cloudy smelly water

[pebbles]

i really thought that i had this tank sorted yesterday, water tests were almost ok,tank looked a bit cloudy,just a little, plants did look a bit jaded,fish seemed ok. today the tank has been getting more cloudy all day ,the water tests reasonable this afternoon but the water smells foul, most fish ok but my beloved corys seem a little unhappy, they are breathing fast. can anone tell me whats going on.i've taken the rotting plants out,left the ones that are not too bad ,just pulled off bad leaves.i've added an extra filter to see if it will help clear the water.[sponge filter, ]the main filter has nitrozorb in it ,should i take this out and replace with carbon.my tank looks a mess. i am so worried i am heading for a complete tank breakdown pebbles

 

[val]

Hmm..if the tank is smelly, maybe it's some kind of algae problem or maybe something is collecting and the bottom of the tank, or inside decorations, like poo? I'd go ahead and do a thorough cleaning with hot water on your decorations. Oh, after you clean it with hot water, I usually run it under cool water to make them not so hot. I don't know if this does anything but I like to do it.

good luck,
Valerie

 

[sandyd]

Pebbles,
I was wondering when the last time you vacuumed or did a water change? Usually my tank only gets cloudy if i have not cleaned it in a while. Usually i get a little ammonia spike with the cloudy water. Usually with a good vaccuuming and water change it clears up rather quickly. Dont know if this helps, keep us posted. Sandy

 

[Dragonslair]

Cloudy smelly water, mixed with rotten plants and bottom fish breathing heavy are all signs of water pollution. This can be due to a number of contributing factors. The first, being the most important, is overfeeding. Thinking that you should put a little extra food for the bottom feeders may sound alright, but the extra uneaten food accumulates and starts to decompose between the gravel. Then there's lighting. Dependant on the type of plants you have, will depend on the number of hours of lighting you should provide. The plants seem as though they may be dying due to the lack of lighting. You may on the other hand, have fish that are munching your plants due to the lack of greenary.
Rotting plants and food decomposition all add to foul smelly water as the bacteria will bloom.

 

[reg2k2]

I'm also thinking the removal of the nitrazorb might be an idea...perhaps the plants are being starved?
Not a plant person ...just a thought.
And if it seems ur levels rise again, you can always replace it.
Although if there was too much food to start with...maybe that doesn't make sense.

 

[pebbles]

should have feferred to my original post ,'child overfeeding bigtime' massive overfeeding ,5 days ago.have been doing all things recommended and water changes but noe everything has gone wrong pebbles

 

[pebbles]

bottom feeders do seem to be calming down, water conditions seem to be stable , slight 'bloom' still . smell still not nice. now water tests are ok ,will put carbon in filter.,hope this will clear smell,have hoovered gravel to get the excess food out,after the incident and lightly two days ago, still carrying on with small water changes at the mo. should i gravel vac again? pebbles