I recently added a small piece of driftwood to my water, and i also have a case of brown algae growing in the tank. My water smells now, but i cant tell what it smells like, its not a egg rotting smell, or dead fish smell, i have checked and all my fish and snails are alive and well. Should i be concerned about this, i have done about 7 water changes and i keep up with my weekly maintenence but the smell has not gone away. I have two filters running with the activated carbon in them. Any ideas?
Water smells, should i be concerned
- Thread starter Hagermanfd
- Start date
not sure about the smell, but I'm sure the brown algae aint good!
how long do you have your lights on for?
about 12hours / day is normally quite good i understand?
how long do you have your lights on for?
about 12hours / day is normally quite good i understand?
i know brown algae is from the diatom in new tanks from the glass, its not bad for the fish, its just unsightly from what i hear, lights are on for about 9 hours a day. just cant really pinpoint the smell, all my parameters are normal,
legendaryfrog
Tactical Refreshment Action
The smell will go away on its own. This is common in new tanks. The only thing you could do is extend the lighting period to about 12-14 hours.
a smell that is like the woods after a rainfall is good (earthy and moist). any kind of sour, rotting, cat-pee, or downright funky smell isn't so good. if it gets worse, take out the driftwood, rinse it off, and give it a few sniffs. i've had stinky driftwood before and when you get a bad piece it won't just go away on its own.
did you soak the driftwood? where did it come from? earthy smell(like dirt) is good..indicated bio-filters are working.
No i did not soak the driftwood, i had rinsed it off pretty good and put it in the tank, i did take it out and it does smell, i guess you can say earthy, like wet dirt or something, its not a rotting smell, and all my fish are accounted for, but when i did add the driftwood, the smell started. What do i do now???
well, if nothing is actually wrong, you do. . . . nothing. if you can't stand the smell, then get rid of the wood. otherwise, leave it in there.
Then take out the driftwood and clean it, brush it with a brillo pad or something (no soap or chem. of course) run some water on it, Then boil the newly cleaned wood. do a partial water change. then add the driftwood. Smell should go away.