My fish tank REEKS

[stephz0r]

My fish tank smells like cat pee. 10 gallons of cat pee, to be exact.

I am the newest of noobs when it comes to aquariums. I have a spankin' new 10 gallon tank which, like an idiot, I set up on day 1 and stocked with fish on day 2. I found this website on day 3 and did a lot of forehead smacks.

Anyway. Its now day 4. I have 5 bulbs in there I am trying to coax into growing, one zebra danio, two black skirt tetras and two cute little fishies that are orange and black... I think they are redheaded platys? The receipt is indecipherable. Anyway. Originally, I had more, but 2 zebra danios and one black skirted tetra died within 24 hours of bringing them home.

I didn't plop the fish right into the tank water. I put them in a huge vase that I had rinsed out with tap water and slowly added tank water and removed pet store water. I then netted them into the tank.

I treated my tapwater with dechlorinator/decholraminator. I added a tiny bit of aquarium salt. I have testing strips. Right now the water reads:

gH: 180
kH: 180
pH: 8.0
NO2: 0
NO3: 20

The water is slightly cloudy. I have done 2 PWC's. I changed out 2 gallons if water yesterday and 2 gallons today. I let the water settle for a bit and treated it with decholorinator in the appropriate amounts before adding to the tank.

Please.... why am I being hit with a hot wave of ammonia stench when I open my apartment door? How can I correct the problem without losing any more fish? Your help is greatly appreciated!!!

 

[fijiwigi]

first of all take a deep breath and slow down. Patience is the key to being successful in this hobby. Consistent and Stable water conditions are necessary for any fish to survive. Rushing things will turn out bad for the fish. I still battle with impulse myself at times. The tank must cycle before adding any fish to build up the beneficial bacteria required to turn ammonia to nitrites and then Nitrates and then to nothing.. At first you will see an ammonia spike and then it will lessen as the Nitrates increase and then test out at ok. This is cycling most people avoid fish or start with just 1 really hardy fish that can survive the chemical imbalances. The odds are good most of the fish will die.. Changing the water will help for the fishes sake but also slow down the cycling process. If you can keep one fish alive for 1 month then add one more after you test the water. The bacteria in your tank can't handle the bioload of fish waste until the bacteria grow and multiply Do a search for cycling an aquarium or fishless cycle to understand about the process more

 

[stephz0r]

I guess I do sound a bit worked up...

Should I stop with the PWC's and just let the cycle run its course?

 

[fijiwigi]

It depends whether or not you want to keep your fish. The PWC will slow the cycling process and help with the survival of your fish. letting it run its course will speed the cycling process and could be harmfull to the fish.. What kind of filtration do you have on the tank do you have any substrate?

 

[severum mama]

No. Continue to do regular pwc's. Do you have a test for ammonia levels? Sounds like it will be high. If you don't have an ammonia test kit, I'd suggest buying one. You'll need to keep ammonia and nitrite levels under .25 if you can.

If I were you, I'd cut back on feeding to once every other day until the tank cycles. Don't vacuum the gravel or clean the filter during this time. Good luck!

 

[stephz0r]

I just have the filter that came with the tank kit. Its a aqua-tech power filter for a 10/20 gallon tank.

I do have substrate. 10 lbs. I did wash it before I put it in.

I will continute to do PWC's. Is daily too much? The stench in here is really powerful.

 

[stephz0r]

When I get paid again I will get a more sophisticated water chemistry testing kit. Until then, I will feed my fish every other day.

 

[fijiwigi]

Even if you feed every 3rd or 4th day your fish would be much better off than daily feeding the dissolved food that is not eating will add the the ammonia levels and make things only feed a tiny amount.. I would do daily water changes for the fishes sake and just see how it goes.

 

[stephz0r]

Thank you soooooo much!!!!

 

[severum mama]

I agree with fiji on the feeding. Once every other day is the most you should feed during the cycle. Your fish will pretend like they are starving to death, but they are actually fine. The Aquatech filter is fine for a 10 gallon. Just don't swap out the filter pad while the tank is cycling- very little of the beneficial bacteria is actually in the water column; most is found on surfaces such as the substrate and filter media. If the media becomes clogged, just rinse it out in a bucket of tank water (NOT tap water).

The ammonia test kit can often be found separately in most pet stores. I use the API kit, but any liquid kit will do IMO. The test strips are mostly useless and are very inaccurate. If you can't afford an ammonia kit, many LFS's will test your water for free until you can afford one.

 

[Zagz]

If you check online at www.bigalsonline.com, you can find a
FW master kit for very little money. Do water changes daily as necessary to keep the ammonia down. Do only feed every second day at most as suggested. No more than they eat in a minute or two. There should be no left over food on the substrate.
Do you know anyone who has an established tank you can steal some media from to put into your tank to help seed your cycle.

 

[stephz0r]

Update

I lost one more black skirted tetra yesterday, but things seem to be stabilizing. The stench is only apparent if you inhale deeply by the tank. I did a 4 gallon PWC yesterday and I will do a 2 gallon PWC tonight. I fed them this morning, but they were too sleepy to realize they had been fed. I think I am going to wait until Friday evening to feed them again. They seem to be livelier at night.

Thanks for all the advice. Hopefully I can keep my 4 surviving fish alive for at least a month. At that point in time, I'd like to get an algae eater.

 

[severum mama]

But, have you tested your water? We really need to know specific numbers (ppm) for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate at the least so we can help you to determine where you are in your cycle, and how much water you need to change to keep your fish alive.

Best of luck Steph!!!

 

[stephz0r]

All I have are those strips which are apparently useless. I would go to the LFS for free testing, but its snowing like WHOA here in Omaha, so I am holed up in my apartment.

I get paid on the 25th and I will be investing in the tests reccommended in the previous posts. Then I will bore you all to tears with water chemistry.

 

[severum mama]

Oh, I see. And don't worry, we are actually interested in your test results!!!

Have you tested with strips lately? They could at least give us an idea of where you're at, until you can get to your nearest LFS for a water test.

 

[stephz0r]

Hmmm. Tested 2 days ago.

/scurries off to the feeshtank

 

[stephz0r]

Here are the results:

2 pink bars! No... wait... wrong test.



gH: 120
kH: 180
pH: 7.5 - 8.0 (color was right in between
NO2: 0.5
NO3: 20

 

[mom2reds]

If you have a petsmart near you you can go online and print out a copy of the price for the API freshwater master test kit and it is usually a lot cheaper on line and take it to your store near you and they have to price match for you. I paid like 14 $ for mine this way.

Good luck

 

[stephz0r]

Excellent! I will have to do that.

I really want to get a lot deeper into the hobby and I am trying to ease myself into it with the 10 gallon tank. Once I move in a couple of months, I will have the room I need to set up a HUGE tank.

 

[mom2reds]

I started 3 years ago with a 1.5 gallon then went to a 10 gallon with in a few months and then a year latter I got my 100 gal. tank which I love and It is so much easier to take care of than the 10. Good luck and have fun.