jack11

My tank water is starting to smell, despite consistent water changes, is there anything apart from partial water changes that i can do??

Jack.

bhcaaron

Give your fish Beano!?

Sorry I know this doesn't help, but, I couldn't help myself.

Do you have any decaing matter inside? Plant/food/animal?
Do you have substrate? Do you vacuum?
Do you have sand? Do you have sand sifters or do you move it?
Was it a used tank? Did you sterilize it prior?
Did you place any used ornaments in the tank that might have had something icky stuck on it?

These are the only ideas I can come up with. I hope this makes up for my opening joke.

jack11

thanks, i think it may have something to do with the food im using at the moment, ill change foods and see if it improves.

fishgirl

You may be over feeding. Remember a fishs stomach is only about the size of one of it eyeballs.

Isabella

Even if you perform regular water changes, but do not deep-vaccum the gravel, your water may smell. That's because there are fish wastes accumulating under the gravel, which is why you should always vaccum the gravel as you're doing your water changes. Another reason for smelly water could be neglected and slimy filter. The slime in filter can smell too.

bhcaaron

Is it ok to vacuum more than once a week, even daily? I know that vacuuming takes away bacteria, same as water changes and filter maintenance. So, as an example, what if follow the following schedule?

Monday = vacuum
Tuesday = filter maintenance
Wednesday = vacuum
Thursday = dinner and a movie
Friday = vacuum
Saturday = water change
Sunday = too lazy to do anything

Isabella

Unless you have a very overstocked tank with lots of fish wastes being produced daily and your filter getting clogged up with slime on a daily basis, I don't see a need to changer your water and vacuum your gravel 2-3 times a week! I mean, maybe you want to perform two 15% water changes twice a week instead of one 30% water change once a week, which is fine. You can do that. But do you really need to deep-vaccuum your gravel twice a week and clean your filter twice a week? You can perform 2 water changes twice a week and deep-vacuum the gravel once a week. As for cleaning the filter, you can clean it once a week or even once every 2 weeks.

This is how I clean my tanks:

30 gallon tank (you can see the fish list in my signature): 40-50% water change once a week with deep-vac of the gravel; filter cleaning: once every 2 weeks. I should probably be performing two 20-25% water changes twice a week instead of one 40-50% water change once a week. Unfortunately, I don't have the time for that during the week. I usually do my water changes on Fri. or Sat.

75 gallon tank (you can see the fish list in my signature): 30% water changes once a week. Gravel vacs: only hovering my hose over the gravel and poking it only on the surface as my gravel is filled with plant roots, so I can't really stir it too deeply. I do, however, poke the gravel with my plant maintenance tweezers to aerate the substrate, with every water change. In planted tanks, plant roots actually consume fish wastes trapped within the gravel. Fish wastes are a great natural plant fertilizer.

It's best, as you're suggesting, to clean the filter and then deep-vacuum the gravel on two separate occasions. Example: deep-vacuum the gravel today, and clean the filter a week from now. I think cleaning the filter one day after vacuuming the gravel is too soon. Do it at least 1/2 or 1 full week later.

bhcaaron

I wouldn't be changing water every other day. But, that would have made sense if I had mentioned that there are vacuums that can filter out gravel and water from detritus. The cleaned water and sand/gravel go back into the tank and the detritus into a separate container. So, I would not be doing w/c every time I vacuumed, but, you are right that I probably should not do a filter maintenance right after a vacuum... sooo... with this new info, does this look better?

Monday = vacuum
Tuesday = board game
Wednesday = diner and movie
Thursday = vacuum
Friday = drink night
Saturday = water change and filter maintenance
Sunday = too lazy to do anything

MrWaxhead

If you mess up your substrate ie vac it, you will tweek / kill / stress out the beneficial bacteria in your substrate and cause little ammonia spikes (algae food spikes) every time you do. Its a proven fact over and over again if you don't do a Large water change after doing a substrate mashing you will get algae outbreaks. I don't know if the same applies in salty land where you are going, but in fresh water land, if you mess up the gravel you better do a water change or you will get algae as a result.

I personally don't vac my substrate at all as my plants uptake my fishes waste very fast. But if I do a major plant move or move scape around in my tank that upsets the substrate, I do a 50% water change (I try to touch my substrate as little as possible and let my snails and cleaners do my substrate work). If I change the water after mashing my substrate I don't have algae, but if I don't do the waterchange ater its 100% of the time, I will get algae.

Granted in a non or lightly planted tank substrate cleaning are needed, I am not saying don't clean your substrate, as there are cases (most cases) were its needed. I am saying though don't do it unless you are going to do a water change right after it.

I think if your going to be in there every couple days sucking your substrate and putting in new water, your going for one, stress you fish, and for two, have a tank full of tap water and not healthy bacteria filled tank water. (again not saying not to do routine changes as they are very needed, just saying to much is just as bad).

I strongly think a schedule like the one you posted will be detrimental in the end, you will have stressed fish and tons of algae.

bhcaaron

Gotcha! Filter maintenance mid week, w/c & vacuum weekend. CHECK!

L a r r y

Tell that to my oscars )

fishgirl

I have to keep telling my finny pigs (Platys) that every time I even look their way they act like they haven't eaten in a month of sundays.

TheEssigs

Sometimes... in my experience, if after doing a water change and dosent help, changing out the filter carbon will eliminate residual odors...

jack11

\it was during cycling so t was probably the food that i was "feeding" my tank decaying, thanks everyone.

bhcaaron

Cycling or curing? If you started the cycle by first curing the rock, you will notice a foul smell during the die off period of the curing process. Later it gets better. It turns into a nice, salty, ocean smell.

jack11

Hmm itys a freshwater tank and during cycling, it smelt like the pellets i was feeding my tank too.

Jack

bhcaaron

Oops! Sorry, I forgot this was a freshie thread.

jack11

Haha no problem

jack