Cloudy Smelly Tank.

So bad news first, all of my fish have died whilst I have been away for a few days, I haven't left a holiday feeder or anything in the tank.
The tank its self is over 2 months old and was started using media from a friends tank which is fine and has been running for around 2 years, my tank is very cloudy, a white cloudy colour that rolls around the tank like fog? It also smells quite bad, with a smell I can't quite put my finger on? The heater is working fine as all my thermometers read a similar amount of around 26.5 degrees.

When I got back and tested the water my ph was the same as it always has been at 7.8, ammonia was at 0, nitrite was also 0 and nitrate was 20 which again is what it pretty much always is. I use api liquid testers, although a fish place near work has said they don't rate them and that JBL test kit is better?

I checked all the fish for any signs I could but they had no marks and the gills had no colour to them.
As far as I know nothing has gotten in the water as its in my room next to a window that is always on the latch for fresh airflow, some sunlight does hit the tank but not too much.

The smell, is hard to describe and the only thing I can liken it to is when I changed my old tank from gravel to sand, when I was taking the gravel out it had a very similar smell almost like a rotting smell maybe?

I did a water change the day before I left and a vacuum at the same time.

I'm going to clear and clean the tank in the next few days and throw the filter media away and use Sues fishless cycle, but just need to see if it's anything I have done?  If anybody has any ideas?

hello rich sorry to hear about your fish loss

was someone alse taking care of the fish while you was away

could the smell be from the dead fish rotting away and bloating , if they died on day 1 of your hoilday that is still plenty of time to decay and smell.
what fish was in the tank and was there any recent additions to the tank.

Sorry to hear about that, Rich. I've left a tank of fish for 2 weeks with no ill effects so it wasn't a direct result of that.

The smell... was it a sort of compost heap smell?

Thanks guys, and thanks for the sympathy. To answer your questions-

I thought it could be a bacteria bloom but as the tank has been running for some time didn't think it would be?

The smell is very hard to explain. It almost smells like when drains are blocked? Or when stagnant water is disturbed? That's the closest thing I can think of. Which is weird as I have a spray bar and bubbles so it definitely isn't stagnant.

With regards to filter media I'd rather start again especially with the smell, I have plent of filter stuff as it was cheaper to buy my media in bulk than separate. So have more than enough to start several tanks.

There were people in the house but they never go in my room when I'm not in and don't spray anything in the room.

I'll stick to the API tests then, as I've always found them ok. Just wondered with the extent they were going to discredit API and how JBL was better.

That's what I thought, It could have been the fish but all the fish were removed when I got home Sunday evening. I know I got them all as i was counting what fish were to see if I had any alive. I do have live plants probably around 150ish most of them seemed ok, only a couple looked to be slightly dying but these were the newer of the bunch and have been in for around 2 weeks where they usually die off slightly then come back in my experience. The smell though has gotten worse as I left the tank running without the lights on to see what would happen to the cloudiness but it hasn't moved and the smell has just gotten worse. So I'm currently removing all the water and plants now as the plants ( most of them) have a white film or slight coating to them??

According to my other half rotten eggs was the closest smell she could think of, I've lead a sheltered life and have never smelt rotten eggs lol

Well that was something I considered Steve, but wasn't sure as my tank was only running for around 10/11 weeks that it was long enough for that to happen??

Anyway I've emptied the tank to start cleaning it and the rocks and filter and heater tomorrow to start the fish less cycle over the weekend.

On a side note I've found an online place to get some mor plants and for the amount its very cheap! 200 plants for just under £29 which is an awful lot cheaper than it was for me to buy them in shops. Anyone had any experience buying plants online???

yes rich i bought all my plants from ebay, was much cheeper than buying from my local shops , i was very pleased with them and they seemed to arrive to me in very good condition , they was in re usable bags and was nice and moist , i would certainly buy again.

You seem to have it mostly covered Puffin. I could add that you try and squidge your rocks own so the gap is less than 2" and to improve the circulation in your tank. Any Hydrogen Sulphide can then get whisked away and degassed to atmosphere before doing any damage.