? 

Yes! but I have no idea how she would pee in it. She hasn't been in this room, and the tank has a plastic lid, and I've never noticed it ajar. Assuming she did pee in it, what should I do?

[TatiannaC]

16 minutes ago, jservedio said:

This was my exact thought too

I do have a cat.

[Clown79]

5 hours ago, TatiannaC said:

Hopefully it's just that. Once my cycle is over, what percent water change do you suggest doing?

It depends on the nitrate levels.

[Rob22]

If the cat did pee in the tank, which I doubt, the tank will cycle it out. A few things I can think of are did you possibly spill some of the ammonia when you were dosing it and it is in the carpet or wood floor or something? Did the cat get in the room and pee near the tank and someone else in the house found the cat and let it out of the room? Did you spill ammonia on the tank rim or is there buildup on the plastic lid that could be rotting and producing an ammonia smell? Skimmer cup if you have one? ATO reservoir if you have one. Lastly, do you have surface agitation on the tank? 

 

I have a 32 gallon brute can that I use for my ro/di station and if it is covered with a lid and no surface movement I have had an ammonia smell with no ammonia showing on the test results. That is with clean fresh water and not salt so it is likely possible with your tank as well. 

[Rob22]

Like Clown79 said regarding the water change, it depends on your nitrate level. It only being 5 gallons though if you have a cheap source of quality saltwater you could do a complete water change if you wanted. My LFS sells saltwater for $1 a gallon and with your size tank it would only cost about $4 for a total water change. Your rock and sand will take up some of the space your water used. The bacteria that make up your biological filter live predominantly in the sand and on the rock, not in the water column. This is why people can do massive water changes and run UV sterilizers without affecting their biological filter. 

 

Also make ale sure you are not topping off evaporation with saltwater. The salt doesn’t evaporate so you will keep raising salinity if you do. 

[tdannhauser30]

Definitely the nitrates and ammonia like said above. urine is full of ammonia. How strong is the smell? Like when you walk in the room does it hit you like a wall? Or are you sticking your face right over it and taking a big whiff of it lol. 

[TatiannaC]

3 hours ago, Rob22 said:

If the cat did pee in the tank, which I doubt, the tank will cycle it out. A few things I can think of are did you possibly spill some of the ammonia when you were dosing it and it is in the carpet or wood floor or something? Did the cat get in the room and pee near the tank and someone else in the house found the cat and let it out of the room? Did you spill ammonia on the tank rim or is there buildup on the plastic lid that could be rotting and producing an ammonia smell? Skimmer cup if you have one? ATO reservoir if you have one. Lastly, do you have surface agitation on the tank? 

 

I have a 32 gallon brute can that I use for my ro/di station and if it is covered with a lid and no surface movement I have had an ammonia smell with no ammonia showing on the test results. That is with clean fresh water and not salt so it is likely possible with your tank as well. 

Thank you for all of your advice and help. Definitely not an ammonia spill, or actual cat urine, I smell it when I remove the lid to test the water. Then the smell kind of hits me in the face. I do have lots of surface agitation. As I have the stock pump and the powerhead. No ATO reservoir or skimmer cup.

3 hours ago, Rob22 said:

Like Clown79 said regarding the water change, it depends on your nitrate level. It only being 5 gallons though if you have a cheap source of quality saltwater you could do a complete water change if you wanted. My LFS sells saltwater for $1 a gallon and with your size tank it would only cost about $4 for a total water change. Your rock and sand will take up some of the space your water used. The bacteria that make up your biological filter live predominantly in the sand and on the rock, not in the water column. This is why people can do massive water changes and run UV sterilizers without affecting their biological filter. 

 

Also make ale sure you are not topping off evaporation with saltwater. The salt doesn’t evaporate so you will keep raising salinity if you do. 

I was hoping that I could do a complete water change once my cycle is complete. I'd rather add livestock to a tank with new, clean water. And yes I'm topping off with fresh water, but thanks for making sure!

[TatiannaC]

3 hours ago, tdannhauser30 said:

Definitely the nitrates and ammonia like said above. urine is full of ammonia. How strong is the smell? Like when you walk in the room does it hit you like a wall? Or are you sticking your face right over it and taking a big whiff of it lol. 

It's when I stick my face right over it after I remove the lid. lol. Tested my water today, ammonia is at 0ppm, nitrites 0ppm, and nitrates between 80-180; the color is too hard to discern.

[jservedio]

8 minutes ago, TatiannaC said:

It's when I stick my face right over it after I remove the lid. lol. Tested my water today, ammonia is at 0ppm, nitrites 0ppm, and nitrates between 80-180; the color is too hard to discern.

According to the CDC, you can only smell ammonia in the air at concentrations above 50ppm - if your water was gassing off enough ammonia for you to smell, you would be able to test it.

 

Is it possible there was a few drops spilled while dosing, possibly inside the lid of the tank, the rim, or something? If you have a small volume of air between the water and a closed lid and even a drop or two evaporated, that would easily produce concentrations high enough to smell strongly when you opened the lid.

 

That, or it's pee :-)

[TatiannaC]

28 minutes ago, jservedio said:

According to the CDC, you can only smell ammonia in the air at concentrations above 50ppm - if your water was gassing off enough ammonia for you to smell, you would be able to test it.

 

Is it possible there was a few drops spilled while dosing, possibly inside the lid of the tank, the rim, or something? If you have a small volume of air between the water and a closed lid and even a drop or two evaporated, that would easily produce concentrations high enough to smell strongly when you opened the lid.

 

That, or it's pee 🙂

Hmmm, I guess I'll be doing a good rinse of the lid and everything surrounding the tank then. Thanks.

[Clown79]

With nitrates that high, you will want to do a 100% waterchange after the cycle is done.

[TatiannaC]

1 hour ago, Clown79 said:

With nitrates that high, you will want to do a 100% waterchange after the cycle is done.

Thats what I figured. Thanks for all the help!

[NuisanceAlgaeCultivator]

You said 99% sure it isn't cat pee...it must be that 1%. 🙂 

[TatiannaC]

8 hours ago, NuisanceAlgaeCultivator said:

You said 99% sure it isn't cat pee...it must be that 1%. 🙂 

I hope not!

[empresto]

So, just because I'm really interested to figure out exactly what causes this occasional cat pee smell in various aspects of reefing (mixed salt water that has sat for a while, the tank occasionally, other things), I have to be annoying and ask,"If it really is the ammonia in cat pee that gives cat pee its smell, why don't all types of pee smell like cat pee?"  I am 100% sure there is ammonia in any mammalian pee, so why is cat pee so distinctive?  There must be some other compound in cat pee that gives it that smell other than ammonia, and I am also 100% sure there is no ammonia in the stagnant mixed salt water I've gotten this smell from in the past (I test water that smells funny before I use it for water changes or throw it out).  Would be cool if there was a chemist or someone on here who had an idea what might be a smell-a-like compound.