# dirty smelly water + goldfish problems



## breadandbutter (Dec 9, 2006)

ive got a baby biorb and have had for about a month now. i had 3 snails in there for the first week but when i addede 8 danios the water turned yellowy and stinks out my room. I have to turn the filter off at night because it's too loud and there is a load of fish poo lying under and around the rocks. I've added all of the stress zyme and tap safe stuff and changed the filter but it never seems to get any better. i change the water about twice a week to little effect. I don't feed them much either.

The fish seem ok but its not very nice to look at 

I've also got 2 goldfish in a tank which i know is too small for them. They are about 3 1/2 inches long. Should i put them outside in the pond or is it too cold for them now?


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## love_my_fish (Sep 17, 2006)

what kind of filter are you using -- have you always been turning it off at night? I don't think this is a good practice, not sure, but I think it could be damaging to any beneficial bacteria growing in your filter.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Hi and welcome aboard, breadandbutter.:wave: :mrgreen:



love_my_fish said:


> what kind of filter are you using -- have you always been turning it off at night? I don't think this is a good practice, not sure, but I think it could be damaging to any beneficial bacteria growing in your filter.


In fact, the filter should never be turn off.:blink: Filter not working for more than two hours will obviously kill the bacteria thus increasing the ammonia level and thereby fouling the water.
Yellow tint of water are due to the following:
1. Overpopulation
2. Too much wastes
3. Presence of peat, bogwoods and anything that releases humic acids like almond leaves.
No. 3 is not much of an issue but the first two are. You'll need to carry out water changes. I suggest 10% daily should suffice until you got your problem sorted.


breadandbutter said:


> there is a load of fish poo lying under and around the rocks.


For this, I'd do water changes and gravel vacuuming right now and schedule gravel vacuuming once a week while doing small partial water changes of 10% on a daily basis.
I'd recommend test kits.:thumbsup: Determine your pH, nitrites, nitrates and ammonia. Make sure the test kits you are using are liquid, not test strips. The latter is inaccurate IMO.

Pls answer the following questions.
1. How big is the tank?
2. How long has it been running?
3. What are your water parameters?(Test kits will figure them out for you.)
4. Has it been cycled?

Pls make sure ammonia and nitrites are zero. Detectable ammonia and nitrites can harm and kill your fish. Nitrates should be maintained below 40 but not below 10(which runs the risk of blue-green algae growth).


> I've added all of the stress zyme and tap safe stuff and changed the filter but it never seems to get any better.


I wouldn't add that much chemicals unnecessarily.:blink: They will only harm your fish at an extent rather than help.


> I've also got 2 goldfish in a tank which i know is too small for them. They are about 3 1/2 inches long. Should i put them outside in the pond or is it too cold for them now?


If your tank is below 40 gallons, I'd put them in the pond. What is the temperature of your pond?

Good luck.


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## Oceane (Aug 4, 2006)

The colour + the smell suggests a nitrate/nitrite problem due to an accumulation of fish waste, Blue is right and the only way to sort this out till you can a bigger tank or set another one up for the gold fish is to do daily water changes. I'm surprised the goldfish haven't eaten the danios up already. What type are they?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Oceane said:


> I'm surprised the goldfish haven't eaten the danios up already. What type are they?


Goldfish don't generally eat danios until they reach more than 6 inches. I would only assume that for a 10 gallons, the goldfish are barely 3 inches so there's no chance for them to gobble the danios. Danios are also pretty fast and the goldfish are slow. Sometimes, the opposite can't just attract.:mrgreen:


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

In addition, canister filters are quieter, so if you can afford it, replace your existing one.


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

do u have carbon in your filter?


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## breadandbutter (Dec 9, 2006)

its 15l. the goldfish aren't in the same tank btw.

yes it has done cycling and it has been running for about 4 weeks. how can i do undergravel filtering in a biorb?

the people at the fish shop said it wouldn't be overpopulated but its annoying that the tank was advertised as having amazing filtration but its like it is.

how much does a one of those filter's cost and would it easily fit?


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## breadandbutter (Dec 9, 2006)

and i do have carbon in the filter and my ponds outside so i guess it gets pretty cold


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## breadandbutter (Dec 9, 2006)

also i can easily put my snails in a different tank, would that help?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

breadandbutter said:


> also i can easily put my snails in a different tank, would that help?


That will depend on what snails you have. I definitely would avoid the common pond snails and ramshorns. Malayan Trumpet Snails are best choice.


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## breadandbutter (Dec 9, 2006)

theyre apple snails


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

breadandbutter said:
 

> its 15l. the goldfish aren't in the same tank btw.
> 
> yes it has done cycling and it has been running for about 4 weeks. how can i do undergravel filtering in a biorb?
> 
> ...


Filters are great if only used properly. Overstocking the tank, turning it off at nights, etc. are signs that it is not being used properly. 

I did a Google search on Biorb and finally found out what they look like. The type of filter looks like a UGF (UnderGravel Filter)..










The tube is then covered with gravel, so it's just a small, simple form of a UGF (UnderGravel filter). You can probably add a small HOB filter, but it would ruin the looks of the tank.

Just curious...How often do you do water changes? Do you clean up the fish waste on the bottom?


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## breadandbutter (Dec 9, 2006)

about twice a week and yes

cheers for the info ppl im doin 10% water changes a day until it clears up and i've moved it into another room so i can leave it on. is that enough?


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

That should be fine.


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## Daz (Sep 20, 2006)

The filters on Bio orbs is poor TBH. I bought a friend one a while back had a guppy and 2 mollies in. The actual suface area of the media is say 5" max in diameter and powered by a tiny airpump. Nice as a decoration but get shut and get something rectangular.


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