Nasty Smell From My Cycling Quarantine tank

Last night I started to cycle my quarantine tank. I took a piece of rock from my 90g tank and put it in there to help with seeding. I also threw a large un cooked shrimp in there. Tonight when I went went in the room that the tank in I was greeted by a very horrible smell. It's been quite a while since I've cycled a tank, but I dont remember ever smelling anything like this.
It is a 20g tank. I put maybe a 5lb piece of rock in there. The rock is from my 90
that has not much bio load at all. No fish or corals, just whatever critters are living in the rock.
Temp is 78.5, SG 1.25 and ammonia was at about 1.5ppm when tested tonight.
I am thinking maybe the large shrimp may be too much for the small system?
Should I take it out? Matbe cut it and leave a smaller piece in there?
All I know is I definitely have to get rid of that smell.
Suggestions please.

 

Throw the shrimp out and just let it cycle. It was already decaying as evidenced by the smell. You used a piece of cured LR, so your good to go IMO.

K+ for setting up a QT

 

Ditto,if you smell it,there is enough ammonia to get going.

 

yup, loose the shrimp, the LR will take over from there.
Being only a 20 gallon tank you probably could have used just the LR or if you really felt the need the tail of the shrimp would have done the trick.

For comparison I used 1 jumbo shrimp for approx 115 gallons of total volume in my tank, I got a slight oder for several days till the bacteria kicked in and the odor went away on its own.

 

Thanks! The shrimp is gone....Hopefully the nasty smell will be gone soon.
Water is a bit cloudy now as well. Cant wait until it is cycled so I can do a water change.
Only been 24hrs though. It will be a while yet.

 

I did the same thing with my 75g, shrimp, but I had dry rock.
The shrimp worked well for my cycle. I put a box of baking soda under the canopy and under the stand, next to the sump. After a few days the smell went away.

 

I'm one that leaves the shrimp in the entire time. The ammonia feeds the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.... if you don't continue to feed ammonia, you will loose some of what you "built". If the rock wasn't cycled, you'd have enough things dieing on that to produce ammonia. If it's base rock, or established rock that is in good condition, what will those bacteria "eat" after they finish up the last of the ammonia produced by that shrimp you removed?

IME, if it smells.... you used too much. I've also never used a cooked shrimp, so I'm not sure if that smells any different at it decays.

 

Thankfully the smell was gone this morning. Thanks everyone! I think the shrimp was definitely to big for the job. I took the piece of rock out of my 90g. It has been in there for 6 years.
The ammonia level was the same today as yesterday.
I am thinking that the ammonia spike must have caused a bit of die off on the rock. Maybe that alone will keep the cycle going?

 

I'm sure it will continue to cycle. But you will get some die off of your ammonia oxidizing bacteria to a certain point, if they're not fed.