Gave in to the smell

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Spiritofthesoul

Spiritofthesoul

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Dec 3, 2010
4,692
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Singapore
I have been feeding my bichirs like hikari sinking pellets and FD krills for awhile now. And whenever I open the canopy to feed, the smell almost knock me out.

It smells like a combination of a rat's carcass and human's puke. I tried frequent water change but the smell still persist.

So I finally had it with the smell and went and purchased carbon.

MatrixCarbon_500mL.jpg


Got myself a 1L bottle of Seachem's Matrix Carbon. Cost me $25
Pour them into a laundry bag and replaced the 1L of Matrix in my FX5's top media basket with the carbon.

I would like to know from members who actually used this carbon before. How long would the 1L last in my 70g tank? Seachem's website states 250mL would treat 100g for several monthes.

So 1L would treat 400g. Is it an overkill for my 70g? And also how long would the effects become apparent? (no more smell)
 
Hey Spirit...

I am not sure on the carbon so can't answer your question, but wanted to toss this out there for you to consider.

My 55 has community fish with gravel substrate. I was always impressed how clean the fish kept the tank. It has always looked spotless. But, I too started noticing a smell. One day during a water change, I push the Python into the gravel all the way to the bottom. The water inside the vac tube turned almost solid black! The gravel fell out and the nasty stuff went up the tube. I kept doing this in different spots until I had my 50% level. I even noticed a slight smell around the kitchen sink (ewww, I know) when I took the Python off.

After a couple of water changes, the water wasn't quite so nasty when I plunged into the substrate...and I no longer noticed the smell :)

You may want to try this if you haven't already.

Take care...
 
I regularly vac my gravel. Like once every 2 week. So I don't think the smell comes from whats in the gravel but from the water column.

BTW, Matrix carbon is AWESOME. I dumped 1L into my FX5, 10 minutes later, the smell vanish as though it never existed. LOVING IT!

Just need to know how often should I replace as its expensive as hell...
 
It's actually better to use small amounts of carbon and replace frequently. It's great at removing odor. You could try using a cheaper carbon in small amounts when your seachem stuff stops working, you'll just have to see how long it takes before the tank smells again.
 
Yup I should have gotten the 250mL one. Figures.....
 
Great idea. That would last me a long time. BTW can I place like a small filter bag with the carbon at the bottom of my FX5? below the last media basket?

So that I can fill up all 3 baskets with matrix and a small pack of carbon in the bottom. Is there water flow there?
 
I honestly just throw the carbon in a media bag straight in the tank water because I'm lazy. ;) Seems to work just as well. Might not be ideal for a show tank.

You should be able to throw it anywhere in the filter, just make sure it isn't jamming up anything.
 
For your tank water to smell bad like your describing, indicates something is wrong in your system. A slight odor from the water is normal because of the nitrification process, but pungent odors are not. Do you have enough bio media for your system ? Is your tank properly cycled ?, Is gravel cleaning frequency enough ?. Have you tested your water parameters recently ? Just some things to think about.
 
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