My Tank Smells Bad

[Fishda45]

so i've been cycling my 5.5 gal tank for about 5 days now. it is cloudy and looks dirty and IT SMELLS BAD. And it is stinking my whole room i think this is because of the fish flakes i use to "feed" it. i'm doing a fishless cycle.

my questions are:
1. should i just vacuum my gravel and maybe do about 50% water change and use household ammonia instead of fish flakes?
2. and, will vacuuming and changing so much water would mess up my tank cycling?

i'm planning to make it a guppy tank. i'm putting heater and air pump soon (i'm waiting for it in the mail).

these are the details of my tank water parameter as of june 14 2012
ammonia .25
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
pH about 7.5
temp. 78 F (26 C)

 

[FishBlast]

so i've been cycling my 5.5 gal tank for about 5 days now. it is cloudy and looks dirty and IT SMELLS BAD. And it is stinking my whole room i think this is because of the fish flakes i use to "feed" it. i'm doing a fishless cycle.

my questions are:
1. should i just vacuum my gravel and maybe do about 50% water change and use household ammonia instead of fish flakes?
2. and, will vacuuming and changing so much water would mess up my tank cycling?

i'm planning to make it a guppy tank. i'm putting heater and air pump soon (i'm waiting for it in the mail).

these are the details of my tank water parameter as of june 14 2012
ammonia .25
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
pH about 7.5
temp. 78 F (26 C)

Ammonia stinks. No exceptions.
It makes your nose drop lol. Fishless cycle smells probably more than fish-in but it's best method.
The higher the ammonia, the worse the smell.
I did a fish-in since I was unlucky to have already had fish... for 17 years and changing 100% water while not having a filter. Then I used a filter and began fish-in. It started to stink at times, but keeping the water changes up made the smell turn into a garlic smell (slightly more pleasant) and then into a fresh soil smell (current smell, cycled tank smell).

 

[FishFanatic04]

the household ammonia is much more accurate. What you are smelling form the flakes is the smell of rotting food. Use the household ammonia

 

[Fishda45]

the household ammonia is much more accurate. What you are smelling form the flakes is the smell of rotting food. Use the household ammonia

the tank smells fishy. i went to petsmart the other day and they told me to do a water change, i did but there's still that "fishy smell". i don't want to do a daily water change cause it might mess up my cycle.

 

[DJH584]

You will probably get that "fishy" smell from whatever is in the fish food.

Go with FF04's suggestion, use household ammonia that doesn't have surfactants in it. If you have a Homebase near you, then their own brand of ammonia would probably be the best to get.

David

 

[FishFanatic04]

Ace hardware since I am assuming you are in the US since you went to petsmart. They have jugs of the perfect ammonia for cheap. The smell is probably from the ammonia and nitrites + rotting food. Fish food is made from ground up fish and other things.

 

[FishBlast]

Tetramin flakes make any water smell like fish temporarily. Wait till ammonia hits 1 ppm... maaaaaaan my turtle pond STINKS if I let any food in it for more than 3 hours (and that's barely 0.25 ppm ammonia). Good thing my turtle gets out after every feeding so I can change water afterwards. She spends her time basking in the sun near the balcony.