Aquarium Smells! How to get rid of smell?

How is your algae control in the tank? Some algae smells awful, if you use an algae scrub brush you may have the smell coming from there.
 

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How is your algae control in the tank? Some algae smells awful, if you use an algae scrub brush you may have the smell coming from there.
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When I do a tank clean I clean the glass with a brush and I have an UV Sterilizer.
The smell is coming from the Filter. I am still cycling so I cannot change or clean the filter per the attached post. As soon as it cycles I will clean the filter, but is this normal. My current readings are in my original post above.

Cleaning/ Changing filter media | Freshwater Beginners 443322
 

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No need to change your filter media. A meshed bag with carbon in a high flow area will do it.
You can rinse your filter media to get the hunk out of it but rinse it in water change water and put it right back in. You’ll be just fine.
 
No need to change your filter media. A meshed bag with carbon in a high flow area will do it.
You can rinse your filter media to get the hunk out of it but rinse it in water change water and put it right back in. You’ll be just fine.
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Ok so it will be ok for me to rinse the filter while it is cycling in water from the tank when I do a water change. and put a mesh bag with carbon in say were the filter dumps back into the tank?
 

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I have double carbon in one bc I had tannins before. And bc smell is my biggest fear. As it’s in my bedroom lol
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You can only smell it when you are near it. It is in my living room; and I cannot smell it when I am sitting on my couch; but when I go to feed the fish or check the water I can smell it.
 
You can only smell it when you are near it. It is in my living room; and I cannot smell it when I am sitting on my couch; but when I go to feed the fish or check the water I can smell it.
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O yes me too. ESP if I use prime ever
 
Hi! This is my first post on this forum so I'll introduce myself. I am currently still in high school and live with my parents, so keep that in mind. I have a Blackmoor goldfish named SushI who I've had for around four years. I'll be honest and say I did get him from pet smart originally, although now I know better than to support them (I was young and didn't know any other options). This means he looks a little weird and has some weird deformities (almost a claw like thing on one of his front fins). I currently have him in a 25 gallon fluvial accent tank with a thin layer of sand for him to shift through, once I live on my own I will go bigger. I also have a few plastic plants and fake rocks, but he is very much clumsy and almost blind so I try to keep it as bare as possible. Now I've had the 25 gallon for a year and I've always had trouble with the smell. I do partial water changes regularly (every 2 weeks) and do a deeper clean monthly. When I first got the tank I asked the aquarium shop if they had filter cartridge refills but they told me that they did not have any but all I needed to do was rinse out the cartridge. I personally have tried searching for refills but since the tank is older I cannot find any. The smell the aquarium gives off is very terrible and I've tried a lot to stop it. My fish seems fine and acts normal but my parents are currently threatening to get rid of him if I do not fix the smell. Please help!
 
Doing water changes every week is recommended and probably will help. How much are you changing at a time? Gold fish have a big bioload.
 

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I typically take out half of the water. Yesterday I took out all the water and did a deep clean but if anything it smells even worse today! It doesn't ever bother me too much and I've grown sorta immune but my parents hate it.
 
I typically take out half of the water. Yesterday I took out all the water and did a deep clean but if anything it smells even worse today! It doesn't ever bother me too much and I've grown sorta immune but my parents hate it.
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A complete water changes is quite drastic. Any water changes will stress your fish. I don't ever do more than a 50% water change unless it's an emergency.

Cleaning you entire aquarium all at once is not a good idea. A balanced aquarium includes a strong colony of beneficial bacteria that keeps your tank cycled. If you do a "deep clean" of your aquarium you'll wipe out the bacteria colony and crash your cycle. Have you tested your water recently? What kind of test kit?

Overfeeding is a common cause of odor in a aquarium. Testing will confirm whether it's overfeeding or not. Your tank shouldn't have a strong smell no matter whether you have a new cartridge or not.

It's good advice to rinse the filter cartridge out rather than replace it, because the filter media contain most of the beneficial bacteria, which you'll be throwing out if you replace it. Don't rinse in tap water, use tank water such as during a water change.

Another common source of odor is muck collecting around the top rI'm of the tank.
 
Goldfish are notorious for having a huge bio load. I usually do a 40% WC every week, and 50%+ if my ammonia readings are high. If the tank smells bad, that is a negative sign. Probably your ammonia readings are sky high.

Get yourself an API Master Kit if you don't have one. They are more reliable than test strips, and will save you stress in the future.
 
Try adding carbon to your filter and cleaning around all of the rI'm of the tank... top bottom inside and out food splashes up on it n dries up and will start to smell
 
Everything I was going to say has already been said . Water changes should be weekly, not every two weeks. I was going to recommend adding some activated carbon to help remove the odor, but your filter cartridges have that. Goldfish are messy and have a big bio-load, but that's been covered.

Activated carbon has a limited life, so it may be too old to do any good. You may want to cut the floss off of your cartridge and stuff that into your filter then buy some fresh carbon and put a bio-bag full of carbon in your filter with the old floss and see if that helps.
 
If it is food collecting around the rim, you can buy a feeding ring which keeps the food confined. Give him 5 minutes to eat, then net and toss the rest.
 
Do you have a pic of the tank? Sometimes maybe you can see something that may be wonky. Like a decoration etc.
 
Thank you all for the replies! I’ve been sorta busy catching up on my school work with everything going on so I’m sorry to have replied late. I’ll attach a picture of the tank image.jpg
As you can see he’s quite a big boy because this is a 25 gallon. I’ll definitely get on cleaning his tank more often! Also do you have any recommendations on how to make cleaning easier because right now I hand siphon it out into buckets before dumping it out. I’m also thinking about adding another filter on because I’ve read that this filter is quite weak. Thank you again!
 
Check around the underside of the rim and hood. I have been around tanks that smelled like straight raw sewage because there was an accumulation of uneaten food and gunk rotting where you can't see it.
 
So my tank is about 2 weeks old with 2 halloween crabs and tons of brown diatoms I can’t find one of the crabs but it just smells disgusting should I dig around in the sand? about 5 days ago I noticed the crabs legs missing but no crab and I figured it was molting well I think it died cause my sisters even like “omg when I walk past ur room I want to vomit” please help
 

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Unfortunately tank needs to cycle first.... at 2 weeks it's in the middle of a cycle and is going to smell
 
Oh ok so should I just deal with it
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Im not sure if the halloween crabs can survive the cycling process. It might be better to net out their carcass if they died and then look up simple cycling methods. I usually just drop a tiny bit of fish food into the tank every few days.
 
My tank never smelled during cycling and I had a ton of diatoms as well. Find the crab, it must be the cause of it.
 
They’re likely dead. I’ve cycled two saltwater tanks with live rock and they were pretty smelly for the first week or so, due to die off from shipping. In my experience, they smell worse than freshwater during cycling. Can you find any bottled bacteria to speed the cycle along? If you have a test, check your ammonia. Also, adding carbon may help with the odor.
 
I’m using stability from seachem and I literally sifted the sand with a net and I cannot find the crab lol one is alive On the rock
 
Ya it’s 5.0 ppm
Sorry 0.50
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I would water change to try to get that down to at least 0.25ppm. Sounds like you should do some digging around to find the possible cause of the smell
 
I would water change to try to get that down to at least 0.25ppm. Sounds like you should do some digging around to find the possible cause of the smell
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I’ll search again but I could not find the crab lol and ok I’ll do a wc
 

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Can you get ahold of any bottled bacteria? If you have livestock, you could try dosing prime for protection.
Did you start with live or dry rock?
 
Can you get ahold of any bottled bacteria? If you have livestock, you could try dosing prime for protection.
Did you start with live or dry rock?
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Kind of live it was dry rock in an established tank for a short time
 
What’s the best way to get rid of aquarium smell it’s not a gross fishy smell more like a wet forest I personally like it to me it smells like healthy eco system but have a roommate that’s not digging it is there a way to get rid of that smell right away I hoping without me having to totally clean everything as I worry about loss of BB any options are welcome thanks
 
Do you have a de humidifier? That will probably solve the problem. Also if you don't have on a lid will do wonders.
 
It is difficult removing the fish smell. This is generally just how aquariums smell.
 
Most tanks really shouldn't smell. Are your tanks cleaned regularly? Lower bioload? Maybe check your filter and make sure that doesn't smell.
 
I agree with e_watson09 it shouldn't smell, do you regularly clean out the sponges in your filter, maybe a fish passed and got stuck in one of the sponges and has been stinking.
 
What your describing seems like normal aquarium smell, though I never heard of it filling place so people can smell it in the room. I have 3 tanks in one room and there is no smell. I can only smell mine if I lift the lid and take a sniff. It's as you describe, the smell of a healthy ecosystem. Kinda like forest stream. Don't start over cleaning (especially your filter). Your instincts were correct.

I would try what was suggested by others: dehumidifier and use a lid if you don't already have one.
It is difficult removing the fish smell. This is generally just how aquariums smell.
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I disagree. Your tank should not smell like fish. There should not be a fish smell.
 
Are you sure it's the aquarium? Tanks might have a slight smell but it shouldn't fill a room. Smell is due to dead fish or plants, water impurities, dirty water, dirt sediments, mold, even some algaes can cause smell. However, as I said before, not to the point of filling a room. What can fill a room, is houseplants, dirt or mold. Check for those first. If it is the tank you'll want to invest in a glass lid. It'll keep all those stenches out.

I live in Colorado Springs where it's very dry, 25% humidity. My pet room is 35-40% from the tanks but at one point, it was 80%. Drywall bubbled up, the room started smelling like a mixture of stale and forest (a sign of mold). I suggest you check for mold or dirt buildup and sediments if you don't have houseplants. Good luck :)
 
I would suggest a water change(including vac under decor) and rinsing the media in tank water.
 

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I have 10 tanks running currently

no fish tank smell


do you change the carbon filter out? I specifically do it for mine to prevent any smells

but a fish tank is an eco-system, it should be like lake water, and not foul smelling
 
Hi,
The earthy/mossy/forest smell is normal, and the sign of a healthy aquarium.

But it shouldn't over-power a room. As others have indicated, up close, yes you can smell it, but it shouldn't be distinctive within the room.

Carbon in the filter can help remove smells, as can lids/hoods.

Increasing fresh air flow would help a little too.

An (albeit expensive) option would be an air purifier (as distinct from a dehumidifier), cheaper options would be scented candles or other room deodorisers.

NB, I would also check for any mildew around. Mildew smells similar, but tends to permeate more.
 
the aquarium smell is pretty much non existent for me. It only really has a smell if I’m rinsing out the sponge from my filter when it gets dirty; then I just turn on my wax melter and it pretty much covers up the smell.
 
Everyone has a different smeller. Some people are more sensitive to smells, even if others don't notice, or they notice, but don't find it offensive.

There was a similar thread here recently where someone wanted to know how to stop the overwhelming smell coming from her tank. Turns out nobody else could smell it.

Maybe your roomate is very sensitive to smells.

I think most dedicated fish hobbyists would get a new roomate. (attempt at humor)
 
Everyone has a different smeller. Some people are more sensitive to smells, even if others don't notice, or they notice, but don't find it offensive.

There was a similar thread here recently where someone wanted to know how to stop the overwhelming smell coming from her tank. Turns out nobody else could smell it.

Maybe your roomate is very sensitive to smells.

I think most dedicated fish hobbyists would get a new roomate. (attempt at humor)
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Clearly she's not compatible with her tank mates :p:p:p
 
My hearing and vision aren't what they once were, but I can still smell pretty good. I have seven tanks in my home office / fish room / library, and I never notice any smell.
 
I dont notice the smell, I have a lid on mine, I have to lean in to it and smell it to catch a whiff. Smells wet and earthy, not gross.
 
Yea it’s not a gross smell i like the smell myself it smells like a wet forest and there definitely not a dead fish in there it only has the two convicts and there babies but some people don’t dig the smell of wet forest to me it smells like a healthy eco system and yes it gets water changes 20%twice a week cause of the babies and I just cleaned the filter
Yes wet and earthy and I also have to lean in to smell it some people got more sensitive noses I guess either way I took everything out cleaned it super good and seems to have helped
 
You either have a bit of ammonia in your tank or a lot of detritus that's why its smelling the whole room. Water change is the best way to keep clean water and also check your filter maybe that's a problem if its running for too long without taking out the dirt it will give off smell. There are certain products in the market to make it smell fresh but the best way is to change water every week and adding activated carbon in your filter and tons of plants and floating plants.
 

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