Mold smell in fish tank

I am currently trying to set up a 55 gallon fish tank. This has taken a month or so to be able to finally get the tank filled with water. As I was setting up the fish tank I first started with cleaning the gravel and putting it in. After I had the gravel in I put a piece of driftwood in. Was unable to get the tank filled with water for a couple weeks and when I was going to I smelled something. Asked my mom what it was and she said mold.

I cleaned the driftwood that had the mold on it (rinsing in really hot water and wiping off the mold) and also cleaned the gravel that I saw that had mold on it in very hot water. Then finished putting the decorations in and filled it with water. The water was too warm when I put it in to move the fish right away so therefore had the filters running (with filter media from my other tanks) til the water temp was good.

I was about to put the fish in but the tank seemed dirty so I cleaned it and did about a 25% water change. I still smelled something coming from the tank. My mom once again told me it was mold (which it still smells). I got my water tested at my local pet store and they informed me all my levels are good.

At this point my question is what do I do now? Do I have to empty the tank and clean everything I can with bleach and basically start the process over?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Fire it up

Once the denitrifying bacterial colonies get established along with the ecology/chemistry of the tank, any unwanted aroma(s) should disappear. Molds thrive in the damp, not so much if at all underwater, and they don't at all respond well to bright light (but algae does).

Don't clean anything - bacteria is your friend/ally and makes everything possible. Organic smells arise from gaseous by-products of microbial and other metabolic activiyies (not unlike flatulence) - any issues you have are almost certainly a function of not yet having the right biota established in the tank - so "get it hot". Will help immensely if you seed the tank with the right bacteria - recommend introducing some plants/water or anything else from an established tank will accelerate the process enormously.

I have filter media in my filters from other fish tanks. Should I take some plants from other fish tanks and put in as well? Should I use more filter media tp put in the filters?

Also should I do a partial water change and put really hot water in then wait for it to come back down to normal temp before adding the fish? Otherwise how long should I wait to put the fish in?

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You should be fine as is, but plants are always good.

Hot water won't do anything but stress test the seals (Urrk! Urrk! - "Shaddup, not talking about you guys."), make that the sealant, and compromise your bacteria. Relax. Deep breath. Exhale. Ahhhhh. Now smile, you're about to create an ecosystem - it's not everyone gets a shot at limited omniscience.

You can put the fish in as soon as you like, especially if your established filter media includes something like a seasoned sponge pre-filter or foam pad that will be thoroughly impregnated with beneficial de-nitrifying bacteria. Otherwise just feed them sparingly for a week or two until your microbes have a chance to ramp up their numbers. And if anyone looks unhappy after a few days, just do a 50% water change and that should get them/you over the hump.

I realized what you meant after I sent the reply. I'm sorry about the confusion.

Thank you for all your help!

So over time the mold smell will go away? That is my last question for now

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I suspect so...

...at least insofar as anything unbecoming emanating from the tank. Was another poster here recently on a "stink-hunt" that ended up deciding that the stench at issue was actually not from the tank but from something growing on top of the media in his HOB filter. Maybe so. Tanks themselves don't generally stink unless something is really and likely obviously wrong like large dead fish floating on the surface. Melaflix & Pimaflix are mold inhibitors and smell good to boot - might throw some of that in if you have any but I'm not convinced that whatever you're smelling (with all due respect to Mama) is actually "mold" in the scientific/technical sense. Algae, rogue bacteria, sure, but mold/fungus? Anything's possible I suppose but if it is a fungus you ought to be able to see it growing on the surface of something.

Luck.

Chrisicoli is a microbiologist (of sorts) - maybe she'll weigh in and offer her erudite opinions on the subject.