The cause of the unpleasant smell there may be impurities that accumulate at the bottom of the "reservoir" - these are the waste products of fish, and the remains of food. If the aquarium is too large and it is not possible to completely wash it, just siphon the soil. For this, a special device is used in the form of a hose with a tip, through which water passes, taking with it all the accumulated dirt.

Checking the aquarium for corpses. Count the fish, if someone is missing, carefully inspect the bottom of the aquarium, lift all the decorations, look into the filter intake. Remove the found poor fellow with a net.

- Rarely, but due to improper laying and lack of oxygen zones, the soil sours (rots). Such soil is carefully siphoned or completely removed, replacing with a new one.

Additionally, to reduce the concentration of harmful substances, you can:

- Fill the aquarium filter with absorbent - aquarium charcoal;

Apply hydrogen peroxide, which will oxygenate the water and enhance oxidation. More details - aeration of the aquarium;

- Apply Tetra Biocoryn - contains highly active enzymes and bacterial concentrates that disinfect water and accelerate the decomposition of organic matter such as food, plant residues, fish waste products. The special formula for immediate and long-lasting results contributes to the safe decomposition of waste and prevents further sludge build-up. Unpleasant odors are removed from the water, the water becomes clear and clean.

Normally, the aquarium water should smell like a clean lake. But this is not always the case. Especially for novice aquarists. The aquarium may emit bad smell varying degrees of intensity. What to do about it? This article explains the causes of odor and how to eliminate the unpleasant odor.

It is very simple to quickly deal with an unpleasant odor from the aquarium, and at the end of this article it is shown how, but if you do not understand the causes of the odor and eliminate them, this odor will recur again and again.

So, first you need to understand the causes of the smell. It turns out that you can make a whole list of such reasons:

Learn more about the causes of bad aquarium odors:

1. To start the aquarium, it is advisable to add cultures to it. beneficial bacteria... Some types of these bacteria will compete with putrefactive bacteria, due to which the bad smell from the aquarium just arises (special preparation), while others will provide nitrification processes in the aquarium, which will save the fish from poisoning (preparations, etc.).

2. It is common for novice aquarists to overfeed their fish. The food is not eaten completely and rots - hence the unpleasant smell. About the signs of overfeeding and what to do if the fish are overfed is written.

3. If internal filter or the intake of the external filter is too close to the feeding area, then part of the feed may be drawn into the filter and rot there. Change the position of the filter, most likely you will find a place (far back corner of the aquarium) where food will not be drawn into the filter. If the aquarium is too small, then just turn off the filter while feeding the fish (Only then not). It should be borne in mind that flake feeds enter the filter in much larger quantities than pellets. Therefore, it is preferable to feed the fish with the correct size of the fish pellets. About the rules for flushing the filter at the Aquarium.

4. Choosing the right substrate for your aquarium is very important for the continued sustainable functioning of your aquarium ecosystem. In particular, it is impossible to use pebbles (1 cm or more in size), laid in several layers (), instead of soil. The food falls deep under the stones, becomes inaccessible to fish and rots there. It is necessary to replace such a soil. In the warm season, it is quite easy to independently obtain a substrate suitable for an aquarium, and always aquarium soil.

5. Use for feeding aquarium fish Poor quality food leads to many aquarium problems, including bad odor from the aquarium. One of the signs of poor quality feed is its rapid "soaking" in water, when the pellets or flakes quickly disintegrate into many very small particles, which the fish do not collect, but which accumulate in the filter sponges and rot there. We advise you not to buy cheap loose dry food from an unknown manufacturer on the market, but to use branded food from well-known aquarium brands.

6. You can clearly determine whether the aquarium is overpopulated or not, you can use it. However, a bad smell from the aquarium is also a sign of overpopulation. Too much fish requires abundant feeding and produces too much waste. The water in such an aquarium will inevitably smell unpleasant. You can deal with the smell by reducing the population of the aquarium or by filtering the water through activated carbon. For a while, installing a homemade simple device with activated carbon, .

7. The novice aquarist may not have a filter at all, or the aquarium may have a very small filter. The filter is often not properly maintained. All this can lead to unpleasant odors from the aquarium. Read about aquarium filters and the rules for their maintenance: " ", " ", " " . In general, if there is no filter in the aquarium, then buy and install, if the filter does not cope, then replace it with a larger one.

8. The issue of water changes in the aquarium is very important. The most common mistakes beginner aquarists make are: the water is not changed, but only occasionally a new portion is added to replace the evaporated one. In this case, all waste products of fish accumulate in the aquarium. It is easy to guess that in this case the smell from the aquarium will not be very fresh. At the other extreme, changes are too frequent and too massive, which leads to the suppression of beneficial aquarium bacteria. As a result, putrefactive ones begin to prevail. The correct regime for water changes in the aquarium involves weekly changes of 20-25% of the volume of water. Actually, changing the water in the aquarium is a responsible operation and it is better to get acquainted with it first.

10. As a rule, the soil in the aquarium gradually silts up. The accumulation of significant masses of silt in the soil and on it is harmful in itself. Even worse, if feed begins to fall into the silt, then anaerobic processes are initiated in it, during which methane and hydrogen sulfide can be formed. You can prevent this by siphoning the soil to find out how to do it correctly.

11. are now found in our aquariums quite often. Their distinguishing feature is the ability to reproduce rapidly in incredibly large numbers. It so happens that all the ground literally moves from these snails. Imagine what would happen if they all suddenly die? Substantial biomass will then decompose in the aquarium. This can cause an unpleasant odor and even kill fish. Snails can be killed by adding medicines for fish containing copper, medicines for skin and gill flukes, and means of fighting planaria into the aquarium. In an aquarium with a large number of snails, such medicines can only be used with great care, and it is better not to use them at all without first removing the snails. If the mistake has already been made, then there is nothing left but to remove the dead snails from the aquarium right along with the soil. This soil will have to be thrown away. Dead can also be dangerous to the aquarium, simply because they are quite large. If the ampulla remains motionless during the day, then it makes sense to check if it is alive.

12. Actually, if in large aquarium if a small fish dies, then nothing terrible will happen. But if in a small one - a large one, and even lays in it for a long time, then the water will simply dry out. Therefore, if you noticed that some fish suddenly disappeared, then make every effort to find it. You need to search behind the filter and on the floor around the aquarium. In fact, for a variety of reasons,remove dead fish as soon as possiblefrom the aquarium. If a dead fish has lain in the aquarium for 12 hours or more, then after removing it, it is necessary to replace 20 - 30% of the water.

How to quickly eliminate unpleasant odors from the aquarium?

You can quickly eliminate unpleasant odors from your aquarium by filtering the water through activated carbon. You need to use a special one that will not dust and release phosphates. The easiest way is to put the charcoal in a special bag in one of the trays of the external filter. These special bags are available at aquarium stores. But it is not necessary to spend money on a bag: an ordinary sock is suitable instead (it must be made of a loose takani). If the aquarium external filter not equipped, you can simply hang a bag of charcoal on the flow from the pump. But it is better to put coal in an air-lift filter, which can be made by hand in just five minutes. To do this, you will need a plastic bottle, a little padding polyester (sold in aquarium stores), an air duct, a faucet for adjusting the air supply, coal itself and a not very small pebble in order to drown the resulting structure. Let's look at the progress of work and the result.

Photo 1. Here is everything you need to make an airlift filter that will allow you to pump aquarium water through activated carbon. In the lower part plastic bottle cut out a fairly wide hole, in the upper part - very small for the diameter of the air duct.
Photo 2.The coal is too light and, so that it does not spread out of the filter, it must be wrapped in a synthetic winterizer, and then placed inside the bottle; the end of the air tube should be inserted through a small hole into the top of the bottle.
	Photo 3 and 4. The whole device is assembled. Place a pebble in the lower part so that this filter stands steadily on the bottom. We place it in the aquarium and connect it to the compressor.
	Video 1. A homemade airlift filter with activated carbon in an aquarium allows you to quickly get rid of unpleasant odors from the aquarium, remove medicines and dyes from the aquarium water.

If you have any questions, you can ask them on our forum, where there are already topics related to the unpleasant smell from aquarium water, for example, this one: "". ...

The time comes, and the novice aquarist suddenly feels the unpleasant smell of the swamp in the apartment and the source of the smell will be the home aquarium.

It is difficult to say that the smell from the aquarium is a frequent occurrence, but it is difficult to call it rare either. I will analyze the main reasons for the appearance of unpleasant odors from the aquarium: swamps, mud, rotten meat and other amber.

An unpleasant smell from the aquarium appears when there is an abundance of bacteria of putrefaction and decomposition. Bacteria decompose the organics of the aquarium to hydrogen sulfide, which has a rotten smell. In an aquarium with a stable biological balance, bacteria are built into the nitrogen cycle, promoting the decomposition of dead organic matter, and their number is regulated by vital activity aquarium plants and colonies of beneficial bacteria.

In the absence of equilibrium in a home aquarium, the amount of organic dirt increases and an increase in the number of anaerobic bacteria occurs, which leads to the appearance of a bog smell and subsequent death. aquarium fish and plants. This happens in the following cases:

• Lack of aquarium maintenance
• Little or no aeration
• Low power aquarium filter or no filtration
• Overfeeding or expired feed
• Overpopulation of the aquarium with fish

The main causes of aquarium odor are lack of aquarium maintenance, overfeeding and poor aeration.

What to do if your aquarium water smells like swamp and stinks

First of all, we thoroughly clean the aquarium from the accumulated dirt:

• Syphonym ground
• Removing dirt from artificial plants, rocks and decorations
• Change the water

Don't forget to change the water. A water change will reduce the hydrogen sulfide concentration in the aquarium and prevent fish death.

The next step in controlling aquarium odor is to increase aeration. Anaerobic bacteria do not live in oxygenated water, so we add power to the compressor. If your aquarium doesn't have a compressor, then it's time to buy one.

We remove and wash the aquarium filters from the accumulated dirt, so that the filter does not serve as an additional source of rotting bacteria.

We stop feeding the aquarium fish for a few days or serve the minimum amount of food. We exclude live food in the form of bloodworms completely.

We settle an overpopulated aquarium or increase aeration and add power to the aquarium filter. With proper care of the aquarium, overpopulation does not lead to stagnation of water and the appearance of a rotten smell.

After completing these steps, leave the tank alone and do a quarter volume daily water change. It is necessary to re-establish the biological balance in the aquarium, which prevents decay of the aquarium and prevents unpleasant odors.

When a sea of ​​fish begins in the aquarium, the owner's first reaction is to run to the aqua store in search of a remedy for this disease and misfortune. But, by this, they only worsen the already unstable situation in the aquarium, and the dying of the fish begins to occur faster ...

The question is, of course, interesting for a novice aquarist. There is a lot of data on the Internet, often incorrect, explaining how many fish can be put into an aquarium, based on the displacement of this aquarium. Beginners, having picked up such data, launch the fish and are unaware of how overpopulated their aquarium is ...

An aquarium is a great way to bring a special comfort to your home, create an interesting and a nice place for a relaxing stay. But how can the whole impression of scurrying beautiful fish in the water deteriorate if there is a problem of how to remove the smell from the aquarium, which is far from being pleasant to its owner. In this case, it is necessary to find out the reason for such a process as soon as possible and resolve it. We will tell you how to do this in this article.

Where does the unpleasant smell in the aquarium come from?

There are several reasons for the formation of an unpleasant and sometimes even very fetid aroma from the aquarium:

1. Silting of soil and water.
2. The death of fish and other pets and the decomposition of their corpses.
3. Use of poor quality or unsuitable feed.
4. Incorrect feed dosage.
5. Special types of vegetation in the aquarium.
6. The number of fish does not correspond to the size of the container.
7. Insufficient oxygen.
8. Incorrect cleaning mode or poor-quality performance.

How to quickly remove unpleasant odors from the aquarium?

Finding out the cause of the pungent odor can only be done in a practical way. This same process will become the methods for removing such a scent. To deal with the problem of how to remove bad odors from the aquarium with minimal effort, proceed in stages as suggested below.

Stage 1

Find out if the food is suitable for your fish. For this:

1. Change the water in the aquarium.
2. Buy another food.
3. Try it for several days in a row.
4. If the smell disappeared, that was the reason for the unpleasant odor.
5. If not, try changing feed a couple more times.

Important! If all the actions did not help, then the reason was not bad food. Continue to figure out how to remove unpleasant odors from your aquarium.

Stage 2

If you are sure that the food is of high quality, you may just pour a lot of it on your pets. Pisces are actually not so voracious and finicky. Try:

1. Don't feed the fish for a couple of days.
2. Next time, add less feed than usual.
3. Note if the pungent smell is gone. If yes - the reason lay precisely in your wrong approach to the diet.

Important! The essence of this phenomenon lies in the fact that organic uneaten residues settle to the bottom and decompose there, mixing with the soil.

Stage 3

If you have recently set up an aquarium and are generally engaged in such a hobby for the first time, most likely you simply chose the wrong number of fish in the pursuit of beauty. As a result, there is not enough space for all living creatures, and each of them still has the ability to regularly excrete feces. The bottom line: In a crowded and overcrowded aquarium, the water quickly becomes cloudy and takes on a characteristic aroma. The solution to such a problem suggests itself - you will have to buy a large or another of the same size container-house for fish, or thin out the fauna.

Important! Take a good look at the aquarium - perhaps some of the fish have already died by their own death and now their remains are decomposing, causing you the question: how to get rid of the unpleasant odor from the aquarium?

Stage 4

Improperly designed ornamental vegetation can also be a major problem when removing odor from an aquarium. In such a situation, proceed as follows:

1. Contact the store where you bought the plants.
2. Provide them with a list of the species you have selected.
3. Explain what size your container is and ask the seller to clarify which of these plant varieties give off an unpleasant odor.
4. Replace the ones that caused your problem.

Important! Such situations most often arise with owners of small aquariums. In large-scale structures, the effect of herbs is noticeably small.

Stage 5

Observe the behavior of the fish, perhaps you have chosen the wrong oxygen supply mode or the equipment is not working well. If the pets are not very active and tend to be closer to the bottom, this is exactly the problem. There is only one way to solve it:

1. Install a better and more powerful compressor.
2. Replace the filter with a more advanced model with forced circulation.
3. Get a professional to adjust the oxygen supply to the aquarium in the right amount.

Proper cleaning of the aquarium

If all of the above steps did not help enough, ask yourself the question: Is the aquarium clean? How long have you been cleaning it? Did you do it right? If you are not sure that it is really clean, proceed immediately to the procedure, adhering to the sequence below.

Important! In order not to hesitate with any of the processes, prepare the necessary equipment before starting cleaning the aquarium:

• temporary water tank for fish;
• bucket;
• water in the right volume, prepared in advance;
• thermometer;
• scraper;
• net;
• pump;
• aquarium glass cleaner;
• a tool to determine the pH level.

Progress:

1. Take out all the fish with a net.
2. Place them in a temporary container of water.
3. Disconnect all equipment.
4. Arm yourself with a scraper and scrape off any adhering algae and plaque from the walls.
5. Place the pump with one end in the aquarium and the other in the bucket.
6. Pump out some of the water: 15-20% if you clean the tank regularly, up to 50% if you haven't done this for a long time.
7. Put a nylon sock on one end of the pump tube.
8. Run the pump over the ground at the bottom.
9. Remove all debris.
10. Take out all jewelry.
11. Prepare a mild solution of water and bleach and place all items in it for 20-30 minutes.
12. Remove and scrub with a little unnecessary toothbrush to remove any remaining plaque.
13. Rinse with running water and dip in boiling water - you can leave products in such water for 5 minutes.
14. Spread the decorations out on a towel to dry, then put them back in the aquarium.
15. Check the water prepared in advance to see if the temperature is correct.
16. Pour it into the fish container to the desired volume using a pump to do this gently.
17. Wipe the outer walls - make sure that there are no streaks on the glass.
18. Connect your equipment.
19. Introduce fish into the aquarium.

Important! If you have done everything point by point, carefully and carefully, the question of how to remove the smell from the aquarium will no longer arise. The main thing is to adhere to the frequency of such cleaning.

In order to make it easier for yourself to take care of the fish in the future, add special orderlies. Swordsmen, guppies, ancistrus, mollies, armored catfish are not only attractive enough, but they will constantly do part of the work for you - remove plaque from the walls of their house, and clean the bottom and plants from mold. For the rest, just follow our advice and you will not have to be puzzled by what and how to remove an unpleasant smell from the aquarium, you will simply contemplate the measured movement of vegetation and beautiful fish in the water in moments of relaxation.

A beautiful and harmoniously located aquarium in the room can be a decoration for any interior. The aquarium is a great way to relax and achieve inner balance. However, both the fish themselves and their home need constant and competent care. Beginners and even experienced aquarists are often faced with unwanted and unpleasant situations that are the result of improper or inadequate care. One of these situations is when the water in the aquarium smells unpleasant.

Let's try to find out why the aquarium water smells and what actions can be taken to eliminate unwanted odors from the aquarium.

Causes of aquarium odor

With a situation where the water smells unpleasant or even stinks , every lover of aquarium fish has come across, perhaps. The reasons for this phenomenon can be different:

So, in most cases, the unpleasant smell of water is a consequence of the excessive activity of putrefactive bacteria or plant organisms. Therefore, the main task of the aquarist is not to allow microorganisms to multiply too intensively, and plants to bloom too abundantly.

How to eliminate bad odor in your aquarium

Let's say you figured out why the water in the aquarium smells. What measures should be taken to fix this problem?

The first thing to do is carefully with all of its contents. General cleaning is carried out according to certain rules. It is necessary to consistently clean the walls, bottom, stones, algae and all other elements of the dwelling for the fish. Rotten algae and excess plants should be removed.

Changing the water in the aquarium is carried out gradually - it can take 5-7 days. A complete and simultaneous water change is carried out in exceptional cases: this is a huge stress for fish, which can lead to the death of fry and especially sensitive species.

Other methods of combating unpleasant odors include saturating the water with a sufficient amount of oxygen, changing feed or regulating its amount, ensuring the optimal amount of light radiation. If the aquarium is overcrowded, some of the inhabitants should be transplanted into another container, sold or donated: it is better to lose some of the pets than to constantly face the problem of an abundance of feces and harmful bacteria. In an overcrowded aquarium, fish feel uneasy and often show aggression towards each other.