another smelly tank?

Question

hey everyone,

my fish tank really stinks. well, actualyl the filter seems to be what stinks, not just the tank. i've read through a few threads, and i haven't found anything that sounds like my problem.
i have a penguin bio wheel filter, and it seems to be the source of the smell. is this normal? i've had the filter for about a week. my 10 gallon tank is pretty clear and the fish seem to be doing fine.

Answer 1

The stink could be ammonia. Check your water perameters your water should have a smell but should not stink. The healthy smell is hard to describe but I'll try. Kinda like freshly tilled soil, or over ripe cantalope. Earthy but kinda sweet smell. Since the tank has only been set up for 10 days its likely ammonia and its time to change 50 to 75% of the water. Small water changes will not affect ammonia very much. At first you are going to have to change a lot of water. Every other day at least until the tank is cycled. But leave the filter to get "dirty." I wouldn't touch the filter for 6 weeks. Never clean the bio-wheels in anything but declorinated water (you can use tank water). That gunk in the filter is the good bacteria that will help cycle your tank. If you clean it out it will take forever for the tank to cycle. I think people think the water needs to cycle but that isn't true the filter is where the action happens. The water only holds toxins created during the process. Fish will die if you don't make sure you keep your ammonia low and nitrites low. When nitrites rise add a teaspoon of salt per gallon to pull them through. It will protect their gills from frying. When you get nitrate readings you will know the process is near complete. Don't let ammonia get over .5 ppm or nitrite over .5ppm. When nitrates show its a good idea to maintain them under 20 ppm with water changes. After the tank has completely cycled (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, some nitrates) you may then clean out the filter once a month and refurbish. You no longer need to replace any salt. Only use salt as a medication after that. Use salt before toxic medications. Meds kill more fish than disease and are extremely hard on the system. Be cautious of putting anything into the water of your tank. By the way clear water does not indicate clean water, nor does green water indicate dirty water. Please get a book on fish keeping if you don't have one. There is so much to the hobby that no one can put all this down on Yahoo Answers. Good luck.

Answer 2

It's quite possible the filter is the source of the smell and no, it's not normal for a tank to stink. I would suggest the next time you do a water change rinse out the biowheel in the waste water from your tank before you toss it out. then clean the filter out with fresh water and replce the filer media, carbon and the bag. That should remove the odor. If not then wait a week and replace the biowheel without cleaning the filter or replacing the media.

MM

Answer 3

What does it smell like? If it smells like sulfur or rotten eggs, it's the water conditioner you're using (some chemicals react when they dechlorinate the water, Amquel+ is nortorious for this and it will actually do damage to the fish if you use more than recommended). If it smells like a rotting body, something has died in your tank (or filter) and may be decomposing. If it smells like algae, that's sort of natural but you should keep an eye out for increased algae in your tank. If it just smells like a normal filter but stronger, it's probably just priming, good bacteria is increasing (good).