Tank Cleaning

Hello,
I got my axie a week and a half ago and everything is going fine with him so far. But I did a 100% cleaning of the tank. I put about 50% of the original water back in as I had my axie in that water in a bucket until I had cleaned out the tank.
There was alot of dirt (which i thought might have came out of the large gravel i have in the tank) and alot of "Waste" which is why i did the 100% clean.
Is what I did wrong? Should I have only taken out about 25% of the water and replaced it? I'm confused... i think i read before it's bad to completely change water (although i did put about 50% of the original water back into the tank).
My axie seems happy for far... he's just resting as he always seems to do during the day.
Also, before i cleaned the tank the water was about 23-25C and now the water temp is about 18-19C is this too big of a temperature change and will it effect my axie??
Sorry, thats ALOT of questions but I just don't want my axie to be effected if I have made a mistake.
Thanks.

Just another thing, my cousin has two axolotls... not to sure how long she's had them... but they live in tank which contains just town water (which does contain chlorine) and she doesn't use any product to remove the chlroine from the water... the axies have not been effected by this is any way. Why do you think that is the case? Also, do you see any real problems with this?

A lot of waste/debris (poo also can disintegrate) do tend to collect under the gravel, which is why it can be quite messy. How big is gravel, as it can cause probs with your axie swallowing and impacting/causing a blockage (they don't always spit things out! Took 7 months for our axies to get rid of gravel out of their system).

When you say 100% cleaning, do you mean you scrubbed everything, tank decos/glass as well or just cleared out water, waste/dirt and then put 50% tank water back in? Cos if you did then no, you shudn't have cleaned the lot 100%.

Your water would have been just starting to cycle as well. Do you have test kit for testing ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? If you don't, and I'm probably repeating myself from other thread, it's important you test your water by taking a sample to the petshop and getting them to test. Keep a record and post results here.

A better way of cleaning your tank is:
* Get a turkey baster if you don't have one and use that for daily or as and when you need it spot cleaning of uneaten/regurgitated food and poo.
* As your tank isn't cycled: you need to test your water regularly (2/3 days) and do water changes accordingly if ammonia is too high. (20-30%) - the waterchanges only need to be done if you keep your axie in this tank that is cycling.
* Use the siphon/pipe/hose thingy to clean the gravel and inbetween when you do your waterchanges.
* Make sure to check in between plants and lift up decos/hidey holes (I find most of our axie waste hidden there). We just use the turkey baster to lift and check, but also do the same with the siphon on our waterchange days.

When you do your waterchanges, leave the bucket of dechlorinated water resting for about 1/2hr before adding, so the temp is close to room temp (same as your tank). We do our buckets of water night before and leave them by the tank, only cos we have a few tanks to do (saves time, and they are then same room temp as tank).

I know some people leave water in a bucket to age overnight and add nothing else. One of my friends who recently got an axie did it, we also have chlorine in our water, and her axie got very sick (it's currently in fridge). She didn't want to waste money buying extras, as her petshop said she could just age the water by letting it stand! (Price range here in NZ is from $3 for a cheaper brand or $9-$12 for something like stresscoat). I think, IMO, it is best to stick with using a water conditioner/ager/dechlorinator that removes chlorine as well as chloramines. Not sure why your cousins haven't been affected.

Hi,
When I cleaned the tank... I emptied out all the water and washed the rocks because they had waste on them as well. I only wiped the tank out. But didnt clean the plants that I have in there. And as i mentioned in my other posts I added about 50% of the original water back into the tank.
Thanks for your help!

As Kapo said, you will need to do a 20-30% water change when ammonia gets too high. When ur tank is cycled you can change up to 50% every week or 2 without upsetting the cycle.

Beneficial bacteria grows on the substrate, ornaments, plants, filter medium and possibly the tank walls. Washing any of these things in tap water will kill the bacteria on it and may upset ur cycle. The best thing to do is to rinse them in the tank water and use a siphon to clean the substrate.

Another thing, not sure if u covered it in another post but, how big are your rocks?

Just a thought, but couldnt you,instead of taking everthing out just to to clean the gravel, why not just use an aquarium gravel vac.? A small one for tricky/small places and a larger one for bigger, more bare aquariums. As Anna said, beneficial bacteria is present and you destroy it by cleaning the way you described.