# Smelly and Fog/Misty Water?



## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

I have a 30 gallon aquarium and I just put the tahitian moon sand in and started to cycle my tank. But I noticed after around 3 days my aquarium started to smell really funky and the water looked really misty/foggy...Any idea what I can do about this? Should i just leave the filter on and keep letting it cycle on its own or do i require a water change?


----------



## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

I'm wondering if it had anything to do with my filter? I have an Aquaclear 70 with 3 foam inserts maybe I need to swap one of them out?


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

How are you cycling your aquarium?

The fogginess sounds like a bacterial bloom, which will eventually go away.

However, the water should not smell, unless it is stagnant. Is your filter on its lowest flow setting? You can try increasing flow and that may improve the smell.


----------



## Bio-Gold (Jun 22, 2010)

I have the filter on the highest setting. I'm cycling the tank by just letting the filter run in it without any fish or anything in there.


----------



## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

The tank won't cycle without a source of ammonia. Unless there was something in the sand there shouldn't be any smell.
You need to add some ammonia if you are going to do a fishless cycle. There are lots of articles explaining it.


----------



## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

more details please!

Is this a filter from an established tank?

Could be a bact bloom if that's the case.

If it's a brand spanking new tank and filter there shouldn't be a bloom. Did you rince the sand before adding it to your tank?


----------



## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

Was anything in that tank reused from another tank?


----------



## Sagittarius-Aquarius (Oct 30, 2009)

It's hard to know without pictures and more information, but I had the same kind of problem and it was a bacterial bloom. The smell is odd though. I'd either turn up the flow or question your supplies, from the sounds of it, something may be rotting.


----------



## J-Ye (Mar 15, 2009)

Just setted up a 5 gallon tank yesterday. I filled 1/2 of the new tank with water change water form my already established tank and the other 1/2 with new water. I also installed a old filter pad from the established tank into the new filter and threw some brine shrimp in the water. 14 hours after initial set, I tested the water. My ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels are 0.25, 0, and 0 mg/L. There is a presence of odor and the tank walls are a bit cloudy. Do you think the tank is ready for fish?


----------



## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

It will be safe for hardy fish, more sensitive fish should be added after everything is established for about a month, unless it's cheap then you can risk it


----------



## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

J-Ye said:


> Just setted up a 5 gallon tank yesterday. I filled 1/2 of the new tank with water change water form my already established tank and the other 1/2 with new water. I also installed a old filter pad from the established tank into the new filter and threw some brine shrimp in the water. 14 hours after initial set, I tested the water. My ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels are 0.25, 0, and 0 mg/L. There is a presence of odor and the tank walls are a bit cloudy. Do you think the tank is ready for fish?


Sounds like you have another tank that is established. Just take your established filter sponge and squeeze that sponge once in the 5gal and in 1 to 3 hours your tank will be cycled and you can introduce some fishy.


----------

