Tank smells

[PaintballFan07]

HI, as i was cleaning my tank i was wandering y it smelt so bad even though i do 80% w/c's everyday? Does your tanks smell too? just curious

[PaintballFan07]

sry i posted this in the wrong section. I thought this was general discussions.

[Northwestcoastdisc]

my tank are not, maybe you should wipe all sides of glasses, bottom, etc then to do W/C .

hth

Duncan

[Wahter]

Is your tank barebottom? Have you rinsed the filter media in a bucket of water from the aquarium tank?

[wvt9527]

I have not tried this. But I have been told that you can wipe your tank with vinegar. Do not get any in the water as well. I hope this helps some but be careful

[Cosmo]

A healthy tank should not smell .. at least not bad as you suggest yours does. First guess would be your filter hasn't been cleaned in awhile, if you have gravel in the tank, then the second first guess would be that you haven't syphoned it sufficiently ... either way, rotting food will make a tank smell.

You should wipe down the insides of the tank regularly with a cleaning pad made for the purpose (not something from the grocery store - personally, I'd pass on the vinegar idea). If you have sponge filters, clean them in tank water in a bucket until they are clean.. you'd be amazed at the filth sponge filters can collect w/o looking dirty.. if you have a power or cannister filter, clean it often.

If the gravel or filters are dirty, all the WC's in the world won't keep the tank clean and the water quality where it needs to be. The end result will be, your tank will smell

hth
Jim

[Carol_Roberts]

Yes, open the filter and smell it first. Also you could be overfeeding. Hidden food and food disolved in the water stinks too.

[Anonapersona]

Check the lid and rim of the tank for spilled or splashed food. I find that the fish "hit" at the food so hard that it often gets stuck on the lid and rots. Also, I may spill some on the rim of the tank. Be sure to check the hinge of the top, that is a trouble spot.

Every so often I will remove the glass top and wipe it down with vinegar to remove hard water spots and to remove any stuck food. Vinegar is safe to use.

[PaintballFan07]

Thank you for the replies everyone. I have a BB tank n i do scrub the sides n bottom daily with a algae scraper. I clean the filters once a week but mayb i should change that 2 every other day. My tank doesnt stink unless u stick ur face right above the water in take a deep breath. Im picky n i was just curious y it stinks cuz i clean this sucka every day. I dont think it should stink.

[Anonapersona]

Hmm, I think maybe you are overly sensitive then? A fish tank will smell a little if you put your face down into it, more like plastic than like anything rotten though, IMO. And the planted tanks smell like clean dirt, woodsy smelling, like a lake.

Though I do know at least one person who had such a sensitive nose, he said he could tell if a woman was on her period just as she walked by. Ick.

[PaintballFan07]

Hmm, I think maybe you are overly sensitive then? A fish tank will smell a little if you put your face down into it, more like plastic than like anything rotten though, IMO. And the planted tanks smell like clean dirt, woodsy smelling, like a lake.

Though I do know at least one person who had such a sensitive nose, he said he could tell if a woman was on her period just as she walked by. Ick. Lol, i think im just over reacting with this tank smell thing. My room doesnt stink but i was just wandering y it would smell bad even though we clean it every day. I was just thinking it should smell a little more pleasant. But my tank smelled a little more than just plastic.

[Carol_Roberts]

I would not clean the filters more than once a week. ARe you feeding brineshrimp or beefheart?

[Wahter]

Are you one of the people who feed their fish fresh garlic???

Sometimes the local tap water here will smell odd (the water company swears they haven't done anything, but people will say on TV that it smells different and tastes different).

[PaintballFan07]

I would not clean the filters more than once a week. ARe you feeding brineshrimp or beefheart?
Yes Carol I do feed frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms.

[PaintballFan07]

Are you one of the people who feed their fish fresh garlic???

Sometimes the local tap water here will smell odd (the water company swears they haven't done anything, but people will say on TV that it smells different and tastes different). I do not feed them garlic and our local tap water does not smell or taste weird.

[PaintballFan07]

I think i may ave been over reacting. The tank really doesnt smell bad at all. Like someone said earlier it smells like plastic.