Tank Smells Very Bad

Hey, so whenever I walk into my room with the aquarium, I notice a very strong fish smell that is not pleasant, but I don’t know why it’s occurring. My ammonia is 0, nitrites are 0, and nitrates are 5-10. I tested with the apI liquid test kit, and my tank has been cycled for about 2 years. The only thing that has changed is that I have added a fluval fx4, but I have not removed any of my old filters. I did have a very very small minI cycle after adding the filter, but that sorted out within 2 days. Could the new filter be causing a bacterial bloom, making my tank room smell? My room smells a lot worse than my tank also.

 

Are you using carbon in any of your filters?

 

Are you using carbon in any of your filters?

Yes, the fluval came with a carbon pad. But before this I’ve never used carbon

 

Yeah I’m not a carbon user either. But it does remove smell. So you may want to add some to those other filters and see if that get rid of the smell. How big is the tank?

 

If you are wary of carbon in the filter, you could try these....



I use them all the time, you have to replace every 2 months and they keep any whiffs at bay.......the fish love playing fin&tail ball with them too or just sitting on them

 

I'm wondering why you would have gotten an ammonia reading if you added a filter and kept your old filters in place?

Your room smells more than the tank? When you put your nose to the tank, the odor isn't as strong? Did you look around to see if a fish went accidentally airborn when you were messing with the equipment?

I would keep the old filters in place for two weeks or so and/or add the media from the old filters into the new one. But still monitor closely for any spikes.

 

I'm wondering why you would have gotten an ammonia reading if you added a filter and kept your old filters in place?

Your room smells more than the tank? When you put your nose to the tank, the odor isn't as strong? Did you look around to see if a fish went accidentally airborn when you were messing with the equipment?

I would keep the old filters in place for two weeks or so and/or add the media from the old filters into the new one. But still monitor closely for any spikes.

I had two HOB filters; and I removed one

 

I had two HOB filters; and I removed one

Next time, add the media from the filter you remove to the new filter. You shouldn't lose any BB that way.