Modly/Earthy smell from week old tank

[dean1120]

Last week, we set up our 125 gal tank. We cleaned everything and put it in the tank along with the water we had to doctor for African Cichilds. We used Bio-Spira on Wednesday morning and added fish that night. We added 10 african cichlids. Everything seemed to be fine.

We were having a problem with the water getting too hot (we're in South Carolina and the temps are already in the 90s!) so the guy at the LFS suggested we get a fan to cool off the water. This worked beautifully, but we started to notice a smell in the air. If you get close to the water in the filter or in the tank you can really smell it! We think the fan is cooling the water, causing more evaporation, and that's why we smell it in the air.

We're not sure what to make of the smell and what we can do about it. I was at PetSmart today and the lady said it was probably ammonia building up and we should have been using carbon. She recommended something that was carbon and something else mixed together (can't remember the name of the other thing, but it was white and I guess it helps break down the ammonia). We are NOT using carbon because I read in a book I got that some people rely on it too much and the guy at the LFS we go to said you didn't need it all the time.

I tested the water:
ammonia .5ppm
nitrItes 0ppm

She said NOT to do a water change because it will get rid of the bacteria that we need in the tank. I just don't know if I trust the people at PetSmart. I don't know why, that's just how I feel.

So my questions are this....

1) Is it too soon to do a water change? It's only been a week since the tank has been setup with fish in it. If so, would 20-25% be enough?
2) Should we add carbon? And can anyone tell me what the other white thing she was talking about is (it comes mixed in a bottle with the carbon or sold separately)?
3) We rinsed out the filters because they seemed very dirty. Should we need to replace them already?

BTW, we have an overflow filter in our tank, that goes down to a ProClear Wet/Dry 175 series filter. So, the water overflows and hits an overflow filter, goes down to the next square filter and then through the bio-balls and then once more through a rectangular block filter before being pumped back up the tank.

Oh one more thing...Our fish were a little skittish at first (and sometimes still are) and when we would feed them, they wouldn't always come right away so some of the pellets would go into the overflow. Could the food be causing this smell? We fed them New Life Spectrum Cichlid Formula.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!!

 

[digital_run]

1) Beneficial bacteria is abundant in your filter media/gravel whereas water doesn't really hold all that much...so i'd go ahead with the water change. They can never hurt unless you do ridiculous amounts 90% a day kind of thing.

2)I don't see why you couldn't add carbon...Soome swear by it...others dont use it at all.

3)What kind of filters do you have? Sponges such as the ones in AquaClear filters should last years before even thinking about them being replaced.

My guess on the smell would be the heat and the fan just blowin the stink around instead of it lingering in certain places

Ðigital_run

 

[paulthegreat]

If you have ammonia and no nitrite and no nitrate do a water change every day at least 15-25%. The benificial bacteria will cling to the surfaces like sand, gravel and filter material. Be sure to treat the tap water to declorinate or that will kill the benificial bacteria. You have way to many fish in a new tank they should have been added in twos about three to five days apart. I hope you can save them but it does not sound like a good situation. Also do not overfeed, give then only a little bit once a day. Once you get rid of the ammonia and nitrite you can increase the rations a little.

 

[ncjharris]

Hi! Firstly, don't worry, all tanks smell, so would your house if we did what fish did in a confinded space!!

Primarily, I have a sneeky suspision your tank wasn't cycled before you added the fish. I know you added Bio-Spira, but even then you should wait a couple of days and add fish gradually. However, you didn't say otherwise, so I guess they are all ok. However, the adding of the fish to the new tank would probably explain the state of the fish to start with - a bit of a shock and then any sudden movements may have freeked them out. I'm sure they will get used to you soon though, to the point where they will come and welcome you at feeding time!

I noticed you mentioned that you used doctored water? Was this RO water?

Your tank readings show that the tank hasn't cycled. Any tank with a reading of above 0 of ammonia or nitrite hasn't completed the stocking of friendly bacteria. In the interim, whats in the tank will lead to some discomfort for the fish.
As others have said, the friendly bacteria isn't water bourne, and will be found more on surfaces, filter medium, substrate etc. Changing water will only affect your tanks condition if you change lots and lots (90%+ which is a lot of buckets!) or if you don't add conditioned water (clorine kills the bacteria)

Its never really too soon to do a water change - aim for 10 - 15% per week and that'll be fine. Howver, you have a run off tank which may make things different, im not too sure.

Carbon - some people like it, some dont, go with it and see what you think. There are all kinds of stories about it leaching chemicals etc, but i think they are all unfounded. It certainly cleans up tanks when they have a lot of med in them.

Also, reading about your filter, it is possible that the bio balls and any uneaten food that sits in there will become a hot bed for nitrates. You should prob clean that out when you do your water change.
With regard to the filter medium, they last a while. If they look gunky (which they prob will!) rinse them in tank water (not fresh, it kills the bacteria) before putting them back in the filter.

Finally, don't worry. My guess is the smell is, as suggested, the fan wafting the odours around. Our tank smells too, but you can't really smell it until the lid is off.

HTH!