Stinky tank

[juliemichelle]

Hello experts!!! My tank has been extra stinky lately--any ideas? It's a 55 gal with approx 12 juvenile fish in it (mostly cichlids). I tested ammonia and it is at 0 and the ph is at 7. I replaced my filters 2 days ago - it'd only been 2 weeks since I did this last. Any ideas? I've tried MagiClear and Brite & Clear, but nothing seems to remove the odor. My pleco died about a week ago and since then my water has been EXTRA sinky. Ugh!

 

[Allivymar]

Whats it smell like? Musty? Dead fish? Rotten eggs? Each odor has a different source and reason for it. I'm guessing the dead plec may have something to do with it (how long before you found him?) but without knowing the odor its hard to say for sure.

Also, ammonia looks good, but whats your nitrite levels?

 

[Neuve]

Chemicals may not work at all, and most of what they do is killing all kinds of bacteria and/or algae. Try not to use those. Did you change all of your filter media? Maybe you had most (or a large) bacterial colony over there and by removing all of your media you unbalanced the capacity of your biotank to get rid of the wastes.

IMO all you can do is a weekly water change and wait for the odor to settle.

If not, maybe there is a dead fishie hanging round there. Or probably some decaying plants.

IME when plants are decaying the odor can be detected preety quickly. Same with fish. Try counting your fish, maybe theres the gig.

How old is your tank? How long have you had it cycling?

 

[Allivymar]

Whoa. You're really on the ball tonite Neuve LOL a helluva lot more then me. You asked all the other questions and made the suggestions I should have. Have a buncha kudos for being so thorough

 

[HOLLIEO]

I have the same problem with my 50 gallon. The weird thing is it isn't all the time. It comes in wafts. Like I stick my head over the tank and it doesn't smell at all, but as soon as I turn on the celing fan... it smells like Ocean water?!?!? but not a steady smell.... in wafts...
Weird, Huh???
Any ideas what this means?

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

Like Allivymar said....different smells have different causes.

I read a site that had some useful info on how to get a feel for your water when you don't have testing kits, by smell, touch, and sight.

A "healthy" FW aquarium should have that kinda wet grass or dirt smell. If you have sharp odors, it usually means something is off. When I was cycling my tank, I got very familiar with the "smell" of high nitrites (sounds weird, i know)...my tank had a very sharp, almost garlicky smell...then one day, it was gone...as were the Its....

 

[juliemichelle]

My pleco was eating away at night around 6 pm when I turned off the lights, and then he was motionless in the next morning at 8 when I turned on the lights. I started my tank in July and it took 2-3 weeks to clear, but now since my pleco died a clown loach died yesterday, my water is cloudy again and the water smells like....lake water. One of those stinky lakes that you have to take 2 showers after swimming to not smell like fish. I changed 2 of my carbon filters, but I have a Whisper Advanced that has a foamy "biological" sponge thing that I didn't touch. I also added some zeolite rocks into my carbon filter which is supposed to help with ammonia removal. I've been changing out 15 gallons of water every-other day to try and reduce the odor and cloudiness and I vaccuum 1/2 the tank every-other time to help reduce any waste. I don't test for nitrates....should I get a test kit?

 

[gooyferret]

Hmm thats very similar to the musty smell my moms tank had i believe at one time. Kinda of a musty smell to it I have read that if you put some carbon in a bag either in your filters or just float it in your tank it should rid the smell. I would recommend a test kit and also clean your foamy "biological" sponge. Im mostly a SW guy but from what i see i would recommend doing a 25% water change, and keep continuing with that. If you have more than ONE HOB filter i would try some nitrate absorbers or some micron bags with carbon or some other media in there. HTH

 

[vega]

i think you should do partial water change. tat's the best solution if all the chemical test failed to show anything tats fishy. Add in 1-2 bags of carbon will help with the ordor temp.

 

[i3k]

I agree with "sweetsuvvyb" your tank should smell sort of like a fresh garden / wet dirt. The water should not be oily when you touch it with your finger tips. Also, you can take your finger tips and stir up some bubbles on the surface in a corner of the aquarium, and they should all pop in less then 10 seconds. Weekly water changes is the best and safest way to get rid of the smell and it may take more then 5 partial changes.

 

[Allivymar]

Hrmm. I'm wondering if its an algae bloom (which is what some lakes smell like). Would also explain the cloudiness.

I would grab a nitrate test kit; chances are your nitrates are low atm, with all those water changes, but its also a good thing to keep an eye on. High nitrates mean lots of food for algae.

 

[Neuve]

Patience... And well thought about the water changes.
Um AC and Nitrates also good ideas.
I cannot think of anything but water testing and changin
Im guessing it was Ammonia, or mayve ites
Good luck!!!
Keep us updated.
Ill say a praire for your tank , and fish

 

[juliemichelle]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'm going to take a water sample to my local pet store (with one heck of a fish freak!!) and have him test it for nitrates, etc. I'll let you know if he finds anything...ph is still at 7.0 and ammonia is at 0 ppm. Do you ever have a problem with a sandy buildup on your lights and hoods?

 

[platylover]

I do have problems with the "sandy" buildups on my light and hood. I just read a thread on that subject this morning. A lot of people in that thread said that it is a calcium and mineral buildup and that distilled white vinegar and water solution will take it off. Just be sure to rinse everything real well before you install it back onto the aquarium, the vinegar is very acidic.

 

[Neuve]

Probably caused by evaporation. I have the same problem only in little amounts because its only a 10 gal tank

 

[platylover]

I think that that could be a part of it. I also think that mine is caused by the splash from my HOB filter.

 

[HOLLIEO]

I get that 'snady' white depoits too. Mine is due to the really hard water we have here. I just use a little warm water, a scrubber sponge, and some sea salt. It comes off... no problem.

 

[juliemichelle]

Thanks for everyone's help. I've done ALOT of partial water changes and now everything seem okay! My water tests all showed to be at the correct levels--except for my nitrites which were off the scale (on Friday), now the following week after 2 more changes everything is at a normal level. I didn't get any specific numbers from the tests (sorry!). Also my tank is un-clouding! Yeah!

 

[MicroFish]

Are you overfeeding your fish maybe? Excess food can cause odors... and if you have a UGF (doesn't sound like it, but might as well mention it), get rid of it! My tank stank to high heaven when I had the UGF in it... within 12 hours of taking that our and installing a Penguin the water was odorless.

Sheila