HCA: Hermit Crab Association

I'm setting up a new tank, and I bought a new block of Eco Earth from Petco to mix with my sand. I've soaked it in a saline solution (dechlor water and instant ocean), but it smells SO STRONG! It has a bold, chemical smell - similar to Miracle Gro potting soil. I've never noticed such a strong smell from EE before. I'm worried I got a bad batch. Anyone else ever had this issue? If so, did you use it?

ejnolen wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 02, 2020 2:15 pm

I'm setting up a new tank, and I bought a new block of Eco Earth from Petco to mix with my sand. I've soaked it in a saline solution (dechlor water and instant ocean), but it smells SO STRONG! It has a bold, chemical smell - similar to Miracle Gro potting soil. I've never noticed such a strong smell from EE before. I'm worried I got a bad batch. Anyone else ever had this issue? If so, did you use it?

I've never had that problem, but I don't think you should use it. Better safe then sorry. But I'm no expert.

I've had it happen and I regretted using it, the smell did not go away. I rnded up replacing it all after a few days out of worry.

I have not had it happen, but I would also say throw it out. Better safe than sorry.

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Maybe you can take some in to Petco and show them it smells and ask for a refund.

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Yea, I would take it back and get a new bag. Even pop it open and smell it in the parking lot to be safe. It will be an extra trip but will allow you and your crabs to sleep worry free!

Thanks for the replies everyone! I actually set my tank up yesterday, then posted this question before checking the tank parameters again. After mixing the EE with sand and letting the entire mixture sit in the tank overnight and be exposed to air (no lid, no crabs) all seems normal. I was also dealing with a severe migraine yesterday and was very sensitive to smells, so maybe my smeller is more to blame? At any rate, the crabs seem delighted with their new surroundings and the tank smells normal! I'd include a pic of my cuties and their new home, but am incredibly lazy and don't want to deal with all the code hoops I'd have to jump through to get it to show up.