Fish Tank Odor
- Thread starter Sharkbait0629
- Start date
Normally tanks that smell earthy are actually quite healthy imo...
In fact all my tanks have a very light earthly smell i you stick your nose really close to the water...
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Depending on the brand and amount used, carbon can reach its adsorption capacity very quickly..... Within weeks for some.
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I have had this problem with my larger tank. I noticed once I switched from hakari to NLS the smell started to go away after large water changes . Oscars are stinky pets especially if you have a smaller tank with no canister filter. Also I had carbon in my fx5 . I had enough of it and pulled it out . Cycled the tank properly and have never had smell issues again . I suggest once you get that canister filter do not put carbon in it . Cycle it properly with ceramic media and a bag of purigen made from seachem it will do wonders and you will notice a significant change in your water . Also think about switching pellets to NLS . Ever since switching their food . The gravel /sand vacuuming every week I do seems to come out cleaner . Not as dirty. Carbon and also wreak havoc on your Oscar also. I hope this information helps you . Good luck !!
The more i read this thread the more i think its a combination of a few things causing problems...
I guess best bet is when you get the canister filter, before installing it, vacuum and stir up all your sand (even under deco) to remove any possible trapped gasses first...
Then on your new filter add some purigen as mentioned but skip the carbon...
Also change up your pellet food to NLS and see what happens...
Im guessing chances are there are probably pockets of gas you may not know about, along with maybe some food causing the smells....
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I guess best bet is when you get the canister filter, before installing it, vacuum and stir up all your sand (even under deco) to remove any possible trapped gasses first...
Then on your new filter add some purigen as mentioned but skip the carbon...
Also change up your pellet food to NLS and see what happens...
Im guessing chances are there are probably pockets of gas you may not know about, along with maybe some food causing the smells....
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Idk if this causes earthy smells in water, but the chemical geosmin causes earthy flavors in fish kept in tanks with "low" water exchange (i.e. aquariums and RAS's).
Your tank shouldn't smell bad, even without zeolite, carbon, stress zyme, etc...
If you remove these things do you see an increase in water turbidity? If so you simply have an oscar in a tank that's too small, or you're overfeeding it. I have heard massivore is waaaay dirtier than other similar products also.
And Idk if someone asked this already but how many inches of substrate do you have? And what kind? You may feel the need to add stress zyme because you have too little BB in your tank due to a lack of surface area relative to your bioload. For an oscar in a 20g I'd go with at least 1.1.5-2" of substrate to house the bacteria. I don't have the reference, but it was found that to a point, having a deeper gravel bed can improve water quality and fish health overall.
Your tank shouldn't smell bad, even without zeolite, carbon, stress zyme, etc...
If you remove these things do you see an increase in water turbidity? If so you simply have an oscar in a tank that's too small, or you're overfeeding it. I have heard massivore is waaaay dirtier than other similar products also.
And Idk if someone asked this already but how many inches of substrate do you have? And what kind? You may feel the need to add stress zyme because you have too little BB in your tank due to a lack of surface area relative to your bioload. For an oscar in a 20g I'd go with at least 1.1.5-2" of substrate to house the bacteria. I don't have the reference, but it was found that to a point, having a deeper gravel bed can improve water quality and fish health overall.
If it's for food, switch to NLS or Hikari Bio Gold Cichlid A+, I do somehow agree on Massivore's odor is really something else.
Additionally, try to clean your substrate using a fine net, yes you do have to do it manually though, because as you said you can't vac it because it's sand.
More, try to water change 40% twice a week. every 3 days shall be fine.
Additionally, try to clean your substrate using a fine net, yes you do have to do it manually though, because as you said you can't vac it because it's sand.
More, try to water change 40% twice a week. every 3 days shall be fine.
Oh jeez I must have missed the sand part....
....step 1 I'd get rid of the sand and go with gravel. Sand compacts, leaving it with very little inhabitable spots for your nitrifying bacteria. However, it creates a lot of anoxic zones which can either be good (i.e. there's enough of a carbon source for denitrification), or really bad if hydrogen sulfide is produced. This happens in the absence of a proper carbon source and creates the "rotten egg smell" (as mentioned). If this in going on you might see grey/black patches in your sand, against the glass, near the bottom. IT IS TOXIC, but a 20g tank wouldn't be dangerous for you. However, if it gets kicked up at once it can kill fish (seen it happen). Actually 2 aquaculture technicians (my job) died last year when they stirred up some muck in a sludge sump. Well, the first guy stirred it, collapsed, and the second guy jumped in when he saw him, and collapsed.
But if you aren't noticing hydrogen sulfide, you may be smelling the products of incomplete nitrification, such as ammonia. Try gravel and report back in a month when it's cycled.
....step 1 I'd get rid of the sand and go with gravel. Sand compacts, leaving it with very little inhabitable spots for your nitrifying bacteria. However, it creates a lot of anoxic zones which can either be good (i.e. there's enough of a carbon source for denitrification), or really bad if hydrogen sulfide is produced. This happens in the absence of a proper carbon source and creates the "rotten egg smell" (as mentioned). If this in going on you might see grey/black patches in your sand, against the glass, near the bottom. IT IS TOXIC, but a 20g tank wouldn't be dangerous for you. However, if it gets kicked up at once it can kill fish (seen it happen). Actually 2 aquaculture technicians (my job) died last year when they stirred up some muck in a sludge sump. Well, the first guy stirred it, collapsed, and the second guy jumped in when he saw him, and collapsed.
But if you aren't noticing hydrogen sulfide, you may be smelling the products of incomplete nitrification, such as ammonia. Try gravel and report back in a month when it's cycled.
