Smelly water

[Alec18]

Is it normal for fish tank water to smell bad.

 

[armymp327]

not really, what does it smell like?

 

[Alec18]

not really, what does it smell like?

Nothing specific
Just stinks

 

[aquasamurai]

Maybe your plants are rotten? My drift wood was once covered by this white slimy stuff which smelled so bad. I think filters need some cleaning once in a while.

 

[Oohitsae]

My water sometimes ends up with a bad smell too. Usually happens if I over feed and am using New Life Spectrum, that stuff STINKS! But can come from other foods as well, see if they have similar scents.

 

[azmodan]

Smelly is a relative term. Most tanks will have a normal "earthy" smell that most won't mind but some do. But some people get hit with the rotten egg smell too! In that case we'd need to know specifics about feeding, PWCs, tank size, stock, filter cleanings, etc.

 

[Cactuspixie]

My water sometimes ends up with a bad smell too. Usually happens if I over feed and am using New Life Spectrum, that stuff STINKS! But can come from other foods as well, see if they have similar scents.

I think it's that garlicky smell that appeals to the fish- it certainly seems to get my fish more excited than the plain smelling foods do. The smell does seem to linger though!

 

[Alec18]

I think it's that garlicky smell that appeals to the fish- it certainly seems to get my fish more excited than the plain smelling foods do. The smell does seem to linger though!

I just set it up with nothing but one white cloud in it because I'm trying to cycle it

 

[Mcor]

I remember having this issue a few months ago. Every time I entered the room I was hit with this odd smell I couldn't begin to describe. Having trouble even remembering it enough to try describe it now. Anyways, I didn't do much, only changed a fair amount of the water and gave it a cursory clean (squeezed my sponges, wiped down the glass etc) and it went pretty quickly. Now have that delicious earthy smell that people mention. Smells good.

 

[Bix22]

I noticed this too I wasn't sure what smell it was supposed to have. My driftwood has some white fuzzy stuff to should I take it out?

 

[Cactuspixie]

Hmmm. Do you have an acute sense of smell generally? Do you have a HOB filter? Are you over feeding? Could it be the water conditioner? Are you changing out enough water? It could be so many things......

 

[okapizebra]

The stuff on the driftwood is perfectly safe and will go away on its own over time. I don't know if that has anything to do with the smell, though.

 

[Bix22]

I have a HOB filter