My fish tank stinks up my house :-( HELP

MOST of the NEW people that buy HOB are going to buy Aqueaons and other cheaper varieties NOT AC or penguins.

"Weekly water changes are crucial to maintaining a healthy tank" false. Not true at all. PROPER filtration is crucial

On these other Cheaper varieties you have Carbon (AC) which has a lifetime of what 3 weeks MAYBE? Then you have filter floss afterwards which are very very thin (again remember what I said CHEAPER Varieties)

I might do a 50% once a MONTH, I have a dirted, planted tank. I run 2 (2) Cascade 1000 on a 75g, I cram my chambers FULL of media along with ceramic rings, Bio Pad, Filter floss, Polishing pads and Seacheam Purigen.
The ONLY reason I do 50% once a month is to remove EXCESS nutrients from the water column, other than that my water stays crystal clear and odor free !!
 
jasonG75 said:
MOST of the NEW people that buy HOB are going to buy Aqueaons and other cheaper varieties NOT AC or penguins.

Interesting assumption.

"Weekly water changes are crucial to maintaining a healthy tank" false. Not true at all. PROPER filtration is crucial

All other things being equal, the more water you change the better. Many professional breeders of Discus use only a simple sponge filter in the tanks they raise fry in, because they change more than 100% of the water daily to maximize growth. No type of filtration can equal this level of water change for growth rate of fry.

On these other Cheaper varieties you have Carbon (AC) which has a lifetime of what 3 weeks MAYBE? Then you have filter floss afterwards which are very very thin (again remember what I said CHEAPER Varieties)

I might do a 50% once a MONTH, I have a dirted, planted tank. I run 2 (2) Cascade 1000 on a 75g, I cram my chambers FULL of media along with ceramic rings, Bio Pad, Filter floss, Polishing pads and Seacheam Purigen.
The ONLY reason I do 50% once a month is to remove EXCESS nutrients from the water column, other than that my water stays crystal clear and odor free !!
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This works for you which is well and good. But if you were to say triple the bioload in your tank, would your regimen produce satisfactory results? Changing water can make the amount of filtration moot. Who would consider a 29 gal tank filtered by a Penguin 330 with a 14" Black Ghost Knife, a 16" Fire Eel, a pair of continuously breeding Rainbow Cichlids, about a dozen asst Corys and a pair of large Bushynose Plecos both of which also spawned from time to time to be a stable system? Well, I can tell you from first hand experience that such a system can be stable if you change 1/3 of the tank 3 times a week. Miss a change and the breeding stops. Miss two and from the look of the fish you won't need to worry if you miss a third. Both water changes and filtration are important, but to determine which is crucial ask yourself a simple question. Which system of a given size can support a heavier bioload for a longer period? A system with great filtration but no water changes, or a system with no filtration and heavy water changes?
 
SubRosa said:


But if you were to say triple the bioload in your tank, would your regimen produce satisfactory results? Which system of a given size can support a heavier bioload for a longer period? A system with great filtration but no water changes, or a system with no filtration and heavy water changes?
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I knew that would be the next question. My bioload

4 Adult Angels
15 Rummynose
15 Cardials
4 Kuhli loaches
6 Peppered Cories
1 BN
2 BubbleBee Catfish
Several Amano Shrimp (almost no bioload but I have to list them)
Bamboo Shrimp
6 Ottos
6 Nerites

lol probably 1000 MTS
 
The OP didn't mention any live plants, let alone a heavily planted tank. Nitrates will accumulate quickly and can only be removed by weekly water changes in their case. Not to mention mineral build-up which can occur much more quickly than one may think.

Small, weekly water changes are less of a shock to the system and much healthier than one larger water change once a month to remove nitrates and total dissolved solids.

Not to mention that tanks with higher nitrates often have a lower pH. If this is different than your tap water's pH, that large once-monthly water change is even more of a shock to the entire tank.

As SubRosa mentioned, if this works for you, fine. But please take situations into account. "Crystal clear" and "odor free" doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.
 
kcartwright856 said:
The OP didn't mention any live plants, let alone a heavily planted tank.
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The OP didn't mention AquaClear filters either but you brought it up as an "Example". All I was doing was giving the OP an "Example" of how having other than less expensive equipment betters the water quality. The numbers for the Ex70 meet filtration requirements, but how is the flow in the unit? Also the OP mentioned it was a month old, I seriously doubt a good cycle method was used along with "10 fish" that we dont have details on.
 
jasonG75 said:
The OP didn't mention AquaClear filters either but you brought it up as an "Example". All I was doing was giving the OP an "Example" of how having other than less expensive equipment betters the water quality. The numbers for the Ex70 meet filtration requirements, but how is the flow in the unit? Also the OP mentioned it was a month old, I seriously doubt a good cycle method was used along with "10 fish" that we dont have details on.
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I was responding to you when I mentioned the AC filters, which is why I quoted you. If the OP wishes to take that into account, excellent.

Again, in the OP's current situation, a filter upgrade will not lessen the need for small, weekly water changes to maintain a healthy tank. Based on the knowledge we have now, it isn't likely that the solution is simply "more filtration".
 
To the OP, though, we really need to know exactly what fish (and crab, apparently) you have, as well as how you cycled your tank, if at all, to really help with your situation.

If you have access to a test kit, we need that information as well. If you don't have a test kit, go out and get an API liquid freshwater master test kit. Strips are often inaccurate, and liquids are a much better buy.
 
kcartwright856 said:
To the OP, though, we really need to know exactly what fish (and crab, apparently) you have, as well as how you cycled your tank, if at all, to really help with your situation.

If you have access to a test kit, we need that information as well. If you don't have a test kit, go out and get an API liquid freshwater master test kit. Strips are often inaccurate, and liquids are a much better buy.
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Ment to mention this in the previous post, I am sure this is a crap that requires some air. We all in the beginning make that mistake. lol
Liquid test kits are IDEAL !!!
 
As for the OPs issue, I would think it's a cycle. Most certainly something seems off a bit.

As for the other issue someone started, if one goes by the 1" per gallon rule, my tank is maxed out. I do water changes once a month and wouldn't think twice about grabbing a glass of water from the tank and drinking it. That said, I am using a larger than needed canister filter and the tank is fairly heavily planted. And my fish are not "messy". Between the filtration and the plants, my tank stays crystal clear with only the usual "earthy" smell. So, I disagree with that whole "once a week" (or more) thing.

Come to think of it, I may want to change my signature below. That's 3 years old. lol
 
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