Carbon is unnecessary. I don't run any carbon in any of my filters and there is NO stink. None.
All about proper maintenance and upkeep.
All about proper maintenance and upkeep.
Why does my tank smell like a rotting fish?
- Thread starter Deep Blue Sea
- Start date
Just curious, since no one seems to have asked the question yet, but when you clean out your filters, what water do you use to clean it with? coz one probability is it could be something to do with how you clean your filters causing a mini / improper cycle each time you clean your setup...Also, how often do you clean out your filters???
Any way, any time i've personally noticed any of my tanks smell real bad real quick, for no apparent reason, its been because one of my fish my have either thrown up some of there food and its buried in the substrate, or one of the live feeder shrimps died some where and is rotting... so although you said you checked your substrate, maybe it's worth another look if its over a 2 inches deep
Lastly, Krawnik although carbon normally isn't really needed in most tanks, to help possibly remove the smell a little quicker the carbon will definitely help the OP...
Any way, any time i've personally noticed any of my tanks smell real bad real quick, for no apparent reason, its been because one of my fish my have either thrown up some of there food and its buried in the substrate, or one of the live feeder shrimps died some where and is rotting... so although you said you checked your substrate, maybe it's worth another look if its over a 2 inches deep
Lastly, Krawnik although carbon normally isn't really needed in most tanks, to help possibly remove the smell a little quicker the carbon will definitely help the OP...
tyndall72;3998920; said:
you should maybe take a look at your maintenance routine and feeding regime because ive had tanks all my life and they have never had any strong smells nor have my friends or my families tanks. other than over feeding or an dead fish going unnoticed. all my tanks have always been in my sitting room so it would have been noticed.
to notice the smell on a properly maintained tank you should have to stick your nose right up to the water and even then it shouldnt smell terrible.
using carbon only treats the symptoms and not the cause. you shouldnt have to use carbon other than removing meds or tannins.
getting rid of the smell using carbon only hides the cause which could eventually lead to a severe water quality problem. simply encouraging the use of carbon without exploring possible causes is irresponsible.
I have several tanks, even 1500 gallons with carp (koi) in there, and there is no smells at all.
I would definitely look under rocks, gravel vac etc... Why do you have 2'' of gravel anyways? That's a lot for a tank. I've always heard 1'' because too much can trap debris, and CO2 bubbles, and can really hurt your tank.
You definitely should have let your tank cycle if you didn't.
Amquel+ will not really take the ammonia etc out of the water. It just binds it, so it is fish safe. The only REAL way to get ammonia out of the water is to do water changes.
What filtration are you using? If you are using ammo rocks (zeolite) then that could be a problem for your tank as well, because just like carbon, it becomes inactive, and if you leave it in your tank too long, it will start leeching back into the water.
Hope you can find the problem though. Sucks to have stinky water, but yeah... your bio load is still pretty big.
What are your feeding habits, and what is your filtration?
I would definitely look under rocks, gravel vac etc... Why do you have 2'' of gravel anyways? That's a lot for a tank. I've always heard 1'' because too much can trap debris, and CO2 bubbles, and can really hurt your tank.
You definitely should have let your tank cycle if you didn't.
Amquel+ will not really take the ammonia etc out of the water. It just binds it, so it is fish safe. The only REAL way to get ammonia out of the water is to do water changes.
What filtration are you using? If you are using ammo rocks (zeolite) then that could be a problem for your tank as well, because just like carbon, it becomes inactive, and if you leave it in your tank too long, it will start leeching back into the water.
Hope you can find the problem though. Sucks to have stinky water, but yeah... your bio load is still pretty big.
What are your feeding habits, and what is your filtration?
Deep Blue Sea;3998523; said:My 75g has this scent coming off it like a rotting fish thats been left in the sun, I checked everything
Ph - 8.0
Nitrites - 0.20
Nitrates 0.50
Amonia 0.50
?
Get yer trItes and ammonia to 0 ppm and keep yer trAtes under 30 for a week or three. Should do the trick
mshill90 not sure if the comment about having over 2" sand was directed at me or the OP, but i have it because i have fish who can and on occasion do bury themselves... but i do stir my substrate weekly (including under decorations) so no toxic gas pockets should be able to build up... either way, i do agree that keeping carbon in the tank too long can be harmful to his tank...
BTW fox3, its easier said than done when the OP is still trying to figure out whats causing the problem... but my guess personally is its coz the tank is cycling or going through some mini cycle...
BTW fox3, its easier said than done when the OP is still trying to figure out whats causing the problem... but my guess personally is its coz the tank is cycling or going through some mini cycle...
This'd be my answer, too. A whole lot of 'advice' aka opinions here and this is the most obvious answer. Happens to be the shortest, too.fox3;3999327; said:Get yer trItes and ammonia to 0 ppm and keep yer trAtes under 30 for a week or three. Should do the trick
Sorry for the confusion.TwistedPenguin;3999839; said:
the thing that I don't get, is how is that going to change the smell?
Cycling tanks never smell like rotting fish.
Maybe the reason the tank went into a "mini cycle" is also the reason it smells? Like a dead fish for example...
Also, OP, did you check maybe one of your fish jumped and is somewhere stinking up the place?
