Why does my tank smell?

A

amyandlars

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Sep 18, 2006
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My gal has this weird oder. On this tank I changed the filter, and it seems like I'm going thru a cycle again. It's been 2 weeks and from water tests I'm not even on the nitrite portion yet. I'll try to answer all the standard questions...

2 w/c's yesterday one was 80%- gravel vac 2x a week

this morning
ammonia .25
nitrite 0
nitrate 0

The current inhabitants in this tank are 1 comet goldfish, 2 mystery snails, 2 Java Ferns. I've taken any dead parts off the ferns and they appear to be doing fine.

Is my tank overstocked? I know it's hard to play the game of what's that smell, but ANY suggestions would be appreciated.
 
How big is your tank? Also, if it is only 2 weeks old, you are indeed cycling and you'll need to be doing water changes every day to get that ammonia down to 0. Ammonia permanently scars the gills, it burns the sensitive tissue. So, do daily water changes, DON'T vaccuum the gravel, you need your bacteria colony to settle a bit first.
What kind of filter do you have?
Cathy
 
The tank is older, unfortunately when I changed the filter I didn't let the new filter get seeded first. This is a 10 gal. I have a top fin 10 filter ( came with the kit) after the fikter change mistake I added a small Elite sponge filter. The Elite is for 5 gallon tanks.
 
Sounds like you are doing a mini cycle - rats, huh?! So, keep up with your water changes. You do know that your tank is too small for a goldfish? He/she will fine in there for a while, but they live for years if taken care of, and they get really really big. (They are also very messy poopers...)
I use those old whisper filters -these had the same problem, you remove the filter carbon thing, and there is nothing there to 'hold' the good bacteria colony. So, I bought some filter floss - it is like a mess, its polyester, and cut off a hunk and slipped it in the filter box. I only have to rinse it once in a while, and I can still change the carbon/insert thing without losing bacteria.

Hope things get better!~
Cathy
 
yeah, the smell is probably ammonia. I've noticed it too in cycling tanks.

to me, whenever an aquarium has a noticeable odor it usually means something is off. For example, an overbearing smell like pond scum or dirt is usually due to high nitrates and algal blooms. In your case, nothing is probably really "wrong", it just needs to settle and mature :)
 
I fully agree with this
Cathy G said:
How big is your tank? Also, if it is only 2 weeks old, you are indeed cycling and you'll need to be doing water changes every day to get that ammonia down to 0.
Click to expand...

...but not so much with this,,,
DON'T vaccuum the gravel, you need your bacteria colony to settle a bit first.
Click to expand...

Especially with goldfish in the mix. The bacterial colonies will be in the filter, though there are certainly some in the gravel. The decomposition of fish waste produces ammonia, but it also produces many other compounds commonly referred to as Dissolved Organic Compounds. Leaving the fishie droppings in the gravel is inviting an increase in DOC's, as well as producing more ammonia than is really needed to cycle.

DOC's could also be a player in the reported smell. Hard to say without smelling it... Well, maybe it's a good thing we can't upload samples of smells... LOL
 
It seems almost that this like starting over from scratch. I just did my 2nd w/c for the day. Going to let the tank filter for a few hours and see if the ammonia stayed low. Of the "funk" is still there, but with to w/c a day it's not that bad. You can only smell it once you raise the tank hood. I'm thinking about taking the small filter out and putting it into a tank that is 95% thru the cycle. I tried it already but only left it in for 4 days, and I think i need to do it for 2 weeks.

I dawned on me that the 10 gal was too small for the goldfish. Sad too b/c that is an upgrade from what I had. One day when my student aid kicks I'll probably go get a 30 gal for him. That's why I'm wondering if the tank size is the problem. Thanks for your help.
 
I still don't recommend a gravel vac until the cycling is done. If you want a compromise solution, you could vaccum 1/2 once/week, then do the other 1/2 once week. After the tank is totally stable again, then you can resume a full gravel vac every week...
Cathy
 
Gravel vac will not hurt the bacteria establishing on the substrate. You are doing a fishey with known messy fish. Please do the gravel vacs and monitor params closely.
 
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