DT's Smell

[FishBoyNB]

Good Evening All -

How should DT's smell?

Occasionally when I buy a bottle at the LFS, they open it and take a whiff. I've had a clerk open and sniff up to 6 bottles before declaring one fit. Mostly though the clerk will just pull out a bottle and sell it to me.

What is a good smell? The last bottle I got had an expiration date 4-5 weeks away, but really smelled bad, I mean really bad.

I assume the storage temp in transit has some bearing on shelf life.

Basically I am ust looking to avoid pouring rotten plankton in my tank and screwing up my numbers.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

 

[btuck]

All DT's smells bad, I think it even says so on the bottle. I could be mistaken though.

 

[daytonaconnecti]

This is from their web site... It is impossible to separate every bit of the cellular detritus from the phytoplankton cells when it is harvested. Although we have several steps to remove as much of the cellular detritus as possible, some small amount is always present. The decomposition of the cellular detritus causes a small amount of sulfides to be present and the product will naturally have a slight sulfide odor. People are known to detect sulfides at 0.5 ppb that is one half of one part per billion. If the product it warm for even a little while, there will be a more noticeable amount of sulfide odor.
Any odor from the phytoplankton is most noticeable in the air that is trapped in the bottle, and it builds up over time. That is why a half empty bottle smells more than a full bottle, and a large bottle smells more than a small bottle. Some species such as the Chlorella simply smell stronger. To remove the old air, squeeze the bottle until the phytoplankton is at the surface. While odor intensity is almost impossible to describe; it is normal for a stronger odor to be detected, particularly in DT’s that has been in storage for a while. If a significant amount of the phytoplankton is dead, the intensity of the odor will be so strong that it is overpowering, even after squeezing out the old air.

 

[Elmo18]

Live algae itself does smell as daytona mentions as a 'sweet odor'. What differentiates between the 'good odor' (which you can still find disgusting), and the 'bad odor', is that the latter is usually caused by not stirring or shaking the bottle once a week (my preference if you use Dts), especially if you're not using it. Better if you shake it every couple of days. Algae will settle naturally to the bottom and will die if not in suspension but in a big clump at the bottom.

I myself do not use DT's, but grow my own. However, I do NOT feed that to the tank. Too much bad stuff...

- Ilham

 

[daytonaconnecti]

ck out the re post.

 

[diablo]

My experiance with dt's is this
good/live dt's has a sweet smell
bad/dead dt's smells like rotten eggs/ sewer plant well you get the idea

The thing is that it has to be refridgerated if it is left out it will go bad fast!!
shake it every other day and follow directions carefully.

 

[MikeS]

Heck...anything that smells that bad has GOT to be good for the reef tank...:lol:

MikeS

 

[wrightme43]

Are you saying I should dip Michael Moore in my tank?

 

[btuck]

You could but he is such a left winger your fish would probably start demanding rights!!!