Rotten egg smell in filter?

Hi all,

I'm starting my tank up again after a wipe out six months ago. I'm only just cleaning the filter after its been sitting for that time switched off. It smalls extremely bad of rotten eggs! Like my wife and kids want to move out!

The bucket of crushed coral is the same when I dig into it.

Is it OK to wash everything and let it settle when I set it up to cycle? I assume the rotten egg small is some gas given of be bacteria I don't want?

Thanks for any help.

Yes, the rotten egg smell is hydrogen sulfide. Very toxic stuff, deadly to tanks. If you really must reuse the CC (I'd ditch it and buy some new substrate), I'd take all the materials outside in the yard (or into the bathtub if you're tired of the wife and kids, heheh), and wash everything REAL good with the hose, until most of the smell is gone. Then spread it out somewhere and let it dry in the sun for a few days, the air will kill the bacteria that make the smell. Then I'd wash it some more after it dries. If it has turned black at the bottom of the bucket, which it most likely has, it'll never be white again. The best you'll get is a stone gray.

HTH,