Smelly tank

by **mzhantsche** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 7:25 pm

How do i cut down on the smell from my tank. After i feed them it get pretty stinky. New filter cartage in my filter. I'm using a 60 gal filter in a 20 gal tank. Is their any product i can buy to soak up odor.

by **tekneb** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 9:00 pm

What you are smelling is ammonia, either from overfeeding or the fact that your tank is considerably overstocked. You also said you put in a new filter cartridge, which worries me even further since most of the bacteria that would eat ammonia live in the cartridge. No amount of filtration or chemicals will help you on this one. You can do some serious water changes for now to try and keep the stench down, but eventually, you're gonna have to upgrade to a much larger tank, for both your nose and your fishes sake, lol.

by **yasherkoach** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 9:20 pm

I agree 100% with tekneb, a new cartridge means you threw away all the good bacteria of the old cartridge that would have maintgained your tank by feeding off the bad bacteria that was causing your odor (again like tekneb said, caused by overfeeding and too many fish)

upgrade to a 55 gallon tank; until your tank is established for a good two years, be very careful about replacing cartridges; always go 10 times the amount of the tank, so if the tank is 55 gallons, you should have at least 550 gph (gallons per hour) running through your filter (like on your 20 gallon, you should have at least a 200 gph filtration system); and cut down on the feeding

by **mzhantsche** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 4:59 pm

Cool thanks guys. Im thinking about trading the cichlids back. Ill cut back on how much im feeding them. Since im going to trade in my cichlids...what fish would go good with two bala sharks?

by **nicholas542** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 7:22 pm

Have you done any research on Bala Sharks. Those fish are jumpers, and schooling fish. They also grow to a length of 14"-16", and are in the bony fish/carp family. To properly care for those fish you will need a massive tank. They really shouldn't be sold in LFS's, aswell as many species of fish.

by **stingraysrule** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:26 pm

I have 8 fish tanks in my home and none of them smell.
Be careful you do not get food onto the sides of your tank, instead inside of it.
You are way overfeeding, and not doing enough water changes.

by **yasherkoach** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:50 pm

you can get 4 redtail sharks instead of the bala sharks...4 dwarf chain loaches...6 green tiger barbs

dwarf loaches will stay on the bottom given you have enough rock ledges for them to hide in...the sharks will hover about the mid level of the tank especially provided you give these enough foilage...and the green tiger barbs, in a school of 4 (to 6) will not bother the other fish, always playing amongst themselves

for a 20 gallon tank, this is about all you can do if you are shooting for a semi-aggressive tank...anymore than this, you are asking for serious trouble

one more thing, you best upgrade your filtration to at least 200 gph (gallons per hour), get the Marineland Penguin Bio-Wheel 200 for about $30.00 (online)

if you don't do what I suggested above, possibly you can come up with a near or better scenerio...tell us what you decide on, look forward to the end result

by **mzhantsche** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 10:38 pm

Yea my bala sharks are almost 4 inches. Now im thinking of trading in all of my fish except my pleco and bichir. But i have to wait cuz im treating the tank for mouth fungis. 1 of my Bala and 1 of my cichlids developed mouth fungus probably from fighting. But once the treatment is done im gona trade in.

I want a busy tank. Ive had tiger barbs before and loved them. I really like the way the clown loaches look. Would they work in a 20 gal.

As for the filter....i cant find any specs on my filter. Its a top Fin (i know most people hate top fin product, but its what i have to deal with right now) 60 gal filter. I cant find how many GPH it puts off. I figured i would be safe with a filter made for 60 gal in a 20 gal tank. Ive never used bio wheel before. Are they better thank than just straight cartage filters?

I think my big problem on the smell was over feeding them.

Thanks Yasher and everyone for helping me. Im new to this and making tons of mistakes. hahahaha Give me two more days to finish the fungi treatment and ill do the trade and let you know how the new fish are going.

by **nicholas542** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 11:15 pm

a good rule of thumb i've been reading is try to stay an inch of fish per gallon of tank. And bio-wheel filters are great if you're not going to use a canister. They produce a good haven for benificial bacteria.

by **nicholas542** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 11:18 pm

I found some specs on Top Fin power filters

Top Fin® Power Filters
Model Aquarium Size Flow Rate
Power Filter 10 Up to 10 gallons 80 GPH
Power Filter 20 Up to 20 gallons 100 GPH
Power Filter 30 Up to 30 gallons 150 GPH
Power Filter 40 Up to 40 gallons 200 GPH
Power Filter 60 Up to 60 gallons 300 GPH

Smelly tank

62 posts • Page 1 of 7

Smelly tank

Smelly tank

62 posts • Page 1 of 7