cginflorida
Aquarium Advice FINatic
My 75 gal finished cycling and I moved my 5 platys and 1 pictus catfish into it today. They are sooooo happy.
The QT tank they were in developed a very strong odor (like when you open a bag of potting soil, kind of a peat or fertilizer type smell) over the past couple of weeks and I can't figure out why. Two possibilities: I had java moss in there for about a week (late July or early August) but took it out because it was too messy. Maybe the leaves that were left in there that didn't get removed during water changes could cause it? Or a decoration I bought at Wal-Mart maybe had something in it that started leaching out into the water. I'm stumped.
Anyway, I broke down the tank and I'm rinsing everything off really good. I'll have to start a new cycle before I get more fish. Again. Sigh. I've got a couple biowheels I can put into the established tanks, though, to jumpstart it.
So, two questions:
1. Does anybody have any idea about the smell?
2. How long should I leave the biowheels in the established tanks before I move them back to help the cycle of the QT?
TIA
The QT tank they were in developed a very strong odor (like when you open a bag of potting soil, kind of a peat or fertilizer type smell) over the past couple of weeks and I can't figure out why. Two possibilities: I had java moss in there for about a week (late July or early August) but took it out because it was too messy. Maybe the leaves that were left in there that didn't get removed during water changes could cause it? Or a decoration I bought at Wal-Mart maybe had something in it that started leaching out into the water. I'm stumped.
Anyway, I broke down the tank and I'm rinsing everything off really good. I'll have to start a new cycle before I get more fish. Again. Sigh. I've got a couple biowheels I can put into the established tanks, though, to jumpstart it.
So, two questions:
1. Does anybody have any idea about the smell?
2. How long should I leave the biowheels in the established tanks before I move them back to help the cycle of the QT?
TIA