Why does my aquarium smell like dirt?

Question

We had a 10 gallon but our guppies had too many babies, so we upgraded to a 20 gallon (and kept the 10 also). To start, we put the water from the 10 into the 20 so they'd have their good bacteria. We filled the rest with new water and put in all the chemicals to get rid of ammonia and nitrates, we even put in a little aquarium salt. Now it smells like dirt, like fresh potting soil!! It's so strong even around the tank with the lid closed. What can I do?

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. Since it's a new 20 gallon aquarium, it has new gravel and a new filter (that hangs on the back of the tank). I made sure to completely rinse the gravel and filter before putting them in the tank. The water is perfectly clear. I tested the water and nitrates and nitrites are safe, the water is very hard, very alkaline, and very acidic (low pH). There are about 20 guppies, but they are all young, so definitely less than 20 inches of fish for the 20 gallon tank. How do I raise the pH, fix the alkalinity, the acidity, and the hardness?

Answer 1

A strong smell is normally the result of over feeding. What are your levels? I'm guessing you are inexperienced with fish because you commented on chemicals to reduce nitrates. The only way to reduce nitrates is with regular water changes. I would check your levels. If everything is ok, let your water settle. You may have had dirty water in your ten gallon that made the 20 gallon smell when you switched them. If your levels are off, stop using chemicals. Adding unneeded chemicals to your tank can make problems worse. You may need a water change. Vacuum your gravel really good.

Answer 2

To answer this question correctly, you need to know EXACTLY what the water smells like. If it smells bad, like ammonia, then you have a problem with to much food for the fish. To many fish can also cause this problem. You didn't mention if the water is off colored, especially yellowish. That would be uneaten food as well. If it smells like dirt, as you mention, then it means your tank is probably healthy. When the food and feces (or even dead fish and plants) decay, they are broken down by the bacteria in your gravel. You also didn't mention the kind of filter you have. An undergravel filter is great at this breakdown. You DO need to clean the gravel about once a month or so. The best method I've found is a gravel vac. Follow the directions and siphon the water from the BOTTOM of the aquarium. 25% of the water every month to 2 months is fine for guppies. It is VERY easy to overcrowd the aquarium with guppies, by the way.

Answer 3

Sounds like you need to do a water change. The recommended is 25% of the water. You may do that and then wait a week and do it again. Some of the bad bacteria from the old tank probably came with the water you transferred to the new tank. It also recommended that you have 1 1" fish per gallon of water. So if you have more you may need a bigger tank or a bigger filtration system to handle the load and more frequent water changes. Good luck

Answer 4

That earthy smell is the smell of nitrobacter and nitrosomonas bacteria doing their job(manufacturing nitrates) and that's a good thing. The fact that you can smell it without putting your nose down by the water means that there is too much nitrate in the water,and it's your job to get it out. Don't try to take it all out at one time! Start by doing small water changes and partial gravel vacuuming every day or two.When you get the nitrate levels down to the point where you have to get close to the water to pick up the earthy odor your fish will be much better off and weekly water changes should be enough,if you are not overfeeding. Good question,and good luck. PeeTee.

Answer 5

the dirt smell is good. those are the good bacterias.. just wait a week before adding all your fish... You can add one or 2 to help set up the fish. And you don't need all those chemicals to get rid of ammonia and nitrites.. The good bacteria need them to grow.

Answer 6

the guppies poo and smell poo and pee what do u think!