phyto smell very foul- safe?

[ChrisfromBrick]

A company (that I will not name) that is well regarded and has been great so far has had to send me 2 or possibly 3 replacements for phyto. I want to make sure that I am not missing anything here.

When I opened the bottle today it smells like rotten eggs and/or sulfur. The phyto was 2 day shipped and yes, it’s been extremely hot.

Is it normal for phyto to smell so foul? I’ve had other bottles received that didn’t smell horrible. Is this safe to add to my aquarium? I feel bad because this was very well packaged and shipped fast.

No matter who i use, I will probably never order these items in such brutal heat again.

 

[Formulator]

They always smell like that. LOL I’m surprised they kept sending you replacements! Sounds like a great vendor to me actually.

Leave the top cracked open for a day and it will vent off some of that.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

They always smell like that. LOL I’m surprised they kept sending you replacements! Sounds like a great vendor to me actually.

Leave the top cracked open for a day and it will vent off some of that.

i’ve ordered it in the past and it had no smell. I just want to know if it is safe to add to tank. For example, i’ve ordered from algae barn for awhile and it smelled mildly earthy but that is it.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Never smelled good to me.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

They always smell like that. LOL I’m surprised they kept sending you replacements! Sounds like a great vendor to me actually.

Leave the top cracked open for a day and it will vent off some of that.

and to clarify, I didn’t say they weren’t a great vendor.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Never smelled good to me.

ok

 

[Formulator]

Typically the algae barn stuff is not as concentrated and doesn’t have “the smell”. The thick dark concentrated stuff like phytofeast or rotigreen has always smelled awful to me.

 

[Preston's_Waters]

phyto is probably some of the worst smelling stuff you could add to your tank, but it's great for every thing, I dose two capfuls every morning and night, it won't spike anything and helps everything

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

phyto is probably some of the worst smelling stuff you could add to your tank, but it's great for every thing, I dose two capfuls every morning and night, it won't spike anything and helps everything

Ok, thanks. This definitely puts my mind at ease. As someone else said, I guess it depends on what types are in it which make a difference in the smell.

I've had nothing but great customer service from this company as well as excellent packaging.

 

[Northern Flicker]

Strange, everyone here says there's smell foul as well. I get mine from a local group that also uses it for pod cultivation and I can honestly say there is no foul smell. There's a smell, but it's not terrible.

 

[Preston's_Waters]

Ok, thanks. This definitely puts my mind at ease. As someone else said, I guess it depends on what types are in it which make a difference in the smell.

I've had nothing but great customer service from this company as well as excellent packaging.

no problem, btw just curious what tank do you have and do you mind posting a couple images, I have been looking at new tanks to get, nothing wrong if you don't want to

 

[Daftendire]

The phyto I cultured (nannochloropsis) does not smell bad when it's fresh and alive. It smells earthy and kind of pleasant. The rotten sulfur smell is exactly what you think it is - dead phyto. If my storage bottle in the fridge starts to smell, I toss it. I'm not pouring decomp phyto into my tank but ymmv.

 

[jimk60]

Are you buying live fresh phyto or the dead off the shelf stuff. Live phyto should never smell bad but kind of like the ocean. Agreed not a good couple of weeks to be shipping stuff in the heat

 

[GlassMunky]

A company (that I will not name) that is well regarded and has been great so far has had to send me 2 or possibly 3 replacements for phyto. I want to make sure that I am not missing anything here.

When I opened the bottle today it smells like rotten eggs and/or sulfur. The phyto was 2 day shipped and yes, it’s been extremely hot.

Is it normal for phyto to smell so foul? I’ve had other bottles received that didn’t smell horrible. Is this safe to add to my aquarium? I feel bad because this was very well packaged and shipped fast.

No matter who i use, I will probably never order these items in such brutal heat again.

no it should NOT smell like rotten eggs or sulfur. it should smell like low tide and slightly ocean-ish but not like rotten eggs. thats gone bad. while it probably wont "hurt" the tank, its not going to be anywhere close to nutritious as it was and personally, id just toss it.

 

[DHill6]

Same scenario here, the company sent replacements with xtra ice pack, again wasn’t that cold when arrived. I thought it smelled strange, not earthy, pleasant or sweet grass. I used about 1/3 than tossed both bottles, the smell increased.

 

[GlassMunky]

I will add, i just got a shipment of phyto last week in the crazy heat (also in NJ) and mine was 3 day shipped. The bottle was 85° when it arrived and didnt smell like rotten eggs.

 

[DHill6]

I will add, i just got a shipment of phyto last week in the crazy heat (also in NJ) and mine was 3 day shipped. The bottle was 85° when it arrived and didnt smell like rotten eggs.

You had good luck. The first bottle smelled like rotten eggs. They sent two for a replacement, didn’t smell ocean like or anything good. I thought it stunk but gave it a try anyways.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Are you buying live fresh phyto or the dead off the shelf stuff. Live phyto should never smell bad but kind of like the ocean. Agreed not a good couple of weeks to be shipping stuff in the heat

definitely not the smell of the ocean. I know that smell very well. I guess it’s bad. Lesson learned.

Fresh “concentrated blend”

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

no problem, btw just curious what tank do you have and do you mind posting a couple images, I have been looking at new tanks to get, nothing wrong if you don't want to

it’s a Nyos “69 gallon” (though i bet it’s really about 60-65 gallons. Let’s see if i have a decent pic.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

it’s a Nyos “69 gallon” (though i bet it’s really about 60-65 gallons. Let’s see if i have a decent pic.

i would love to have a few pieces of genuine tonga branch to hide that heater. Nobody wants to break up their stash to sell me