we clean our tank one day and it starts stinking in a day and a half. we have two pumps running on a 55gallon tank. there are two ocsars in it. they are about 3 inchs long. what the heck the problem? we have got every kind of drop there is to put in it. cant be the filters, we have four in each pump. along with the charcol. somebody please help, cant stand the smell much longer!!
2006-11-07 12:08:27 · 11 answers · asked by Leneki 4 in Pets ➔ Fish
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2006-11-07 12:59:15 · answer #1 · answered by gagirlofgod 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Smelly aquariums are soemtimes cause by the development of a certain bacteria in the tank that cause the production of sulfide. Check if the subtrate smells like rotten egg, and get rid of it.
Sometimes the brand of food cause the problem, experiment with different brands to see if they affect the water.
But the biggest problem is when you never let your aquarium to cycled. That means, before adding all the fish stock at once, you added only 1-2 fish and allowed plenty of time for special beneficial bacteria who convert harmful fish waste to less toxic substances--establish. When you clean your tank, do you let them all to be dried clean? if you did and don't let your tank to cycle, then all those beneficial bacteria that convert ammonia to a less toxic substance died out.
Try buying a ammonia test kit and see if the ammonia in the tank have sky rocketed! Testing your water is your best bet.
The first thing you should do ABOVE ALL is a 50% water change. Especially for the Oscar aquarium. Every time the water becomes smelly, change 50% of the aquarium water. Test the water every day. Using the test kit, there should absolutely no ammonia or nitrites. Nitrates are one good indicator . They should be 20ppm and preferably less. Large water changes done frequently are ten times better than smaller changes, they are not dangerous.
There are products that can boost the Nitrogen cycle in the aquarium. Try asking the pet shop for those products.
Hope this can help.
2006-11-07 12:30:53 · answer #2 · answered by John the Pinoy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
sounds like you have soft water. Chemicals in tap water tend to smell if water company put in chemials to purify then you make sure the water that was replaced was free from chlorine. and or your pipes need checked for minerals. Its got to be the water. Water smells like a sewer when left standing and since you are using filtration in the tanks something isnt working. Get better pumps. I had a pump that looked like it was working yet it just couldn't do the job. Take the rocks out use an alternative . Rocks tend to hide stuff and also can cause the smell. Fish may be sick and emmiting an oder. You have a problem, Just wish I could tell you exactly what it was. Sorry but start over clean tank change pump dont use rocks on the bottom, glass marbles ect ae much safer and prettier.
2006-11-07 12:25:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
My first question would be what kind of pumps do you have ( brand and model) What are you feeding and how much? What brand and kind of food are you feeding? It is easy to over feed Oscars plus they give a lot of waste. I would recommend to cut back on how much you are feeding. Make sure that you have filters that will handle tanks over 60 gallons ( you don't want to max out the filter) Carbon is good for taking care of the smell, but in conjunction with watching the food. Their are many chemicals out there most of them in my experience are not going to help you unless you identify what is causing the issue.
Hope this helps and you can email me at djnelson@aquarealmaquarium.com if you have any other questions or with the other info and i can help you out.
2006-11-07 12:29:00 · answer #4 · answered by DJ n 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I recommend taking a h2o sample to a pet store or test it if you have home test kit. It sounds like you have a unbalanced biological filter which can cause high ammonia . Your tank requires micro organisms to maintain balance (they break down waste and recycle good h2o in your tank) Sounds like something has killed these organisms.
What I recommend is do a 50% h2o change let it sit for a couple of days then get a bio organism treatment from the pet store and add recommended dose. I recommend stress zyme. Hope this helps.
2006-11-07 12:19:02 · answer #5 · answered by NW71206 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How long has the tank been set up? If it is still somewhat new, under a month, then it could be because your tank isn't cycled and you have high ammonia. If it has been set up for a while I would still check the params just in case you lost your cycle. Other then that it shouldn't smell worse then any tank does, they all have an earthy smell but you would have to be close to smell it.
2006-11-07 12:12:59 · answer #6 · answered by Nunya Biznis 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Algae is a near-certain answer. Your filters would filter that out. Another theory with your 'smelly tank' is distillation. You can try to purify the water by adding seaweed or an underwater aquatic plant. Please don't use certain fish foods, as some tend to 'contaminate' the water with an odor--a chemical that can harm the fish mildly. Take a chemical test with a strip of litmus paper. If the key is orange-red, consult a pet expert.
2006-11-07 12:13:49 · answer #7 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It's possible it is the food you are feeding the fish. I had a very similar problem and it wasn't until I changed their food type did it resolve the issue... It's worth a shot!
2006-11-07 12:11:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
make sure u dont overfeed cuz exceesss food can cause stink....(i have recent experience)..........ask a local petstore forhelp......mayb u shud try 2 change the filter bags.........and do sum research on watever type of fish u have.......cuz sum fish poop very often(like goldfish).....and that causes stink
2006-11-07 12:42:23 · answer #9 · answered by jmriddhy 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
do you see a green slime like algae growing on the gravel or logs, could be blue green algae which makes the water stink.
normally due to a phosphate imbalance
2006-11-07 19:29:12 · answer #10 · answered by of Light 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋