Cant Eliminate Smell, Please Help !

[betta fish]

I haven't heard about using cat litter as substrate before so I googled it. I'm wondering if you have the right kind of cat litter, so I'm attaching the site here:
http/forum.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/showthread.php?t=74443

Your tank/stand combo is beautiful by the way, and I truly hope you will figure out what the cause of the smell is! Once your tank is up and running odourless with the wood, plants and the fish it's going to look and be awesome!

Yes, please tell us what cat litter you are using in your tank as there is only one type I know of that can be used as a substrate in an aquarium, the majority of litters cannot be used, for the size of your tank and the amount of wood in the photo I'd be surprised if it was the wood, unless it has gone all slimy or rotten? I take it the wood was sold as aquarium wood? in which case it should not do this, the most I've had from mopani wood or bogwood is the leaching of tannins in the water no smell whatsoever.

 

[SuperColey1]

Kitty litter does have pretty high CEC. Manado does too. If it were me I would leave what you have in there and put some nice gravel on top

As for the Kitty litters I just put some of the Tesco Value (sold for cheaper than it costs to make. lol) kitty litter in under some gravel and then planted then shrimp in the next day. Not a problem

I wouldn't remove what is in there at the moment though. Just sort the smell out. I doubt it is the actual substrate when it is so new.

Andy

 

[mishmash]

Kitty litter does have pretty high CEC. Manado does too. If it were me I would leave what you have in there and put some nice gravel on top

As for the Kitty litters I just put some of the Tesco Value (sold for cheaper than it costs to make. lol) kitty litter in under some gravel and then planted then shrimp in the next day. Not a problem

I wouldn't remove what is in there at the moment though. Just sort the smell out. I doubt it is the actual substrate when it is so new.

Andy

Thanks Andy, so the kitty litter will stay in place under gravel ?? What about under play sand ? or unipac limpopp ? I have 2.5cm of aquabasis+ then 5cm of cat litter. If im adding gravel on top I might take some of the litter out so its not TOO deep, does that sounds ok ?

 

[mishmash]

W O O H O O ! ! !

I got rid of the offending piece of wood, did a 100% water change, washed out the media and filter, refilled and now my aquarium smells !!!

O F W A T E R ! ! !
Thank you to everyone for your replies. I appreciate your patience, input and assistance. It may seem like a little thing but it was beginning to really get me down. Lets hope now that I can get on, chuck some plants in, and some fishies too... Christmas has come on time after all, hopefully.

And to Lisa.... sorry for being a grump

 

[Rummynose]

That's great, mishmash. Will you put up a picture when it's all set up? Would love to see how it turns out!

 

[mishmash]

That's great, mishmash. Will you put up a picture when it's all set up? Would love to see how it turns out!

You betcha Going to get some plants tomorrow. Scared of bogwood now though Would like some Red moor but its a but pricey. In the meantime, what can I anchor my java fern to do you think? I want some wood with surrounding bits of iwagumi style rock, maybe ADA dragon stone or Seiryu....

 

[Rummynose]

That's great, mishmash. Will you put up a picture when it's all set up? Would love to see how it turns out!

You betcha Going to get some plants tomorrow. Scared of bogwood now though Would like some Red moor but its a but pricey. In the meantime, what can I anchor my java fern to do you think? I want some wood with surrounding bits of iwagumi style rock, maybe ADA dragon stone or Seiryu....

I have mopani wood in one of my tanks, it does not smell. I've got some mystery driftwood in the other, and there was a bit of a smell in the beginning. I'd boiled the mopani wood but the other was too big, so I poured boiling water over it...

My java fern I tucked under decorations in the tank making sure the Rhyzome is not burried. In time they latch on to the substrate which weighs them down and you can move them to different spots in your tank. You can tuck java fern into nooks and crannies of decorations or wood. It does look very nice, and they reproduce easily!

 

[mishmash]

@ rummynose.... LOL if java fern attached to the cat litter the bouyancy of the plant would lift it up cos this horrid stuff is unbelievably light.

@ The World..... AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH !!!!

I cant believe it. The wood is gone, 100% water change, filter and media washed in hot water, refilled, 18 hours later the SMELL is back. I wish I had never heard of aquabasis plus or cat litter.

 

[Rummynose]

@ rummynose.... LOL if java fern attached to the cat litter the bouyancy of the plant would lift it up cos this horrid stuff is unbelievably light.

@ The World..... AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH !!!!

I cant believe it. The wood is gone, 100% water change, filter and media washed in hot water, refilled, 18 hours later the SMELL is back. I wish I had never heard of aquabasis plus or cat litter.

That does make a funny mental picture, java fern floating around in the tank with kitty litter attached to its roots.

So sorry to hear that the smell came back. I can almost feel the frustration coming from from your post. Something is definitely not right! I would suggest taking everything out of the tank and just running the filter. If that elliminates the smell, well, then you may considere using a different material for substrate.

 

[TetraUk]

100% water change, filter and media washed in hot water

So your now starting the whole tank cycle again...

I wish I had never heard of aquabasis plus or cat litter.

Cat litter is fine if using the correct type, many aquatic plant enthusiasts use it and I'm now using it in my Cube on it's own and have no smell or issues,
as for the Aquabasis I was advised that nothing else was needed as long as the water column is being dosed with ferts.

This is the cat litter that is recommeded for aquarium use, it just needs to be rinsed realy well to remove the perfum smell and filter carbon will do the rest.

Wish the best with this and hope you get it sorted asap


All the best,

TetraUK

 

[minnnt]

Lol! Haha. Just use unipac limpopo and be done with it. There is no need to use a specialist substrate for a planted tank.

 

[mishmash]

100% water change, filter and media washed in hot water

So your now starting the whole tank cycle again...

I wish I had never heard of aquabasis plus or cat litter.

Cat litter is fine if using the correct type, many aquatic plant enthusiasts use it and I'm now using it in my Cube on it's own and have no smell or issues,
as for the Aquabasis I was advised that nothing else was needed as long as the water column is being dosed with ferts.

This is the cat litter that is recommeded for aquarium use, it just needs to be rinsed realy well to remove the perfum smell and filter carbon will do the rest.

Wish the best with this and hope you get it sorted asap


All the best,

TetraUK

Im not bothered about the cycle, getting the smell sorted is more important at this stage. Thanks, I am using the right type. Exactly the same as in your picture. As far as rinsing goes it was rinsed for THREE HOURS so I dont see that I failed in that respect. Added to the fact it has had at least five 150L water changes in the last 10 days. Where else could the smell possibly be coming from ? The tank is new, the filter is new, the media is new, the water is fine.

Lol! Haha. Just use unipac limpopo and be done with it. There is no need to use a specialist substrate for a planted tank.

Presumably because if you are dosing ferts and CO2 there is no need for supplementation from the substrate ? I may end up doing just that minnnt. I will try running purigen like Ianho suggested and see if it changes. Also someone said use carbon granules not the pads which i had been using. But I really am at a loss as to where the ruddy smell is coming from. I have set up at least 20 tanks in my time and NEVER had a problem like this before.

 

[minnnt]

If you have enough fish and your lighting period is kept in check then even ferts wouldn't be needed if the correct plants were chosen. Co2 isn't necessary anyway so that's irrelevent.

 

[mishmash]

Lol! Haha. Just use unipac limpopo and be done with it. There is no need to use a specialist substrate for a planted tank.

Unipac themselves have advised that limpopo will up the pH so I am probably going with Samoa fine. (also unipac)

 

[minnnt]

Mine's fine. 7.5 out of the tap and 6.8 in the tank.