Help! My tank smells

[mastermamo]

When you have a situation like this, testing the water is really pointless. The water stinks, get it out of there and replace with fresh. Bacteria is usually the cause of a smell, so removing a large quantity of water and the bacteria that inhabits it will help a lot. Removing any extraneous solid material (secondary ammonia source) by a thorough vacuuming will also help.

But where is the bacteria stemming from if all water parameters are correct? My thinking is either:
A. Inadequate filtration : I'm hoping she doesn't have an undergravel filter
B. Not enough WC's
C. Filters that have not been cleaned in a while or properly

 

[CichlidLady0312]

No underground filter. Whats WC mean?

 

[mastermamo]

No underground filter. Whats WC mean?

WC is water change.

Plz list what sort of filtration u r using and how often u change water. Could u also explain in detail HOW you do your WC's and how often.

 

[CichlidLady0312]

I python vac mh tank every wk and as it cleans it also removes water so I refill the tank w new water and dose w stress coat. The new water I leave overnight in a home depot bucket so it conditions.

 

[mastermamo]

I python vac mh tank every wk and as it cleans it also removes water so I refill the tank w new water and dose w stress coat. The new water I leave overnight in a home depot bucket so it conditions.

you refill the tank every week by how many percent?
Also, is Stress Coat the only thing you treat your water with?
What's your pH levels in the tank?
What's your pH levels out your tap?
Water temp in tank?
How do you clean your filter and how often?
What media do you have in your filter?

 

[CichlidLady0312]

I posted levels last night in this thread. Temp is 80 and I also use stress tyme of take it cloudy. Im going to clean tank tomorrow n see if that helps. Clean my filter today

 

[mastermamo]

I posted levels last night in this thread. Temp is 80 and I also use stress tyme of take it cloudy. Im going to clean tank tomorrow n see if that helps. Clean my filter today

Don't you use Prime or Cycle?

Those are very important in order to make tap water safe for your tank

Prime manages pH etc
Cycle dechlorinates

If I were u I would treat the bucket with these, leave for 3 days with an Airstone in then change

 

[CichlidLady0312]

Im meant to type stress tyme for cloudy water. What kind of containers brand would you recommend

 

[CichlidLady0312]

Okay thanks. I have an airstone. And again meant to type condtioners.

 

[mastermamo]

Use these

 

[CichlidLady0312]

Thanks!

 

[CichlidLady0312]

Use these

Isnt stress coat the same thing as prime?

 

[mastermamo]

Thanks!

Glad I could be of assistance

By the way Prime on its own works wonders. Can u tell me in detail how u clean and then seed your media

 

[mastermamo]

Isnt stress coat the same thing as prime?

No stress coat is not the same

Prime treats the water and removes the harmful chemicals like phosphates etc that tap water carries

 

[CalebZachary]

Also takes care of nitrites and ammonia for 48 hours.

 

[tiger terror]

I belive you've interrupted the cycle of the tank...I have always just used Prime to treat the tap water before adding to the tank...IMO you need not add any additional products for pretreating wc water,also if you don't know use tank water when cleaning your filter&you should be fine. .50 ammo & 0 nitrates to me equals a cycle interupted..

 

[tiger terror]

In a tank which has been cycled you should have .0 ammo,.0 nitites&minimal nitrates...unless it is a heavily planted tank,in that case you may find that you'll need to provide some form of nitrates for the plants...

 

[mastermamo]

In my opinion and from what little u have told me you are you aren't letting your filter build up sufficient good bacteria which brings ammonia levels down.

Posted this to another user earlier:

Basically this is what happens in the filter: The term nitrification is used to describe the biological activity of bacteria consuming waste products. Ammonia is given off by the fish and food in the aquarium. Ammonia is harmful to tropical fish. In the aquarium filter specialized bacteria consume ammonia as a food source. These bacteria are called nitrosomonas bacteria. They oxidize ammonia and the by product is nitrite, a toxic substance which can harm your fish. However a second type of specialized bacteria consume nitrite. They are called nitrobacter bacteria. The end product is nitrate, not nearly as toxic as nitrite, but does cause developmental problems in fish. Nitrates are removed by water changes. Plants consume nitrates. The efficiency of an aquarium filter is determined by the type filter media provided to colonize these nitrifying bacterial and the flow rate. Any filter used on fish aquarium should provide a suitable media for these bacteria to colonize. It takes several weeks for these bacteria to multiply and establish a colony in the biological media. There are products on the market to speed up this process of cycling the filter. Most Active bio media should be cleaned only in aquarium water periodically as the chlorine in tap water can kill the bacteria. Cleaning a filter too frequently will disrupt the nitrifying bacteria. In a properly functioning aquarium filter, ammonia and nitrites should not appear in aquarium water testing. Nitrates will appear. This indicates the nitrifying bacteria are doing their job. Some tap water supplies contain nitrates. It is a good idea run a nitrate test on your tap water. Regular water changes are necessary to remove nitrates and impurities from the aquarium water. High nitrate levels or a falling ph indicate the aquarium is in need of more frequent water changes. With a properly functioning biological filter, the average aquarium will do fine with regular water changes of 20-30%.

 

[CichlidLady0312]

Okay thanks for that! Im fairly new to this. Every little piece of information helps.

 

[Alyxx]

I've seen a few "smelly tank" threads where the issue wasn't coming from the water or the filters, but from old food or other nasty stuff built up under the hood, in the rim of the tank, or under the lights. You might want to check for stuff like that in addition to the water changes and filter cleaning.