Funny Smell From Tank

R

rosstxttpo

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Ross TxT-TPO
Hey guys,

We have just bought a new 4 foot tank for our axolotl and it is currently in its second week of cycling.

The problem is, we have noticed there is a funny smell coming from the water - its hard to describe but Id say it was almost citrusy.

The tank went cloudy after a few days but its now cleared up - our only problem is the smell. We tested the PH of the tank and everything is fine.

We want to get this sorted asap so he can move in next week.

Any suggestions?

x
 
russell said:
30% water change with r/o water or declorinated water should solve it
Click to expand...

We did an 80%-90% water change because we had added a formula that came with the tank called EasyBalance (to help the water balance during cycling).

We thought this had caused the smell as we had never used it before so thought we'd start again and took out as much water as we could.

The smell isnt as strong as it was but its still there.
 
I seem to remember when i first started setting up the tank after a period if time it did start to pong, I suspect now its because various bacteria are flourishing and competing with each other. I ended up adding a charcoal filter to my filter and as if by magic it went , I then coninued to do the 20-30% water changes. You should not need to add anything to the water other than the one that removes chlorine.
Apart from the ph tester you'll need the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate kits so you can test all these too.
I am about to start a new tank for my two, so will be doing the cycling thing too.
All the best.
 
bellabelloo said:
I seem to remember when i first started setting up the tank after a period if time it did start to pong, I suspect now its because various bacteria are flourishing and competing with each other. I ended up adding a charcoal filter to my filter and as if by magic it went , I then coninued to do the 20-30% water changes. You should not need to add anything to the water other than the one that removes chlorine.
Apart from the ph tester you'll need the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate kits so you can test all these too.
I am about to start a new tank for my two, so will be doing the cycling thing too.
All the best.
Click to expand...

OK, this is going to be a stupid question but what exactly is a charcoal filter? Why is it different from a normal filter? What does it do? Is it just used to remove the smell or does it actually do something else?

We also have ammonia etc kit and everything is fine - its just the smell. Is it going to harmful to our axolotl?
 
Activated carbon (charcoal) is like a sponge it soaks up all manner of pollutants, and clears the water of most things.
 
russell said:
Activated carbon (charcoal) is like a sponge it soaks up all manner of pollutants, and clears the water of most things.
Click to expand...

Does it just sit in the tank? Or is it used instead of the water filter? Is it a permanent addition?

Is the smell dangerous to an axolotl if all the other levels are fine?
 
rosstxttpo said:
Does it just sit in the tank? Or is it used instead of the water filter? Is it a permanent addition?

Is the smell dangerous to an axolotl if all the other levels are fine?
Click to expand...

Basicaly its like a black sponge that goes inside your filter - what filter have you got... i will post up a recomendation based on what you have!!!!

If your levels are fine then it may well just be ok for your axys - my first axy lived through 2 ammonia spikes!!!
 
russell said:
Basicaly its like a black sponge that goes inside your filter - what filter have you got... i will post up a recomendation based on what you have!!!!

If your levels are fine then it may well just be ok for your axys - my first axy lived through 2 ammonia spikes!!!
Click to expand...

Cheers mate, its a Fluval 3. Do most shops stock them? Are they expensive (not that I can put a price on my axolotl's live)?

Again, stupid question but how can you tell if its safe to use the tank if all the levels are fine?

Cheers,

Ross
 
Hi there, Most pet shops/aquarium shops sell them.I have a fluval filter ( posiibly 3) and the 'pads are very thin..mine fits between the lat=yers of filter material. , if you can't find one to fit that size get one for the fluval 2, I have seen similar which I will buy when and if I need them as they are cheaper and will cut down to size.
 
This MIGHT be another problem butttttttttt...

The Fluval 3 has a built in device that goes down when the filter needs cleaned. I noticed that the filter wasnt firing out the water as powerfully as it normally does and noticed the device which indicates that the filter needs cleans was down meaning it needed cleaned.

So I took out the filter and it was really dirty and the funny smell was REALLY strong in the filter.

I cleaned it with water and put it back it - hey presto, the filter is back to its normal power and the smell has almost disappeared.

But, where did the muck come from to dirty the filter??? We are still cycling so the axolotl isnt in making a mess. Could it have come from the sand?

Is it still worth getting a charcoal filter?

Ross
 
It could have been from the sand, especially if you hadn't rinsed it very well, and there was bacteria muck growing (which happens when you're cycling). I clean my filters about every 2 weeks.

I've found that not using charcoal is better, as you can better judge when your tank is 'off' when you're not using carbon to mask the smell.
 
I spoke to soon...the smell is back :-(
 
Is the smell worse with the water leaving the filter or with the water in the tank. An earlier post mentioned that the filter was running slow. If the flow is slow enough the filter could be running partly anerobic and the smell could then be hydrogen silfide which I have heard described ad rotten eggs mixed with citrus. Just a thought.
 
Hey guys,

We have just done another test and the nitrite is high! Could this be causing the smell?

We have read that it could take 4-6 weeks to go down to a normal level?

Any advice now?
 
Nitrate is the second step in the nitrogen cycle. Nitrie is stage 2 of the tank cycling process. Ammonia => Nitrite => Nitrate. Each will spike briefly during the cycling process and hsould drop as the appropriate bacteria colonize the tank. Keep doing the water changes, I like 20% weekly during this time, and you will be fine.
 
So how long should we be cycling for?

Do you think the smell has anything to do with the high level of each? Will the smell go away once the tank has been cycled?

Was I right to clean out the filter as it was cogged up and not being as powerful as it normally is?

Cheers guys!
 
If the filter is clogged and there isn't enough oxygen getting into the filter then sections of the bacterially seeding portions of the filter can die off. This can either disrupt the cycling process of the tank preventing the conversion of nitrite to nitrate or actually reverse (in which case where different bacteria convert nitrate back to nitrite).

Changing the filter was the correct move. The odor may or may not go away once the tank is cycled. If you have live plants/algae in your tank they will "leak" a group of chemicals called terpenoids which will over time color the tank yellow. Carbon and water changes remove this product.

If anyone is interested in all of these processes I heartily recommend Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diana Walstad.

Ed
 
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We dont have any live plants in the tank - we found that this seemed to cause fungus! Whether it was something that came in with the plants, I dont know. But yeah, any time we had live plants in the tank, our axolotl got fungus!

My main concern is if the odor is linked to something harmful to the axolotl? When all the reading even out and within a safe range, is it then safe to put the axolotl in?

Cheers
 
If the filter is running anaerobic and that's the reason for the funny smell, then - yes, it may be harmful (some kind of fermentation gas). If that is not the reason, then it's hard to say whether or not.

As for cleaning the filter: In my opinion a filter should not be cleaned more often then necessary (and necessary means that almost no water is cycling and there may be anearobic processes going on). With every cleaning you flush away some "good" bacterias and they have to start over in colonizing your filtration material. And that means your tank can get another nitrite-peak because there are not enough nitrite-consuming bacterias left. So don't clean the filter too thoroughly (just rinse it in some of the water from your tank).

A high filter output does not mean that there is more water cleaned (at least not in a biological way). Rushing water through a filter gives them bacterias not enough time to "eat" the things you want the water cleaned of. It is just like someone throwing some food by you - you also won't have the time to eat it. ;)

I never had a problem with fungus and living plants. Plants do consume a lot of things you don't want to have in your tank, for instance nitrate and phosphate. So the less plants you have, the more often you will have to change some of the water in the tank to keep these chemicals at a tolerable level.

Daniel
 
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