Stink.

[pred1tor83]

Hi i have a 30long and a 10 gallon aquarium and lately they just plain stink... really bad



I have charcol filters in both, both recently changed with in a week or so, smell went away for a while, but now i am afraid it has reared its ugly head.

If i cant get this thing undercontroll i will have to put both tanks down!

 

[LimpyFins]

how's the ammonia level? high ammonia produces an unpleasant smell. perhaps that's it?

 

[val]

Check to see if there's any nasty algae hiding around your tank. Algae is No. 1 for causing a nasty smell.

Valerie

 

[CFC]

What do you use for a substrate? Could be trapped gasses from the tank bed escaping,a good vacuming might help.

 

[smb]

It could be all of the above so I won't be adding anything new here but IME it's been algea most of the time for me. I like to leave some algea for my Mbuna to graze on but I sometimes get lazy and don't clean it up fast enough.

Like mentioned, do you have a sand substrate? If so, you need to mix it up so the trapped toxic gasses can escape. That will give it a rotten egg odor.

 

[pred1tor83]

im using some gravel from my fish store.


Yes there is a lot of alge in the tank, so do i put the alge destroyers in there???


IF amonium lvls are high, what is the best way to reduce them.

 

[Great Lakes]

Pred, how many fish, how old is your setup, and do you have any numbers for us?

The more info you give us, the more we can do for you.

 

[smb]

im using some gravel from my fish store.


Yes there is a lot of alge in the tank, so do i put the alge destroyers in there???


IF amonium lvls are high, what is the best way to reduce them.

IF amonium lvls are high, what is the best way to reduce them.

Like Great Lakes said, please give us all the info you can. There's a different answer if you've had it setup for 2 weeks compared to 2 years. Also a different answer for whatever you have in your tank. Until then, you'll have a bunch of us throwing out ideas in the hopes that one of them will stick but knowing more can help everyone come to a more educated conclusion.

What are your husbandry skills/cleaning practices?

im using some gravel from my fish store.

So are you are breaking a tank in?

Yes there is a lot of alge in the tank, so do i put the alge destroyers in there???

No. They do work, but it can be taken care of with a couple well-timed water changes.

The only thing is, I was under the assumption you are breaking a new tank in. You shouldnt have this problem yet, if so.

 

[pred1tor83]

tank 1 and tank 2
20-40 Nitrate
1 Nitrite
150-300 Hardness
300 Alkalinity
7.8 Ph lvl

Fairly new tank about 2 or 3 months old

 

[bigfish]

High nitrate levels cause excess algae growth because of the phosfate,

how often do you do water changes and gravel clean?