Water smell

[dodo]

I cant find my test cards for my API master test kit so, cant do any test today.

I have noticed that lately, my water started to smell

I have lots of biolad in my 210G tank and I have lots of filtration as well. I have been doing water change once a week at 50%....(sometimes twice a week) I know that the fact that i have been adding new fish every week is a cause of this but in general why does my water smell like hmmmm.... garlic (i think garlic is the closest to the smell...its not as strong but if i have to describe the smell, garlic it is lol)

By the way, the fish are healthy and are eating well...So in general why? (apart from more filtration, less biolad, thanks)

I feed hikari food sticks, NLS sinking pellets and market prawns and algae wafers....the only thing i have added lately is the algae wafers and food sticks

 

[oscarfish1395]

do you have carbon in your filter, when this "runs out" for lack of better description the water may start to smell. i had this happen in one of my tanks. i dont think it smelled like garlic tho

 

[sostoudt]

your food probably has garlic added, carbon will help in any case

 

[flagtail]

It's the hikari food sticks!

 

[sick_lid]

Is the water cloudy at all?

 

[dodo]

It's the hikari food sticks!

As a matter of fact, i just started to use the hikari food sticks. Same time as the algae wafers.

The water smell does not smell like the food stick at all though

I drop like 30 to 50 sticks a day or every other day as my datnoids eat them too.

 

[dodo]

do you have carbon in your filter, when this "runs out" for lack of better description the water may start to smell. i had this happen in one of my tanks. i dont think it smelled like garlic tho

I never used carbon though.... May be if i add carbon, it will remove the smell but the thing is i need to keep changing or unless i stop using the carbon once the water smell is gone

 

[dodo]

Is the water cloudy at all?

The water is not cloudy unless i do a WC, then its cloudy for a couple of hours.

I did however remove 90% of water during first week of July as i was installing a background....but i used my 2 or 3 fx5 which was running over 6 months, so dont think i did not have enough Beneficial bacteria ...if there was any mini cycle, i think it should be over by now.

 

[sick_lid]

Yeah I was thinking ammonia spike, but seems that's not the case.. What is your stock?

 

[Toby_H]

Ammonia and garlic smell nothing alike...

Testing for ammoina is easy enough without the card... any level of ammonia is bad...

If you noticed the smell at the same time you started using a new food... I would be forced to question the new food...

I would discontinue the new food for 2~3 weeks and see if the smell continues...

In the mean time do not drink the fishwater ;-)