# tank very dirty?



## jarthel (Dec 7, 2009)

Hello. I started planting around 2 weeks ago. But I'm getting lots of decaying plants and possibly algae.

1. Here are some plants which seems to be very dirty. I'm not sure if these are algae or decaying plants (could be a mixture of both?) how do I clean these? I tried a gravel vacuum pump but it cannot remove the stuff in the plants. also is there a way to make the tank squeeky clean without dismantling the current scape?

The water is not clear at all.

2. I'm also getting lots and lots of surface film! it's probably due to all decaying plants. I've made some changes to my outlet so hopefully that will fix it.

3. I haven't bought a test kit so I cannot test yet. But I'm getting a "stagnant" water smell on the tank. The last water change (around 60%) was last Thursday (around 4 day ago). The smell I'm getting is the same smell when I decided to test the new bought canister. I just filled the tank with tap water (no conditioner was added) and run the filter. After a few day, the tank smelled. Any idea what could it be?

Thank you very much


----------



## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Are you using an organic substrate with the Aqua Soil? Sometimes an anaerobic condition in the substrate will lead to hydrogen sulfide gas which smells bad and burns plants, which could be the cause of your plant die off. Stems might be blackened at the substrate...

Many other issues could also be the cause; this is just one that comes to mind in particular. Lighting at 4+ wpg also seems a bit high, but I am used to low-med light set ups w/out CO2 (1.85 wpg T5-HO over a 125), so not sure about that.


----------



## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

pictures? the surface film, does it look oily? maybe you will need to buy a surface skimmer and attach it to the canister filter for a bit. hope that helped some


----------



## BJRuttenberg (Sep 25, 2005)

What kinds of plants are in the tank? Some crypts tend to melt when moved from emersed to submerged.


----------



## smithgerry (Mar 29, 2010)

I'd also suggest that if you have gravel in the bottom of your tank, you either accept that you'll have to vacuum it regularly or else remove it. Frequent partial water changes are also necessary--ideally you should change about 25% of the water each week. Regular tap water treated with a dechlorination product will be fine.


----------



## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

i just noticed the picture link, sorry. what tipe of plants are those? maybe too fancy for your set up (demanding?) ...defenitly get a gravel vac and don't be afraid to suck out all that crap, i do 50-60 % water changes often and neither my fish nor plants have ever had an iissue...


----------



## chad320 (Mar 30, 2010)

if you just set it up then its probably struggling to catch up with the decay. thats the source of your smell and water clarity. I usually put a sponge over one intake and leave to filter to cycle the tank and let the other suck up the mulm and decay. you should be cleaning the filter as often as possible. 25-50% water changes. and patience.


----------

