Why does my aquarium smell like chemicals?

[OliviaRose99]

I am very new to fish tanks as i got my first fish a few days ago. I got a betta fish and some neon tetras, but the betta killed the neons. I returned the betta and got two mollies and more neon tetras yesterday. Five of the six neon tetras i got died within a few hours of putting them in the tank. The mollies are okay and the surviving neon looks healthy to me. I have a 10 gallon tank that i filled with filtered tap water a few days ago. I ran the filter, air stone and heater overnight before getting any fish. I also added the correct amount of water conditioner, but the tank smells like chemicals. It doesn't smell like fish or ammonia, just some sort of chemical. Does anyone have any idea of what the smell could be from and what i could use to fix it?

 

[blaxsun]

It's been many years since I dabbled in freshwater so i'll let someone else chime in...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

My first response will be unsatisfying: anything you can smell in any context is a chemical. So smelling like a chemical is not particularly useful.

 

[rennjidk]

If it smells like sulfur/eggs, it's probably your declorinator. If it smells like a pool, then your water has higher levels of chlorine. If it's just a general plastic "chemical" smell, its most likely off gassing. Did you put a bunch of artificial decorations in the tank? Does it have a plastic hood with a light attached to the underside? A lot of times those cheaper hood/light combos put out a lot of heat and can cause the canopy to heat up and off gas. I even had one melt through and cause the lid to bubble on top. And needless to say, if it smells like burning electronics, check your equipment and make sure it's not burning.

 

[OliviaRose99]

If it smells like sulfur/eggs, it's probably your declorinator. If it smells like a pool, then your water has higher levels of chlorine. If it's just a general plastic "chemical" smell, its most likely off gassing. Did you put a bunch of artificial decorations in the tank? Does it have a plastic hood with a light attached to the underside? A lot of times those cheaper hood/light combos put out a lot of heat and can cause the canopy to heat up and off gas. I even had one melt through and cause the lid to bubble on top. And needless to say, if it smells like burning electronics, check your equipment and make sure it's not burning.

Its kind of just a chemical smell. Idk how to describe it. Its not like eggs or chlorine. Its just a wired chemical smell.
I have about five small artificial plants and a hood with a built in light. I used many testing strips and they all say the water is fine. My air pump is a little warm but nothing bad. All the other equipment is fine. What do you suggest i do if it's the hood? The aquarium I have now is what i believe to be a good brand and it came with the hood. I have a cat who likes to be in my room so i need a hood. Any suggestions on what to do?

 

[OliviaRose99]

My first response will be unsatisfying: anything you can smell in any context is a chemical. So smelling like a chemical is not particularly useful.

I really don't know how to describe it. Its not like chlorine, not like eggs or ammonia. Its just what scent comes to mind when i think of chemicals! Not really plastic-y or rubber-y. Almost like a bad cleaner smell. I really have no clue how to describe it.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

Its kind of just a chemical smell. Idk how to describe it. Its not like eggs or chlorine. Its just a wired chemical smell.
I have about five small artificial plants and a hood with a built in light. I used many testing strips and they all say the water is fine. My air pump is a little warm but nothing bad. All the other equipment is fine. What do you suggest i do if it's the hood? The aquarium I have now is what i believe to be a good brand and it came with the hood. I have a cat who likes to be in my room so i need a hood. Any suggestions on what to do?

I think you answered your own question. Wired chemical smell probably the plastic hood and light. It'll go away, just the new plastic smell I'm thinking. My old fluval had the same smell, consider it as a new car smell.

 

[OliviaRose99]

I think you answered your own question. Wired chemical smell probably the plastic hood and light. It'll go away, just the new plastic smell I'm thinking. My old fluval had the same smell, consider it as a new car smell.

Its a pretty gross smell but i guess that could be it. Thanks!

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am very new to fish tanks as i got my first fish a few days ago. I got a betta fish and some neon tetras, but the betta killed the neons. I returned the betta and got two mollies and more neon tetras yesterday. Five of the six neon tetras i got died within a few hours of putting them in the tank. The mollies are okay and the surviving neon looks healthy to me. I have a 10 gallon tank that i filled with filtered tap water a few days ago. I ran the filter, air stone and heater overnight before getting any fish. I also added the correct amount of water conditioner, but the tank smells like chemicals. It doesn't smell like fish or ammonia, just some sort of chemical. Does anyone have any idea of what the smell could be from and what i could use to fix it?

If using tap water , you will smell chlorine, fluoride and other additives

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If using tap water , you will smell chlorine, fluoride and other additives

Fluoride should have no smell.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

Fluoride should have no smell.

Only in Wisconsin you can

 

[vetteguy53081]

Fluoride should have no smell.

yes, I cannot say it does but was suspected as hydrogen flouride has a small level of odor and i know can be bitter tasting when used for teeth. Also are pesticides, heavy metals, chloramines. . . can even be plants if any within tank.

 

[OliviaRose99]

I really don't know how to describe it. Its not like chlorine, not like eggs or ammonia. Its just what scent comes to mind when i think of chemicals! Not really plastic-y or rubber-y. Almost like a bad cleaner smell. I really have no clue how to describe it.

UPDATE:
The smell completely went away! But a different smell appeared. This one smells like something warm and It smells like something I should not be inhaling. Its even harder to describe then the other one. I did do a partial water change today so I'm just gonna wait a bit and then test it again. If my tests are fine imma take it into PetSmart to get it tested there. Thank you everyone who helped with the last smell.

 

[bluemon]

UPDATE:
The smell completely went away! But a different smell appeared. This one smells like something warm and It smells like something I should not be inhaling. Its even harder to describe then the other one. I did do a partial water change today so I'm just gonna wait a bit and then test it again. If my tests are fine imma take it into PetSmart to get it tested there. Thank you everyone who helped with the last smell.

Describing a smell as "warm" definitely doesn't help.

Did you try cracking open a window? Seems like you shouldn't be breathing this in

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Warm chemical smells. Dangerous. lol

Baking bread comes to mind.

 

[ErikVR]

A healthy freshwater tank has a very distinct smell to it. Not a smell I could explain in any way. Never smelt anything like it anywhere else. I wouldn't call it chemical though.

Smelling 'warm' could actually be a decent description. Maybe you can go to your fish store and ask if you can stick your nose into their freshwater systems. See if it matches.

 

[7of9]

Warm chemical smells. Dangerous. lol

Baking bread comes to mind.

Best smell ever and the way yeast does its thing might as well be magic.

Given that the more you bake in your kitchen, the better your bread is because you’ve changed the micro biome of natural wild yeast there, could something similar go on in a home with a mature tank versus a new one or multiple tanks versus one small one? Do our tanks alter our homes similar to how our homes can alter them?

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

Are you on a Well? Could be Benzenes in your water. About 15 years ago, the county was checking for Benzenes in everyone’s well water, due to service station tanks leaking and a Dry Cleaners, that just dumped the chemicals out the back door. BTW, a RO/DI will remove them, till the Charcoal gets saturated, then it will do a dump of the chemicals.

 

[BetaFishBaby]

Yall I might have a solution. I just ran into this issue. The bases of the plastic fake plants, pull those out and CAREFULLY smell those. Those might be the source of the warm chemical smell. Please be careful though, the smell made me very lightheaded. I think some of those black rock bases for the plants either degrade over time, or the glue begins to come undone. Very chemically smell that’s not eggs or chlorine, it smells like something you shouldn’t be breathing. Doing more research on this today, but someone else on a site mentioned a train of thought I found interesting. ((This next part is not my idea, just repeating what I read.)) these cheaper decor companies are not all in the USA. They often dont have the same testing processes and regulations, thus many of the decor is probably never properly tested because it’s cheap to make and cheap to ship but expensive to fully treat. The epoxy might not actually be durable enough to seal the decor, and those chemicals could escape. Just a thought.
So, maybe try checking those fake plant bases. Mine smelt absolutely noxious, I felt ready to pass out after sniff testing three of mine. Be careful.