Hi,
I have a 10gal tank. Perams are as follows...
Nirate = 38
nitrite = 0.5
Hardness = 120
Buffering = 120
PH = 7.4

I did a water change yesterday, about 40%...but today the water is still stinky. It almost smells like urine to me. It didn't use to smell like this. I guess i have only noticed it over the past couple days...Any ideas on why and how I can fix this?

Thanks!
Emily

Do you know what the ammonia level is? Also do you have any algae growing?
What type of water conditioner do you use?

Often algae or high nitrates can cause this smell.

How are the fish acting?

Also, if you have fed fresh vegetables to them in the last week, this could be the source of the smell as well. I have a snail tank that Smells soooooo bad right now cause I fed them some collard greens tonight........ Yuck!

But, since you have measurable nitrItes in your water, more investigation is needed in case there are underlying problems. Answer lauries questions above and also these:

What sized tank and what is the name and model of filter you are using?

What are the results for ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte from the tapwater before adding it to the tank?

How many inches of gravel are you using and do you gravel vacuum it regularly?


Post back soon and we'll se if we can find the source of the smell for you.


(I hope you don't mind me throwing those extra questions in there, Laurie.)

Paul

Sorry, I forgot to give the ammonia level earlier; it looks like 0 right now. It has been like that for the past two weeks which is when I started testing the water on a regular basis.
There is a small amount of green algae on the back wall of the tank...looks like little green circles, but not a lot of it.
I use AquaSafe water conditioner.
The NitrAte level still looks about 38, looks like NitrIte is 0.5 The test kit I have says that up to 40 on the NitrAte is safe, and up to 0.5 on the NitrIte is save...is that right? I have the test strip tests.
I don't even have 1 inch of gravel. I only have gravel in two corners; the rest of the tank is bare bottom.
It is a 10gal tank, and I do have a snail but I didn't feed him anything...I thought he would just eat stuff in the tank? I do feet the fish fresh peas maybe 3 times a week, the rest of the time I feed ProGold.
I did recently put a piece of drift wood in the tank. I boiled it for about 10min before adding to the tank.
I don't know the name of the filter model. I have tried to look, but the only wording on it doesn’t have anything like a model type. It came with the tank which my ex-bfriend gave me, and put together for me. When doing the water change yesterday I turned the filter off to clean off the pad, it was SOOOOOOO disgusting. I wanted to put on a new pad but I heard that you should only change out the cole not the pad because it had bio bugs in it that are good for the tank?
The fish themselves are acting just fine. Happy to see me and love to eat as usual. But the snail on the other hand (Buster) isn't acting normal...he is usually moving around all over the tank, I don't usually ever see him in the same spot for more that a couple minutes at a time. But over the past 3 days he has been very lethargic, moving some but not much. I thought he was dead because he was all up in his shell and not moving for a few hours, then when I woke up the next morning (yesterday) he was in a new spot. Today he has moved some, but not like usual.
About my 10gal tank, I know that you are supposed to have 10gal per fish...I found this out AFTER I got the tank set up and added the fish. I have three Bubble Eye fish. From bubble to tail fin they are about 3 and 1/2 inches long. The body alone is only about 2 inches long. Right now they fit fine in the tank and have plenty of room. But I know I need to at LEAST get a 30gal tank or larger as soon as possible. Tanks are EXPENSIVE! I am saving to get a larger tank, hopefully with in the next 3 months. Because the tank is only a 10 gal with three fish, I use a turkey baster to suck out the poop I can see, I do this every day...sometimes twice a day. This is why I have mostly a barebottom tank; I can see the poop a lot easier and get a lot more of it out. Also, I do a 35 to 45 percent water change every 6 to 7 days.
Tap water Perams:
NitrAte - 10
NitrIte - 0
Ammonia - 0

I hope I have answered all the questions, let me know if you need any more information.

Thank you both for your help!
Emily

i have no idear what is wrong but usally the smaller the tanks the higher the concentration of bacteria is so u really need a bigger tank
and yes Tanks are EXPENSIVE! i was at the pet shop and they had a 40gal tank for $450, thats why i got mine 2nd hand< 50gal tank for $45

i hate to bring this up, but i had the same problem with a horrible smell in my tank and it ended up being a dead snail . they stink soooo bad when they are dead. I would check out your snail... hope that is NOT what the smell is though...

last time my tank smelled bad was ammonia. although this is not your case. i do not know what is the cause of this. by the way, if you want a bigger tank and cannot afford, you can usually go around your neighborhood or something searching for a GARAGE sale. thats how i got my first tank. good luck.

check the classifieds too!

Sorry for not responding earlier. This must have slipped down the list to where I missed it...........

Anyway, I have a few important suggestions for you:

1- If you are going to continue keeping all three goldies in the ten gallon tank, you will have to get yourself an extra filter and add it to the tank. Most filters are rated ofr certan tank sizes. However, those tank sizes are generally assumed to have small fish in them. Smaller fish need less filtration. The larger the fish in a given tank, the more filtration is needed. You can consider all of the animals in that ten gallon tank to be 1 large fish. Thus, the need for more filtration.
So, I fear that your filter is not capable of removing ammonia and/or nitrItes fast enough (ANY nitrItes is a sign of poor filtration). Within a week or two of adding extra filtration (anything, even a sponge filter will do), you should no longer find nitrItes. This is the very first thing you should correct. Once that is done, you can concentrate on getting larger accomodations for your goldies. Even adding a light layer of gravel (1/2-1 inch) will help boost your tanks bio-filtration capacity as beneficial bacteria will colonize its rather large, total, surface area.

2- Your snail needs its own food. regardless of what kind it is (what kind is it?) Yes, it will eat pretty much whatever is in the tank but they do much better when you feed them vegetative matter such as broccoli (par cooked), romaine lettuce and algae/spirolina wafers. The best way to feed veggies to them is on a veggie clip. This way, the food stays still and everyone can enjoy it.

3- If the rotting small continues, you might need to remove your driftwood. This is often the cause of very persistant smells from a tank.


Good luck and post back if you have any more questions!