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When I take out the water in my tank my sand smells so bad. But when there water there no smell. Is this normal? And how do I take out the sand?

What kind of sand are you using? Where do you get it from?

It's this white sand i dont remember what it called. I get all my supplies at pet smart

It could be a few things. Nitrifing bacteria (your system's natural biofilter) will colonize on everything including the sand. You could be smelling the bacteria.

If detritus and food particles get trapped in the sand you could smell that decay as well.

If your filtration and water flow are adequate, your sand should stay relatively clean.

How do you remove sand? Empty the tank. Scoop it out.

Is it that funky smell you get when you live water in a kiddie pool in the back yard for too many days? Or that smell you get when you know that a cat pooped in the sand box?

I'd say your sand is trapping all sorts of feces and dirt particles. It's probably going to be a royal pain in the butt to take out. You may either want to replace it with new sand (as you will need to do this about once a month), or, just go with river rocks. Heh, last time I went to the beach, I grabbed a ton of good sized rocks and seashells and soaked them in bleach for 24 hours, then in straight tap water for another 24 hours until they stopped smelling like bleach. Free substrate!

u been helping me whith all my problems 2 day

@theartbook: you replace your sand every month?! That seems like a ridiculously big pain in the booty.. I always assumed that good bacteria was colonizing my sand?

Me too. I don't change my sand at all. I vacuum once a week and every once in a while I turn the filter off and stir up the sand. When it settles I turn the filter back on. I couldn't imagine changing it once a month. I'd have a broken back!

Change the sand every month!! :O no way!!!