Stinky water....

[djpax]

I got my 70gal fw set up in my bedroom with a fluval 404. I have had it going for about 2 weeks now and the whole bedroom stinks. Its from the water in the tank. Ive never had this happen before, but i have never had a 70 gal tank or a canister filter before as well. All thats in the tanks is 2 comets and a plant. Is this the whole ammonia spike thing?
I have a 55 gal with a aquaclear 500 and it never smelled like this thing.

 

[TCTFish]

What does it smell like? Do you have the tank on a rug? Are there other people where you live? Any young kids? Is it possible too much food was put in? How big are the comets? There are some things you can try. First do a water change. Being that it's early in the cycle, exchange about 50%. After that, change out about 10% once a week. Put in fresh carbon and get some zeolite to put in the filter too. Zeolite will help absorb any excess ammonia...really good for tanks with goldfish. Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH to get a look at the nitrogen cycle and where it is at. Feed about every other day what they can consume in a minute...no more until the establishment of nitrifying bacteria is complete.

 

[djpax]

My girl says it smells like a swamp. No rug hardwood, just me and my girlfriend and she does not mess with my fish stuff, the comets are pretty big 6 and 4 inches.
the carbon was brand new two weeks ago.
if i dont feed them daily they eat my plant, ill be amazed if it will live now as it is.
ill do the water change and hope for the best thanks.

 

[carpediem]

Same problem here. I have a carbon filter too. However, my ammonia is at 1.0, so that is probably, why my water stinks. Has your tank cycled yet? I have read lots about tanks with odor lately. Nothing about a solution or an explanation yet.
Good luck.

 

[SerLunchbox]

I had this happen when i restarted my tank. I can almost guarentee with 95% certainty that it is an ammonia problem. Any time that the water stank when i started up, it was because of ammonia. Anyways, do a PWC and cut back on feeding. For your Fluval or whatever filter, check to see if you can add in extra media for ammonia control.

 

[Frank_the_Tank]

when I set up my tank it smelled "like a swamp" for a few weeks until the ammonia went to 0, and no there is no noticeable smell

 

[djpax]

thanks folks. i will be hitting the pet store for some amonia killer tomorrow.
AA rocks!

 

[djpax]

Well i never had a water test kit before. I grew up in hawaii and i figured our water for the tap is good and i never had a lot of fish.
Well i got three big tanks now 45 55 and a 70gal. THe oloy one that has no Nitrite is the 45. My 55 with 2 plecos 2 pacus and 2 golden barbs is at 5ppm according to my test kit. Now shouldnt my fish be dead?
I just set up my 70 gal and am waiting for it to cycle. I got 2 comets in there now and that has a ton of Nitrie and no Amonia.
I dont want my Pacus to die. They are so huge thats why i got the 70. What should I do.
I got a Aquaclear 500 on it should i get another filter? I am goning to trasfer them to my 70 gal once its safe and that has a Fluval 404 canister on it and they will be the only fish in it with one pleco and some plants.
Help!!!!!

 

[JohnPaul]

If they were my tanks, I would start doing major water changes (~50% per day) to make sure ammonia and nitrite were both well below 5 ppm. Also, with high nitrite I have read fish have problems breathing, so people often suggest lowering the temp a little bit (the lower the temp, the more oxygen can dissolve in the water) and adding extra aeration, by putting in another bubble stone and/or lowering the level an inch or two (if you have a HOB filter) so that the filter water makes more splash when it hits the surface.

What is in your 45? If the 45 has no ammonia and no nitrite, then that tank is cycled. At which point, you can probably help get your 55 and 70 tanks further along by getting some of the "gook" from the filter on the 45 and putting it into the filters of your other two tanks. Also, you could take a handful of gravel fro the 45 (which should also have some of the bacteria), put it in a filter bag or even some pantyhose, and plop it in your other tanks as well.

But your #1 priority has to be water changes to get the nitrite down to below 1 ppm. Which means the next few dyas are gonna be busy days for you.

 

[djpax]

will do the water changes and the gravel idea in pantyhose. thanks for the tip.

The 45 has a 1 comet, 8 tiger barbs, 3 bala sharks, and 10 dinos(i think thats what they are called).