foul smell from tank

[feasty33]

Hi guys & gals,

I'm extremely new to the world of fish and aquariums, so please bear with me!

We recently bought a brand new setup for our son's bedroom.
Its a fairly small freshwater tank (14 x 10 x 6 inches WxHxD) and contains 3 small minnows (I think they're minnows, my wife bought everything).

The bottom of the tank is lined with gravel that was purchased at the same time as everything else.
There is nothing else organic in the tank (a few little ornaments only).

Everything was fine until we turned on the aerator pump.
Once its on there is a foul smell coming from the tank.
It sort of smells of faeces, maybe a trace of sulphur, but not ammonia.

If we turn off the aerator the smell does reduce, but not completely.

I've read about air pockets in the substrate, but I presume that only applies to organic matter that's been there for a while.
The gravel fits neither of these criteria.

We don't know what to do, as it is its unfair on the fish I presume, but also its our son's bedroom so unfair on him too!!

TIA

Dave, Kim & Jack

 

[Alan79]

I would try to do 2-3 50% water changes over the next day. If the tank is not planted then use a gravel vacuum and suck out all the rocks on the base. Search for a dead fish too if cleaning the gravel does not work. If you have not kept aquariums before. First thing to know is fish don't need much food. If they are tiny fish, 2-3 flakes of food is probably plenty for them. If they eat it all very quickly add a flake or two more until they have been eating for 2-3 minutes. Your aquarium is fairly small (4gallons) so the waste will build up very quickly. You may be able to add some small shrimp that will eat the leftover food that sinks and snails will also eat left overs too. The gravel vacuum will be your best friend when it comes to cleaning out the substrate though.

If you don't have a gravel vacuum syphon then i would make that my next purchase. If you suck the leftover food out of the gravel every week the tank will stay much cleaner and i'm guessing the smell will go away. That and making sure you don't overfeed.

 

[Delapool]

Silly question but could anything have been added to the tank that shouldn't of been?

 

[The Trooper]

What are the water parameters? I let one of my tanks get on top of me and the filter crashed. I done a huge water change, put media from my other tank into the filter and it has been hunky dory since then. I'm concerned this tank may not be cycled.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[Affordable Aquatic]

Probably what is going on, is the aerator is just atomizing the tank water and putting it into the air so to speak, so you can smell it. I dont think there is anything coming from the gravel, its not conducive to gas pockets forming. When was the last time that you changed some of the tank water... you do water changes right. Tank water will smell if you dont do regular water changes. An easy way to reduce the smell from the water is to add some activated carbon to your filtration. The carbon will adsorb the organic material that causes the smell, and it will make the water look clearer also.

 

[The Trooper]

Probably what is going on, is the aerator is just atomizing the tank water and putting it into the air so to speak, so you can smell it. I dont think there is anything coming from the gravel, its not conducive to gas pockets forming. When was the last time that you changed some of the tank water... you do water changes right. Tank water will smell if you dont do regular water changes. An easy way to reduce the smell from the water is to add some activated carbon to your filtration. The carbon will adsorb the organic material that causes the smell, and it will make the water look clearer also.

I believe purigen does the same job? I hope so anyway, i replaced my carbon with it!

 

[feasty33]

Wow, thanks for all the responses, much appreciated!

I probably should have mentioned that the tank has stunk since day 1, so its not like its old water full of waste or anything.

We bought the tank and gravel, filled it up with water, waited a few days for the temp to settle and then added the fish.
We then turned the aerator on later that day and that's when the smell hit us.
All 3 fish are present and correct, as far as I know they're not being over fed.
The tank is up high on a tall chest of drawers, so 'little' hands can't get to it!



Again, TIA

Dave

 

[Affordable Aquatic]

You went too fast. You probably dont have the necessary bacteria to digest the fish waste so its just building up and causing the smell, not to mention, poisoning the fish. Your next post is probably going to be about losing your fish.

Please read about cycling the tank.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html

 

[DragonFish71]

So, you have an air pump with an airstone but not a filter to filter the water? Am I understanding correctly? If so, that's also part of the problem. By saying "aerator" my first thought is you only have an airpump, with only moves the water, it doesn't filter the water unless you have it attached to a sponge filter. So my first suggestion would be to get a filter. Basically what you have is air bubbles going in a used toilet.

Get a filter to help clean the water, also read the article I'm linking here. You need to let your tank cycle:

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

 

[Roz]

How is the tank now? Bit fresher?