Foul smelling water from chiller ???

[Hugo’s_reef]

So i purchased a jbj arctica 1/10hp chiller from craigslist . Old owner said he used it only in the summer and had it for 2 years .The chiller looks in perfect shape so i believe him. I wanted to get rid of any calcium build up so i use a 5g bucket and added 1 gallon of white distilled vinegar topped off with water and ran it from 3-4 hrs . Very little stuff came out water looked a little murky but nothing too bad . Then when im getting ready to disconnet everything so i can rinse it off, i see the power cord is under the chiller so i tilted the chiller to the side while the pump was still on and circulating, Then :yuck: the water turned completely black and a very foul smell began coming out . Anyone know what that might have been ???

 

[FijiZoo]

Old water build up?

 

[wickedfish]

Old water build up?

Yep this is what it was. Just run some vinegar through it.

 

[Hugo’s_reef]

But I ran it with vinegar for 3 hours before I tilted it and all the water ran clean and clear ??

 

[FijiZoo]

Just run it with vinegar and i would lean it on it side just a little every hour or so just to make sure there is no solids in the chiller

 

[Surgical]

But I ran it with vinegar for 3 hours before I tilted it and all the water ran clean and clear ??

Could this be from tilting and broken seals or something? Is it like a fridge, where you're not supposed to tilt it?

 

[wickedfish]

Change all hoses and fittings done

 

[Hugo’s_reef]

highly doubt it but i really hope not :/ ....

 

[Hugo’s_reef]

Yeah i think thats what im going to do just run it for a lot longer ....

 

[lowbudget]

Do you have it plugged in?

 

[ReEfErAdDiCt86]

Hydrogen sulfide...the worst case I ever experienced was when I broke down my 240. There were 2 holes drilled on the bottom that the previous owner had used as a closed loop. I plugged them and had my tank running like that. When I broke it down, I removed the plugs and black, I mean black, water poured out. It was the worst smell, honestly, that I have ever smelled in my life! It literally filled my hole with the stench for hours.
Hydrogen sulfide is very toxic to everything in your tank so make sure you clean the chiller very thoroughly before you use it. Here's an article on it and also take a look on YouTube at newyorksteelo's channel and his video on deep sand bed maintenance. He explains it pretty well.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-12/rhf/index.php

 

[Hugo’s_reef]

no, i unpulgged it because i thought i was done and threw away the vinegar and water mix .This happened when i was rinsing with RODI water . But im working a lot this week so im thinking maybe saturday do it again but this time leave it a lot longer with 50% water 50 %vinegar and a stronger pump , hopefully i get to by the mj1200 .Then will see how that goes .