Perfect axy water and how to get it

Ok, i was wondering the ranges or perfect water axys like, and how i can get it.....as in, i know they like harder water....but do i need to buy a KH test kit or GH test kit?...if so what range is it......150ppm??? Also what needs to be added to the water, water ager ofcourse....does it need water conditioner? The pet shop person told me i need to get it "bioclear" What does this do and is it neccessary? Or are they trying to sell everything in the shop to me that i don't need and may harm my axies. They said i have to treat the water with: Water ager, stress coat, bioclear AND conditioner crystals!!!! Isn't that too much? Oh, and they never mentioned anything about the salt content, they also said i HAVE to have gravel, shows how much they know....they also thought that they breed by letting the female lay eggs first, then putting the male in to fertilize...i think not!!!!!!! Lol, sometimes they can be so ignorant! Anywayz.... yeh, so i wanna know the perfect pH , KH, GH, what needs to be added to tap water and ect or anything that i should monitor and know to kep my axy alive for many many years and not a few minutes!! Like if i were to dump my axy ( which i haven't bought yet! ) into a tank, what will the qualities of that tap water have to be to be perfect....lol, geez i can waffle on!!!! Yeh
Yeh, so if anyone knows anything that will be great! I haven't read a thread yet that is on water hardness so far!!! And i'm confused!

Also i have a question....are those digital sticker thermometres accurate???? Or should i use the mercury ones? or the digital clock type ones(shows numbers not colour chart) ? They also said i need an undergravel filter and an air pump.....wouldn't that cause too much current and stress the poor thing??? thanx any help will be great!!!
sorry that i type too much.....bad habbit! I chatter on when im excited about something!!!!

a high ph normally goes hand in hand with a high gh. not sure about the kh but i assume it would be quite high too. im not sure on the exact levels of all that though.

water ager is generally water conditioner- depending on the brand of course but most neutrilise chlorine and chloramines. stress coat is a 3 in 1 really, good for the fishs slime coats and neutrilises chlorine and chloramines. basically all you need in the way of water conditioners/agers. im not sure what they mean by crystals- is this salt or something? and yes pet shops try to sell you every available thing in the shop normally

i actually dont moniter anything in my tank unless theres a prob so really theyre not all that picky. as long as its not extremes ie discus water or african lakes cichlids waters they will thrive. messing with your water and having fluctuations is worse than a stable, less than perfect tank. also half the time they will live quite fine in your water and adjusting it all is a hassle and waste of time. what are the levels of ph, gh and kh out of the tap? also if you have some older water (few days) whats the levels of that?

those stick on's get affected by air temp, i prefer those floating ones that you attatch to the sides with the suction cups. digital thermometers are great also!!! not sure what you mean by colour chart- the digital therms show numbers hehe.

UG filters are pretty poop IMO, you really have to have thick gravel and leave it alone to get the colonies going under the plates. also with sand its not an option really. externals are the best followed by internals/HOB's in my opinion

lol, thanx so much sharn. I agree the pet shop was goin crazy at my mum tellin her to buy everything!!! We already have water ager, that neutralises chloramine and chlorine, so i really don't get their fuss....they're stupid! The crystals i think is like a water ager too....theyre like blue, and looks like salt.....i think it may also have like electrolites in it, but my water ager has that too.....so i don't need it yeh?

o ok, so i need to go test my water at the pet shop...i'll feel guilty fro hassling them! And being such a scab....but i ain't gunna buy all these expensive stuff!!!
i meant the colour near the numbers how it goes, blue, green and orange...not like a pH chart!!! lol
......i may be internet illiterate, i thought i was good at it....but what is IMO???
.....oh i got it!!! In my oppinion!!! lol

is HOB a brand???

hob= hang on back i think. its like one of those water fall type filters, it hangs over the back of your tank. i have one but i dont use it i found the water flow to strong.

i have one too, i thought they were called powerheads....the current is pretty strong...would it be weaker if the water fell in the air alittle and hit the surface...i think it would splash and lessen the impact......or would it be less if the water didnt move a cm before hitting the surface of water? I'd face it to a wall too, not the length....the width u know??
what do you do to your water before u put ur axy in it?

If the hob filter doesnt have an option to turn down the current of the water OR a dial like thing to slow down how many litres per hour it cycles... you can also put something under the water outlet to break down the splash of the waterfall.
Like a piece of driftwood or something similar ie some kind of ornament that it tall enough that it sticks out of the surface of the water and catches the waterfall (am l making sense ? lol)

IMO i think a water splashing and hitting the surface would stress your axie too much

Perfect sense
o ok....would a spray bar be good for oxygenating and breaking up the flow?? i could buy on of those.
How do u prepare your axy's water jojo???

Spray bars are ideal. Nice and easy and can also be faced against the wall of the tank to break down the water flow
i tired to make a spray bar for my hob, after all the trouble i then realised that not only could l adjust the water flow on the filter but it didnt even bother my axies once i raised the water level (and set the filter to the min. water flow) LOL i wasnt the sharpest crayon in the box that day LOL

When you say prepare... im assuming you mean cycling ??

Check these link out, if you havent already
http://www.axolotl.org/faq.htm
http://www.axolotl.org/requirements.htm

is this what you mean

yea a spray bar is good for evening the flow and oxygenating the water.

lol jojo, ur funny!!! yep ive read al that site, but thanx n e ways!!!
a spray bar is liek a pipe with holes in it rite??? so theres like a waterfall, like several sections where water dribbles, or flows out, yeh???

the filters outlet is attacthed to the spray bar which normally runs along the back of the tank, that has tiny holes along it so its sort of 'raning', hard to explain lol.

personally i just use tap water with dechlorinator for my axies

lol
Yep thats exactly what a spray bar is Teesha.

Sharn,
Your raining explanation works perfectly

Ohhh Teesha i know get what u mean when u say
preparing" LOL
I used no crystals, no water ager etc nothing.
Norm tap water and dechlorinator - like Sharn

wow, so i dont need all that other stuff??? Which dechlorinator is best? Ive herd good stuff about stress coat and prime and amquel plus....what do u use?

And its best if there's less distance between the outlet/outflow and the water. Few cm's can make a huge difference on my smaller tank. And spray bars running down the back wall of the tank would be even better of course.

thanx

i use stress coat, has added aloe vera too!

I recommend not using one that says it 'binds ammonia' or makes ammonia 'less toxic'. This can give you false readings while you're trying to cycle your tank.

I like Stress Coat.

With stress coat keep in mind that the aloe vera extract is biodegradable and is a source of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as the bacteria break it down....

Ed

which product do you recommend as the best then???
i was going to put my axie in a 28lt tank with a filter that runs 380lts an hour...i now realise that the filter my mum bought me creates way too much current!!! So i will have to put it in the 2 footer....this is adequete? the 2 footer holds just under 50Lts i think...???

should i buy a KH kit???
What is the best KH/GH levels??
What is the best Ammonia(zero) nitrite and nitrate levels?
pH?? different ppl hav different views on this...
how high can the temp go without death????