My New Tank Stinks

[RossW]

I just setup a 25g tank.

I used approx. 4 gallons of water change water from my 10g the rest of the water is fresh.  I also stole one piece of filter media from my 10g tank... and it stinks like I have never smelt a tank stink before.

The only other thing in it is a goldfish, and it has only been in there for approx. 6 hours.

Is this normal for a cycling tank and/or goldfish tank?

Thanx In Advance,
Ross

[Melody]

Is the tank used or new?  Aquariums should only have a damp smell.

Whatever it is, a good portion of carbon in the filter should control it.

[RossW]

Is the tank used or new?  Aquariums should only have a damp smell.

Whatever it is, a good portion of carbon in the filter should control it.

It is a used tank, but I thought I rinsed and wiped everything really well, including filter, media, etc.  I also have some carbon in there, let's hope.

It does seem better this AM.

[beowulf]

Can you equate the smell to something?  Earthy smell?  Rotting smell?  Might give us a better idea of the reason.  And as mentioned, carbon and maybe some small water changes should help.

[RossW]

It smells... not so much fishy but more of a rotten smell.

Is it wise to do a water change this early on in the cycle?

[sas]

It almost sounds as if you missed cleaning something? Did you take the filter all apart? could possibly be a decaying snail perhaps, wouldn't take much once you add fresh water and a heater? Just a thought? Tanks shouldn't smell if they are this new imo. Once cycled they start to take on their own individual smells depending on the makeup. hth

[RossW]

It almost sounds as if you missed cleaning something? Did you take the filter all apart? could possibly be a decaying snail perhaps, wouldn't take much once you add fresh water and a heater? Just a thought? Tanks shouldn't smell if they are this new imo. Once cycled they start to take on their own individual smells depending on the makeup. hth

I believe I took everything apart, even referred to a manual or two

I rinsed every part of the filter I could get at, and the gravel/sand is all new too.

Tonight I will take one more peak at the hood/cover which is the piece which I did the quickest clean of.  Maybe a snail had climbed up there and died!

[dan2x38]

I rinsed every part of the filter I could get at, and the gravel/sand is all new too.

Did you rinse the filter media in some tank water from a WC? Got to do that not to kill the good bactria in your filter.

[RossW]

Did you rinse the filter media in some tank water from a WC? Got to do that not to kill the good bactria in your filter.

I am not sure what a WC is, but I rinsed everything in a fresh well water.  I was more concerned about having a fresh/clean start than avoiding a cycle.  Having said that I did bring some water over as well as a piece of media in the hope of easing the cycle.

[KLKelly]

OMG dead snails really really smell!  I had bought a couple ramshorns a year ago and wasn't sure if they were still alive - someone recommended doing the smell test.  Disgusting.

I've set up six tanks and never had one smell bad - musty yes - not rotting though.  Very strange.   

Well water - I wonder if its your source water.  Sulpher - should have been gassed out by now wouldn't it?  I use well water though and it seems to only smell when the tap or laundry is running.  The trickle bins don't smell either.

Just a heads up - I had a cycle blip last month after rinsing my media in my well water.  I thought b/c it was free of chlorine and chloramine it would be fine.  Nope - got a blip.  Even nitrite showed up.

[dan2x38]

are using prime? if so how much did you add? it smells like sulfur (rotten eggs) like well water...

[RossW]

are using prime? if so how much did you add? it smells like sulfur (rotten eggs) like well water...

No prime here.

I should add that when I say well water, I take my well water after the water softener  In my case, my well water after the softener is odourless.  Without the softener I have high iron, but no noticable sulphur.

[babblefish1960]

Your tank should not stink, something is awry, and should not be ignored. This is nothing to turn you nose up at, further investigation is required. When you say you took old tank water from another tank, was this the yuck from the gravel you used? I would not use that necessarily, as this is the location in the tank for a lot of anaerobic bacteria and other bad things, perhaps you introduced something not so good from this idea. As for the scuzzy filter media, when you managed to find some, was it still wet and recently removed from active duty?  I ask as the filter media can not stay out of circulation too long or the bacteria you want gets killed off by bacteria you don't want.

As this is an urgent matter, I would investigate the filter thoroughly, as perhaps something is wrong in there, moreover, I would vacuum the gravel to remove any sulphates that have obviously developed, and hang the cycle, this is important. Definitely change water in this process and hopefully you can determine the source of evil before it ruins your whole day.

[Glouglou]

If it's more like rotten egg smell, it could be anaerobic bacteria. Not the good aerobic bacteria that transform amoniac NH4 in Nitrite NO2 and finally in nitrate NO3 (needed by plants)
(Anaerobic means "without oxygen" and aerobic means "With oxygen")
Anaerobic bacteria can turn your gravel black and they release harmful (to fish) gas which can make the tank smell a little like rotten eggs. If you think you have this problem. I would do repeated gravel vacuumings every single day. Vacuum the gravel extremely well while taking down almost 90% of the water. Repeat this as long as possible until the situation straightens out.

Preventing this problem is very easy as long as the gravel is vacuumed frequently on a regular maintenance basis.

If the smell isn't rotten 'eggish' then it could also be ammonia problems. This is worse than anaerobic bacteria and it can cause fish to perish fast. Testing your water may be the only way to know if ammonia is the problem.

Either way, I HIGHLY recommend to try changing 50% of the aquarium water just as a precaution.
A few 30% water changes thereafter should make the smell go away. Unless this is a un-cycled tank where ammonia will be a continuous problem for a while until the good bacteria get established.

[sas]

Did you rinse the filter media in some tank water from a WC? Got to do that not to kill the good bacteria in your filter.

           "WC " stands for water change . Still a newbie myself. When you do a water change rinse some of your filter material in the old tank water to keep good shstuff(lol) ie) good bacteria, then you don't have mini cycles in your tank. Not sure you should be rinsing in old tank water at this time though? hth

[PoisonJello]

new driftwood can cause a bad smell but you didn't say you had any driftwood in the tank
if you do have some driftwood in your tank take it out and smell it, if it stinks put it in a bucket of water for a couple weeks (change water every few days) the smell should go away also the same for the tank (change water every few days about 30%) till the smell is gone

[RossW]

So... everyone has succeeded in freaking me out a little and taking this VERY seriously.

First off.  The smell is no where near it was last evening.  In fact, last evening you could smell it in the room, now I have to stick my head in the open lid to smell it.  It is more of a wet musty smell, not the rotten smell I thought.  Maybe it was my two year old who I smelt last evening    Honestly, I now it was coming from the tank.  Anyways, it is now faint and not rotten.

I am not going to take any chances and are going to follow everyones great advice.

I just checked Ammonia and Nitrite and both are zero.  Nitrate will take a couple more.  After that I will vacumm the sand and water change.

I will keep everyone posted.

Thanx to all!

[RossW]

Nitrate looked like it might have been a little higher than last evening, but hard to say for sure.

I did a good vaccum of the sand, thus a 30% water change.  I have to admit the water in the bucket was fairly dirty.  I did rinse and bake the rocks and sand but maybe not as well as I thought.

Things are smelling much better and I will be keeping a close eye on it, and performing water changes over the new fews days.

Thanx again to everyone for their help and concern.

Ross

[dan2x38]

where did the rocks & sand come from?

[RossW]

where did the rocks & sand come from?

I bought the rock from a local sand pit.  They assured me they had never been anywhere near any kind of detergent or anything other than water.  The sand came from a pool store.  Both sand and rocks were soaked/rinsed for at least a day and then baked for an hour @ 400.