# Please help, tank smell ...



## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

Hello,

What in the water responsible for smell? Can I measure it?
I have no dead fish or snail in the tank. Plants are OK too.
Water is clean, filter media changed 2 weeks ago.

Changes did happen. I replaced the light source, and added driftwood with some moss attached to it.
Light changed from regular 15W to 10W Marineland Compact Fluorescent Bulb 1500K.
(reason - maybe plants will start growing)
Driftwood (from LPS) was in the bucket w/water from tank for 2 weeks, I did change the water once
Java Moss was in the separate bucket in water from the same tank

Aquarium is 7 Gallon
Whisper Power Filter 10
pH – 6 to 6.5 (always this low. Our tap water is 6, I try to increase that number by using pH UP, but it goes down in 2 - 3 days)
NH3 / NH4 – 0

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Aram.


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

Came back home, 4 fish are dead.
Some type of virus?


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

u forgot NO2. if the tank didn't cycle, that might be the problem.


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

Thanks for reply.

I have this fish tank for 7 month.


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

Petlover516, I think you are correct.
5 fish is dead and rest of them on the surface, trying to get air.
Do you think by adding driftwood, I "started" a mini cycle?
And if yes, I understand there is no cure for that, need to wait


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

The driftwood probably didn't cause the mini cycle, but the fish dying could if they are removed promptly. I would do some major water changes over the next few days to help it out.

Also its best not to use chemicals to alter the ph as it will cause ph swings which is harmful to the fish. They will adapt to your water and if you want to raise it some its best to use some crushed coral in your filter.


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

Thanks Susankat!

I just did about 50% WC, and I will do some more tomorrow.

Aram


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

What fish do you have and what kind of substrate? Are you adding Prime (or similar product) with water changes?

Is there fungus on the driftwood? What kind of driftwood is it? Does it smell like sulphur?


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

at 7 months its definately completed the cycle, but have u changed<or cleaned> the filter anytime recently? and if the fish are gasping for air, it is most likely an NO2 problem.


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

fancy guppy and 3 corydoras paleatus. Cory's are ready to breed, and they are separated 2 days before (I hope they are not going to catch this crap). only guppy left, now only half of them...
When I do WC I add API water conditioner (by instructions from a bottle)
No fungus on the driftwood.
What kind driftwood hmm ..., I got it from LPS dark red/brown was completely dry. As I mentioned in my previews post I kept it in the bucket for almost 2 week, that it does not turn my tank to the tea cup 
No, does not smell that bad ... But it's different


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

stress coat is not that good of WC use prime. are u sure the driftwood was for aquariums not terrariums?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Sounds like mopani wood which is red and brown! I would suggest using a different water conditioner also. Prime is about the best there is.


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## budcarlson (Feb 3, 2009)

Do you use any airstones? Is there much surface water movement? Is the tank fully covered? Fish at surface could be a low O2 issue, if there's little surface water movement and restricted air motion across the surface, you can get low pH because CO2 will bring pH down. If the tank is full, the whisper will not cause much surface water motion. If you add an airstone, that can help break up the surface water and add some O2. Usually, tap water with low pH is because it is O2 deprived from being in pipes, try letting some sit in a quart container for 48 hours then test pH so you know what you're dealing with. Also test tap for ammonia and nitrate, it helps to get a handle on your water quality.

Have you tested your KH (carbonate hardness)? If this is low out of the tap or in your tank (it will decline over time in the tank) then you may need to add something to buffer your KH up. KH is also a measure of how well your water hold on to it's pH level, the lower it is, the lower your pH will stabilize out at. This is much more valuable information to have than just your pH level.

I agree with others, do not use pH up/down, it's not a good solution.

Also I agree - use Prime, it's all you need (and you need VERY little)


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

Great response by Budcarlson. Cold water also carries more O2 than warm water. Prime is a beast. It get rid of chlorine and chloramine, and neutralizes ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. It also treats heavy metals and adds slime coat to your fish. API conditioner removes the chlorine from chloromine but does not get rid of the ammonia, so you actually get a spike from doing water changes.

If you must increase your pH....which I do since I pump in CO2, I use a combo of acid buffer and alkaline buffer from Seachem. The latter contains sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and other bicarbonates which also increases your kH (carbonate hardness). By using a small combo to get to a target pH and increasing the kH, you "buffer" your water. This keeps the pH from going up or down. 

However what still gets me is that you notice a smell...can you elaborate on this more? What does it smell like?


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## delco (Jul 24, 2008)

What does it smell like?
Do the surface bubbles pop after 15 seconds or before?
Does the surface look oiley or gross?
Do you add water streight from the faucet or let it sit in a bucket 3 days with an air stone, after adding a dose of Amquil plus.

If your gravel is black underneith it is making a gas that smells like rotten eggs.

The following link is good information about water.
Aquarium Water Quality.


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

budcarlson said:


> Do you use any airstones? Is there much surface water movement? Is the tank fully covered? Fish at surface could be a low O2 issue, if there's little surface water movement and restricted air motion across the surface, you can get low pH because CO2 will bring pH down. If the tank is full, the whisper will not cause much surface water motion. If you add an airstone, that can help break up the surface water and add some O2. Usually, tap water with low pH is because it is O2 deprived from being in pipes, try letting some sit in a quart container for 48 hours then test pH so you know what you're dealing with. Also test tap for ammonia and nitrate, it helps to get a handle on your water quality.
> 
> Have you tested your KH (carbonate hardness)? If this is low out of the tap or in your tank (it will decline over time in the tank) then you may need to add something to buffer your KH up. KH is also a measure of how well your water hold on to it's pH level, the lower it is, the lower your pH will stabilize out at. This is much more valuable information to have than just your pH level.
> 
> ...


Yes I do use airstone, surface water does moves (it get's moved by filter "exhaust" water). But I don't have that mini waterfall effect, edge of the "whisper" right on the tank level.
Unfortunately I don't have chemicals to test the KH ...
I think it's too late, there is no alive fish left, I was doing 30-40% WC, almost every day and I think the smell is gone (almost), but I think it's erelevant since there is no more fish.
I will take a note, all this recommendations, and they will become handy when I setup a new big tank!


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## Alasse (Mar 12, 2009)

Ammonia tends to make the water smell nasty.

I'm sorry for the loss of your fish.


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

delco said:


> What does it smell like?
> Do the surface bubbles pop after 15 seconds or before?
> Does the surface look oiley or gross?
> Do you add water streight from the faucet or let it sit in a bucket 3 days with an air stone, after adding a dose of Amquil plus.
> ...


Thanks for the link!
Bubbles from airstone do get accumulate a little and then pop, more then 15 sec. Surface does not have anything.
Normally when I do a WC I take tap water in 5Gal bucket add less then 1mL API (now I know that I need to use PRIME by Seachem). After 3-4 hours do a WC.

I can't explain the small, it's not a rotten eggs and not a swamp smell ether


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

susankat said:


> Sounds like mopani wood which is red and brown! I would suggest using a different water conditioner also. Prime is about the best there is.




Here is the picture, I don't think it's mopani, but then again, what do I know


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

I bet the water changes killed your fish...unfortunately, if you are still using API. Every water change was adding more ammonia.

One other possibility, was the water warm?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Unless the water tests for ammonia it won't add it to the tank, Ammonia is caused by waste so hopefully you don't have it in your tap water. Now there could be other metals in the water that the stress coat doesn't remove which can cause problems. I would get a print out from your water company to find out what all is added in your water.

That doesn't look like mopani wood. But should be alright in the tank. If its grapevine it will rot a lot faster than most wood as its a softer wood. 

If the bubbles are sitting on top of the water a few seconds before they pop I would say its caused by the stress coat as it has an oily feel to me and is probably coating the bubbles.

I wouldn't say the water changes killed the fish. Its one of the best ways to promote a healthy tank, even if you do them everyday. I have a tank that I do 50% on every couple of days and its one of the heathiest tanks I have.


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

Dmaaaaax said:


> I bet the water changes killed your fish...unfortunately, if you are still using API. Every water change was adding more ammonia.
> 
> One other possibility, was the water warm?


Water temp is stable: 78F
It looks like fish had different viruses ...

Now I may need to clean all this up (disinfect) some how.
Can I keep the plants? or virus will be caried over, in my new setup 

And with all this, it's amazing how clean the water was...


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

susankat said:


> Unless the water tests for ammonia it won't add it to the tank, Ammonia is caused by waste so hopefully you don't have it in your tap water. Now there could be other metals in the water that the stress coat doesn't remove which can cause problems. I would get a print out from your water company to find out what all is added in your water.
> 
> That doesn't look like mopani wood. But should be alright in the tank. If its grapevine it will rot a lot faster than most wood as its a softer wood.
> 
> ...



Almost all tap water has chlorine and chloramines. When broken down chloramine turns into chlorine and ammonia. API's stresscoat can neutralize the chlorine from the tap but leaves ammonia. Normally doing water changes is the best thing for your tank, but by doing water changes with API you are essentially adding ammonia to your tank unless you use another method to remove it quickly like ammo-lock which API lists on their bottle to use together. With other conditioners like Prime this would not be an issue.


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## Chickadee (Nov 15, 2008)

Stress Coat contains an aloe base and when the water evaporates from the tank and needs replenishing the aloe does not evaporate but remains in the tank. When you dose the refill water with more Stress Coat you are in effect making the concentration of aloe in the tank more concentrated. Since the aloe will not hurt the fish it is not going to kill them but will give the water a slimy feel and eventually the bubbles from any airstone or from the surface action of the water will make the aloe foam as if it were dish soap. It is not dangerous for the fish but Stress Coat needs to be left out of the refill water until a major water change is made and water with no Stress Coat is used to refill the tank causing the concentration of the aloe to drop to a reasonable level. Do not use Stress Coat in water to refill the tank unless it is to replace water in a major water change. Otherwise a non-aloe based product like Prime should be used to keep the bubbling at a minimum. It does foam and look terrible and can scare you to pieces I know I thought I had killed my fish somehow the time it happened to me. It just needs to be watered down with another type of conditioned water. Please don't put water that is not treated with a conditioner in your tank though.

Rose


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## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

It could be a mini-cycle problem, in which the tank was not cycled correctly when you first started it. Then again, you said you had it for 7 months.

This is what you should do:

Vaccuum the gravel every other day.
Remove 25% of the water.
Add stress coat.

I don't think that it could have been because of the driftwood. However, I have heard that some people put new driftwood in boiling water and then let it bake in the sun for 2-3 weeks, then boil it again. This ensures that all bacteria on the driftwood will die.

Also, what type of fish do you have in the tank? What are your ammonia levels and hardness levels.


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## paronaram (Jul 12, 2008)

Thanks.

I can't vacuum gravel, I have plants. Specially it was very difficult for me to start them grow the way I want. I did keep the driftwood in boiling water, then in tap water for 2 weeks, just to eliminate the water coloring.

To be honest, the horrible smell is gone after series of WC.
There is some smell present there, but I think it's normal ... correct me if I am wrong ...

In tank I have:
Fancy Guppy - 5
Cory Peleatus - 3
Caridina japonica (algae eaters) - 2
Snail - 1


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