my fish tank really stinks. It like 1/2 way through its cycleing and it has fish in it so i change about 40% of the water daily to protect them from high levels. Is there anything i can do about the smell my bedroom smells disgusting!
Stink
- Thread starter friendorfoe
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Squeeze a smelly pair of socks in the water. You should see a noticeable improvement in a couple of days.
The cure for the smell of a cycling tank (and yes, it sure does stink) is to finish the cycle. I'm not being sarcastic, that's just the only thing that's ever made it disappear IME. I wouldn't squeeze socks into the tank, that may add bacteria, but they're not the same kind that you're culturing in your filter media.
You can try filtering through activated carbon to reduce the smell, and keep up the water changes. Rest assured, it will smell better as soon as they cycle finishes.
You can try filtering through activated carbon to reduce the smell, and keep up the water changes. Rest assured, it will smell better as soon as they cycle finishes.
I don't believe that I could add anything to Blinky's advice, but I wanted to emphasize that what she said is what you can expect to see. Sound advice.
Aqualung said:
Sure Greenhorn.... Whatever you say!!
Back to the task at hand. Define "STINK"!!
I happen to think that "Roses really smell like poo-poo" but some people find their smell delightful. So let's narrow it down shall we.
Does it smell like;
A: Ammonia
B: Sewer (Methane)
C: Potting Soil (Dirt)
If you're expecting your tank to smell like gardenia or sandalwood you're in for a shock. A cycled tank should smell like C: above, with a little fishy smell thrown in. I've kept tanks for almost 30 years and I know a little something about balanced aquariums.
A: Means that you are short on Aerobic Bacteria. (Will get better with more aeration and time.)
B: Means you are heavy on Anaerobic Bacteria. (By this time your fish should be dead anyway. Just adding to the smell at this point.)
You need a balance of both strains of bacteria. The only way to have a neutral smelling aquarium is to change your water very often. Whether it needs it or not. Which I might add defeats the objective of creating a balanced microbiological cycle.
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