HagenKB

Smelly Water

PH level remains at a constant 7.6, regardless of what I add as in softener blocks, cycle, cycle-sludge, water changes, PH-Down.

Nitrite levels fluctuate between 0 ppm. and 1 ppm.
I have increased aeration, and did 1/3 water changes, but

PH level remains at a constant 7.6, regardless of what I add as in softener blocks, cycle, cycle-sludge, water changes, PH-Down.

Nitrite levels fluctuate between 0 ppm. and 1 ppm.
I have increased aeration, and did 1/3 water changes, but
There are a number of issues going on in your tank, and I think some basic bio-chemistry is required for you to understand what you are doing to your tank, and the possible results of all this radical treatment.

First, in my estimation, the tank is overcrowded. 40 fish, all two inches comes out to about 80 inches of fish. This is adequate for a mature, established tank, not a brand new one that is just undergoing the growth of beneficial bacteria and the maturation and changes in the water that occur, not in two weeks, but usually 6 - 8!

Forty fish guarantees, in my mind, that you are overfeeding. If you want to reduce the smell, stop feeding - for three days, then feed once a day as much as they can eat in TWO minutes, with NOTHING hitting the bottom. The smell is a result of nitrite/nitrate and is usually a sign of excess organics in the water.

The cloud is also a result of overfeeding and excessive organic material in the tank. A series of bacteria have grown rapidly to eat all the wastes both solubilized, suspended and in the gravel, they have gotten so plentiful that your eye sees the billions as a milky cloud. The biological activity of this extreme decay process is also creating the smell you smell and a lack of oxygen for all the other inhabitants.

Cycle will help the tank get rid of the incredible production of ammonia, and the fact that you are seeing nitrite already shows that it is really working. But the tank is so hot in organic material, it will fluctuate all over the place. To be blunt, the use of Cycle is probably why there have been no fish losses as of yet.

pH and its adjustment is not really all that wise in my mind while the tank is going through maturation. Once the "dust" has settled on the nitrogen cycle and the aquarium is able to remove all the ammonia and nitrite it produces, then you might be able to worry about the pH and try to change it. By adding a lot of chemicals, especially in rapid succession, you probably are causing strange things to happen in the tank, and are truly creating a chemical soup that may have unknown consequences later in the tank.

My best advice, stop feeding for three days, allow the bacterial populations in the water column to use up the organic pollutants in the water and then die back. That will begin to solve the smell problem. Continue to test for ammonia and nitrite, and track it. Add Cycle as recommended from now on, a double dose will never hurt, but the concentration of bacteria is very high, so there is not as much need to use entire bottles at a time.

Finally, - RELAX - calm down and let the tank establish its equilibrium. When you are ready to drop the hardness and pH, do it gradually. Find out what your water company reads for the water and consider mixing some distilled into the mix to drop the pH and decrease the buffers. If the fish are doing OK now, radical changes - even to their "ideal" conditions will harm them. Whatever changes you make, do them over the course of days or weeks, not in an hour, your fish will thank you by adjusting to their stable environment and do much better than if you radically change everything on a daily basis. In those cases, nothing settles and you will just be making more problems than you are solving.

Back To Results

Hagen

Smelly Water

PH level remains at a constant 7.6, regardless of what I add as in softener blocks, cycle, cycle-sludge, water changes, PH-Down. Nitrite levels fluctuate between 0 ppm. and 1 ppm.I have increased aeration, and did 1/3 water changes, but

PH level remains at a constant 7.6, regardless of what I add as in softener blocks, cycle, cycle-sludge, water changes, PH-Down. Nitrite levels fluctuate between 0 ppm. and 1 ppm.I have increased aeration, and did 1/3 water changes, but

PH level remains at a constant 7.6, regardless of what I add as in softener blocks, cycle, cycle-sludge, water changes, PH-Down.

Nitrite levels fluctuate between 0 ppm. and 1 ppm.
I have increased aeration, and did 1/3 water changes, but

PH level remains at a constant 7.6, regardless of what I add as in softener blocks, cycle, cycle-sludge, water changes, PH-Down.

Nitrite levels fluctuate between 0 ppm. and 1 ppm.
I have increased aeration, and did 1/3 water changes, but