Help! Bad smell

[yesjenks]

Hello,

I have a 90 gallon tank with about 35 African Cichlids. When we bought the fish, they were 3/4-1". Everyone has been growing happily for a few months. We do weekly 50+ gallon water changes. Last week, the tank started giving off a really nasty smell. It smelled like a HUGE fish died and was rotting. Emptied 80% of the water which helped for less than 24 hours. The next day I did another 80% water change. 3 days later, the smells awful again.

What can I do to permanently remove the smell? Am I overstocked?

Filtration is 2 350 penguin w/biowheel.

Thank you,

Jay

 

[predatorkeeper87]

If it smells like its dead, check for a dead fish.

In my personal exeperience the only things that make tank water smell terrible are:
1. Dead fish. With that many cichlids in a 90 you may have one stuck under decor in in a filter.
2. over feeding of certain pellet fish foods. For example, if i overfeed hikari carnivore pellets and they go uneaten, my water reaks until I remove them.

 

[lardieleftover]

May be overfeeding, also likely is that your filter media is lacking in carbon/purigen related products that take out the organic compounds before they are able to degrade into ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, but will not directly remove them until you wash media.
Idk if you have stuff that a death of a fish could get swept under, but that will rot. Had that happen once

 

[Yoimbrian]

What are your water parameters.


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[Rachel.Cody]

I've learned that built up bacteria in sand smells pretty bad too. But as others said move around decorations and stuff to see if there is a dead one somewhere. If it smells like sulfur or "fart" lol it's probably built up bacteria in your substrate. Do you ever stir it up?


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[xraycer]

I don't ever use carbon or Purigen and all my tanks just have an earthy smell.

I would check:
*parameters to make sure you have adequate bio-media
*filter pads are not saturated with organic crud
*check under tank trims and glass canopy to make sure food and other organic crud is not building up under there

 

[oldfish]

If you are not cleaning the gravel along with weekly water changes it will cause a foul smell.

 

[axs377]

+1 on the gravel, especially if its sand. Double check for the dead fish, stir up your substrate and if that does not solve it; it could be the fish food. I know in times past I've gotten smelly water from overfeeding nls thera A, I think from the garlic. One other possibility is that its the water itself....do you have well water or was there recently water main break in your area?

 

[azmtns]

If water parameters are good, check the lids and around the top trim. Sometimes the fish splash food onto the lids or trim and it just stinks to high heaven. Once you clean it, should be good. Have you checked your ammonia levels?