Do fish tanks smell....

[budrecki]

or is it like a litter box, if you keep it clean no one knows you have cats until they see them?

My tank(s) does not have a noticeable smell, but I have noticed at some fish stores you can smell "something" when you walk in the door. Not unpleasant old tank ammonia, but something watery? Has anyone noticed this before?

 

[YoFishboy]

When you get a lot of tanks in a store, you are gonna smell a little something...a healthy salt water tank should smell, well...salty. A healthy freshwater tank should have a sweet, earthy smell. Anything else, and your tank is telling you something (usually "please give me a water change...")

 

[Rbishop]

Dampness? Mildew? Sloppy handling of fish in and out of tanks? Careless minmum wage employees doing water changes? Ventilation inadequacies? I think most folks have a lot more respect for their home and tanks than the employees at some fish stores.

 

[budrecki]

One store I frequent has the smell when you walk in. It's very reputable, immaculately clean, I've never lost a fish purchased there, and I rarely see "floaters".

I was thinking it might have to do with the volume of tanks, think Petsmart x 4.

 

[fiske]

Moisture in the air, mold, fish food... one of the first petstores I made purchases from used alot of stress coat and now when I get a whiff of that medicine-like smell it makes me think of getting new fish during my early years. No tap water is 100% pure and evaporation releases different smells. Unless it smells fishy I wouldn't equate it with poor maintenance.

 

[joephys]

A fish tank should have a smell to it, but shouldn't stink. You shouldn't be able to smell it though unless you are right over it with the hood open. If it smells sour, or bad, then you have a problem. The fish store would probably have the smell all the time due to the large volume of water.

 

[mykidsmylife]

My tanks have the same scent as fresh turned dirt in my gardens or flower beds. Not really a bad smell...just a real earthy spring smell to me. Odd or not...I like it

 

[mduros]

As mykidsmylife described, occasionally I smell that scent in my tanks, I notice it when evaporation is high. And I think it may come from the aquarium plants. I also like it and find it pleasantly intoxicating like the smell of freshly cut grass or freshly watered gardens. However, some fish shops have an over-powering scent. Ammonia maybe? I always assume they have poor filtration and don't know what they are doing, so I walk right back out. But the good scent is a nice surprise.
Take care,
Mary.

 

[chefkeith]

My tanks smell like rain.

 

[DeputyChiefJR]

One of the best LFSs I know always smells real good, like a rainforest or nature overload or something because the place is small but has like 150 tanks there. One of the most reputable places I know. They'll really sell you only the right fish and I've seen them refuse to sell certain fish to someone who wouldn't house it in the right size tank.