Freshwater fish tank

Question
A few days ago, my husband cleaned out the fish tank. I did not buy enough bags of rock, so he washed some off the old rock and also added some rocks he had out in the garage that have a clear coating on them. I know you are not supposed to add sea shells and regular rocks to a tank for they will harm the fish. Now there is this terrible smell, the water is cloudy and there are these white things floating in the tank, could this be from him using some of the old rock or from the clear coated rocks he put in there? Could my fish get sick from this?

Thank You,
Bethany

Answer
Bethany,                                                     You should never wash your old rock you should syphon them once a month to get rid of the solid wastes. At this point adding rocks coated with chemicals I am surprised you haven't lost every one. You need to make some water up in a large bucket on the side... close to the same temp and ph. Get your fish in there breakdown your whole tank get rid of all the rock and start again. You are going to go through new tank syndrome again(remember when you first set up your tank). When you get your rock it is 1 lb per gallon. This will ensure you get a nice bacteria bed growing. Good Luck,Tina