[FishCC]

My new Aqueon Mini Bow Aquarium is all set up and has been running for about a day. The filter seems to have an odd wet dog/sulfur-like smell. Is it normal for this filter to smell this way? My fish is not in the tank: just rocks, a heater, water conditioner, and a couple of decorations.

 

[Sakura8]

The sulfur smell is possibly coming from the carbon. Did you rinse the filter insert before putting it into the filter? That might explain the smell.

 

[FishCC]

Yes I rinsed it with cool water twice. I wondered if the carbon had anything to do with it.

 

[Sakura8]

Did you add water conditioner? If you use a conditioner like Prime or Stress Coat, you can get a strong sulfur smell from them as well.

 

[FishCC]

Did you add water conditioner? If you use a conditioner like Prime or Stress Coat, you can get a strong sulfur smell from them as well.

I added Aqueon water conditioner.

 

[LaLaLeyla]

Yep my aqueon smells like that too.

 

[Badjer]

Yeah it's definitely the carbon...mine smelled that way too. I have a new filter on order for my tank though. Those Aqueon filters are ridiculously big for the tank and even with it being baffled, mine had a pretty strong current.

 

[FishCC]

Thanks so much! I don't have to worry then.

 

[FishCC]

Yeah it's definitely the carbon...mine smelled that way too. I have a new filter on order for my tank though. Those Aqueon filters are ridiculously big for the tank and even with it being baffled, mine had a pretty strong current.

Yeah I heard the current could be a problem for bettas. It's annoying how they advertise the Mini Bows as "perfect for your bettas" when their filters move the water around too much.

 

[Badjer]

It's horrible. Unfortunately, I got the "Betta Bow" version that my petstore told me would hold two males comfortably. That was before I began to research, and realized that they would benefit from more space than their divided 2.5 tank. I wish companies would only sell products that they knew worked well for the animals they make them for....

 

[Ogre44]

I got that same tank.
Harvey seems quite happy with the way I baffled the filter.
I got a scothbrite scrubby pad and cut a strip long enough to go all the way across the front of the filter, and tall enough it could be folded in half and used one of my wife's hair bands to bind it to the filter.
This left a little gap where the water is supposed to come out, so I cut another strip of the pad just long enough to fit and slid it into the slot, behind the original pad.
This has almost completely stopped the current in the tank, there's a little motion from the overflow area of the filter, but he seems more curious about it than worried.