Just noticed - Smelly water??? YUCK

[sweetxoxo31]

I just posted about my water however, I just tested my calcium level also...this test reads I have approx 240 total calcium - and states that a healthy level is 400- 450? its a HAGEN test given to me by my sis - you put drops in the vial, and it was pink, then add a drop & mix until it turns violet then multiply that number of drops times 20 to determine calcium in mg's. I had 12 drops x 20 is suppose to equal my ca+ level. So apparently I am low?
Also, when the tank hood was up and I was taking out the thermometer to clean it off etc, clean off the sides, I noticed a yucky odor? I just did a water change about 10 days ago which brought on the new brown algae...now it stinks like muck? to refernece the smell...its the smell of the inside of a snail shell when its died..and I did see a snail shell being attacked by my peppermint shrimps..guess he was a night time snack when he fell from the wall?
My CUC = a couple small tiny/snails...think they were narssus? I have about 3larger snails - turbo, 1 fancy snail that is in a white shell, shiny & sometimes camouflages itself! (I asked the board what this was the other night) a couple tiny blue leg hermits, and 5 peppermint shrimp, 3 emerald crabs..
SO I'm preparing my water but can't wait to clean up the sand on this tank & refresh this water.....
Also I found my in the items my sister gave me (her tank broke) some stuff I can/should use
#1 Chemi- clean powder (read about this stuff on this board)
#2 Liquid Calcium - use this to raise ca+ level??
#3 B-Ionic calcium buffer system 1 & 2 . 1 = alakalinity 2 = calcium
Ok what to do from here??
Thank god for this board...

 

[sweetxoxo31]

maybe me replying to myself will move this up to prompt some type of response??

 

[snakeblitz33]

Sweet, just a bit of advice, me personally - I skip threads that have long starting posts. A simple question of "Why is my water smelly and my calcium only at 240ppm?" should suffice.
Smelly water might mean not enough flow. Add more flow to your tank. When you do water changes, do you use pure RO/DI water or dechlorinated tap water?
Do you have any corals? What is your alkalinity at? If you can't test for alkalinity, don't add a product to adjust it.
Go to you lfs and get as much water as you can for a 50% water change. Buy a couple of powerheads and make sure they stir the water around pretty well. Change your filtration media too. Also - you should put some carbon in the system. Carbon will help with any toxins or yellow tint to the water. Good luck and have fun with it! If you need any additional info - e-mail me. SnakeBlitz33@gmail.com