god.... whats that smell?

[Fish-n-Chips]

Heres the deal:

My 55gln has this strong chemical smell.....the only chemicals i have in this new tank is Marinelands Bio-spira and Bio-safe. I run an Emperor 400 filter w/ xtra lava
rock and fiber floss media. Its a planted tank w/ Flora Base substrate and thats where i think the problem lies....

When i first filled the tank before adding both bio's i had the chemical smell,so i drained the water and refilled it...then smell went away so i thought it was safe
so i added the bio-spira and fish....

Now the smell is back....i believe its the substrate...the fish have been in the tank for several days now and i have had only one death....if it was something else i believe all the fish would have perished....i have helped set up other planted tanks
w/ friends but they use flourite and the tanks never smelled. i am hoping that the smell will dissapate with time and with water changes.....

any thoughts??

 

[Bol]

Any hints as to what sort of chemical smell it is? Smell like bleach, rotten eggs, petroleum, etc?

Do you happen to still have the bag(s) of FloraBase, and does the inside of the bag smell like what you're getting in the tank?

 

[Fish-n-Chips]

Ah see the smell isnt ammonia or like that....no rotten egg smell....its just a sharp chemical like smell...unfortunally i dont have the bags of
FloraBase....i do believe its the cause...

 

[scott1000]

I'm using florabase and mine has no disticintive smell to it. Does it have a sulphur smell to it? The water conditioner I use (Prime) has a sulphur smell to it, sound like it's one of your chemicals.

 

[Fish-n-Chips]

Well i went to my very reputable lfs....they tested the water, smelled
it and suggested it was an enzyme in the bio-safe that was causing the
odor. As suggested it added more carbon media to my filter and it looks like its doing the job.....

keep your fingers crossed!!!

 

[pendragon]

I bought some Marineland Bio-Safe during a recent trip to the pet store, and - criminy! - does it smell awful!

I have been using a dechlorinating product by Aqua Pharmaceuticals, and it had no smell at all (to my nose, anyway). The lfs just happened to be out that day.

pendragon!

 

[Fish-n-Chips]

thanks pendragon...i am glad it wasnt just me who has had a problem w/
Bio-safe.....i threw that crap out....never again!

 

[Bol]

Glad you found it.

Just for future info, the smell you got from Bio-Safe was from sulfer.