Question: Water changing etc

[Ktlagges]

Hi all. I'm a new owner of two very anticipated Axies. My question is regarding water cycling and water changes.

Prior to the new guys coming, the tank was set up for several weeks. I just took a reading and there are still some ammonia levels..not so much with the nitrate. How long does it take to get the water right? I was thinking about adding a plant or two ( the fake kind). Will that help?

As for water changes. The two have been in the tank two days, and the water is murky. I clean all of the food left over. ( Not that there's alot..Pez is a little piggy.) How exactly do you change the water? Do I need to remove the two from their home? Where do I put them if need be?

Thanks.

[optimist]

You must be thrilled with your new axies. I love mine. You'll have to continue testing the water until its cycled -- will happen quicker now the axies are in it. Keep taking readings and replace water as necessary. The way I change my water is this. I use a turkey baster to remove uneaten food (after 20 mins) and any axie poop (as soon as I see it). I've got an external filter, and my water is cycled, but I change about one fifth each week, using a syphon (making sure not to remove too much so the pump runs dry), and top it up with dechlorinated water, jugful by jugful (so all my decor isn't washed away). The axies stay in the tank whilst all this is going on. It's really easy to do, and for my two tanks, takes 20 mins max. I check my filter media monthly. I always give plastic plants a scrub in the dirty water syphoned off, and check under any objects for hidden food/poop. I use the removed water to water my plants. Enjoy your new pets. I'm in the process of setting up a third tank (to stop my axies breeding -- need to separate them), so I'm in the cycle cycle like you, but mine is empty.

[Paul]

In order to answer your questions we will need the some additional information.

Did you do an ammonia cycle of your tank prior to placing the axolotls in it ? Some tanks take 4 weeks some take up to 12 weeks.

What are your ammonia levels ?
What is the volume of your tank ?
What type of substrate do you have ?
What is the temperature of the water in your tank ?

Any thing greater than 1 and you should do a daily 20% water change - this will also assist in removing the cloud from your water, the cloud in your water could be just down to "New tank syndrome". If your water remains above 1 increase the % of your daily water change and make sure you declarinate the water prior to adding it to the tank and make sure you test your water daily for ammonia.

Once you biofilter (the presence of bateria) is established it will absorb the ammonia in your tank. It will go from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate, commonly known as the "Nitrogen Cycle"

Fake plants are for decoration purposes only and serve no purpose in the removal of ammonia.

Remove uneaten food as your doing & the poop from the tank - the best method to do this is with a turkey baster.

A gravity vacuum is easy to use & no you don't need to remove your axolotls while using it, it will also be useful for cleaning your substrate - if you have one.

If your pH levels are a little lower than normal thats ok too as the ammonia in your tank is less toxic.

Here is a link to assist you

http://caudata.org/cc/faq/FAQwat.shtml

[Daniel]

I agree with Paul except for one minor addition:

Originally Posted by paullism

Fake plants are for decoration purposes only and serve no purpose in the removal of ammonia.

Useful bacteria will settle on every surface in your tank, even on fake plants. Therefore I would not wash or scrub them every time I do a water change but only if necessary.

[Paul]

Daniel is 100% correct - My words were poorly phrased.

(Thats why Daniel has so many rep lights & I only have 1.)

What I should of said was that while fake plants will not break down ammonia they will assist with the biofilter of your tank as bateria will grow on any surface of your tank, including the fake plants.

Thanks Daniel

[Ktlagges]

Thanks for all of the help. Here are some more of my specs about the housing.

The ammonia levels this morning were 2.0
I just did a water change after that.
The Tank is a 20 Gallon long. It's about 3/4 full
I'm using larger river rocks as substrate
The temperature is hovering between 64-68 F

I use a de-chlorinator prior to adding any water to the tank.

The guys don't seem to be exhibiting any signs of stress. In fact my smaller one (Pez) Seems to be under the impression that I should have left food for him after his water change!

I realize that I may be overreacting, but I want to make sure that they are happy and healthy!

Anymore info or advice is always welcomed!

[Paul]

Ok

I think we can help.

Firstly make sure you do your testing prior to your daily water change, I say this because I am not sure whether or not you are doing this.

1. Fill your tank up - This will help dilute the level of your ammonia.
Think of it this way if you drink cordial then the more cordial you add to the water the stronger the taste and the more water you have the less you can taste the cordial. So by adding more water to your tank this will lessen the reading of your ammonia.

2. Instead of doing a 20% daily water change, try doing a 30% daily water change.

3. I believe that you should change your substrate to either sand, either children's play sand or pool filter sand or have no substrate at all. The water between the rocks becomes stagnant - your pump is unable to carry the water through the rocks, you will find it hard to keep these clean. I know this from personal experience. I like you started off with large river stones and then switched to a substrate of childrens play sand and have found it so much easier to keep clean. I also kept a couple of the stones and have them sitting on the sand.

I am sure that you will also find some food and poop between the river stones that you just can't see, this could well be the main source of your ammonia levels. Sorry to tell you this but you could well find that your ammonia levels will rise even more in the coming weeks if you keep this type of substrate for the reasons that I have mentioned. The good news is that Childrens play sand is relatively cheap.

If you choose to go with a sand substrate then I am happy to give you some advise with regards to the procedure to do this.

Your not overreacting, your doing the right thing as a good pet owner should. If you like click on my membership, I have pics of my setup so you can see the sand substrate as an example.

Daniel is there any thing you would like to add that I may have missed ?

[Kira]

Sounds pretty good Paul....

[Ktlagges]

Thanks for all of the help. I did a much larger water change today, along with removing all of the river rocks. Boy oh Boy was it a mess after that. Thanks for the tip. So, not my guys have a bare bottom tank. They don't seem to like it as much.

My ammonia level went down today, 1.0 from 2.0 so I think I'm on the right track.

A couple of more questions for all of you:

During the water change, I was unable to siphon ALL of the wast, due to not wanting to stress the guys out too much. There's still a bit around the bottom. I've been trying to get it throughout the day...what's the best way to do this without doing a 100% water change?

Paul, you mentioned something about sand substrate. Could you advise on what kind, how much sand at the bottom and how to add it to an already inhabited tank?

Thanks

[Kira]

Originally Posted by Ktlagges

During the water change, I was unable to siphon ALL of the wast, due to not wanting to stress the guys out too much. There's still a bit around the bottom. I've been trying to get it throughout the day...what's the best way to do this without doing a 100% water change?

What I do when my tank is cycling, is I test the ammonia twice a day, morning and night. If at any time the test reads more then 0.5 I will do a water change asap of about 30% (my axies are REAL grots). I always make sure I do a water change at least once a day so that I can keep the ammonia at that level and I am always on the look out for ammonia spikes. Whenever I do a water change, I use the siphon, always. So that any thing in the water can be sucked up, what I don't get on that day, I know it will be there the next day, so don't worry. Oh, when I use the siphon, I vaccuum the sand first and then gently move the siphon through the water to try and collect any 'floaties'. Otherwise, just let your filter suck it up. Anything that is larger (ie. not floating), I just use a turkey blaster (or you can go to the chemist and for less then a $1, you can pick up a 10ml syringe which also works REALLY well) to suck it up.

Originally Posted by Ktlagges

Paul, you mentioned something about sand substrate. Could you advise on what kind, how much sand at the bottom and how to add it to an already inhabited tank?

As for the sand substrate, you can buy childrens play sand or pool filtered sand. Childrens play sand is the cheapest. Most sands or ok just as lond as its not calci sand (for reptiles), has dyes that will dye plants and water, not beach sand, not coral sand, not made from any old building materials, um I can't remember what else? LOL

Anyway, you only need enough sand to cover the bottom of the tank. If you have plants, you can have up to 1inch of sand, but no more or you run the risk of developing gas pockets.

When you buy the sand, you have to rinse it, and rinse it, and rinse it, oh and did I say rinse it! The best way to do this is to put some sand (only do small amounts at a time) into a bucket add water and swirl it and get your hand in there and mix it up and pour the water out, leaving the sand in the bucket. Keep doing this until the water runs clear, and then do it again to be sure..LOL.

When you add the sand to your tank, it is best to take everything out I find. Put your axies in to a container for a little while. Fill some buckets up with water from your tank to put your hides and decorations in (so that you don't kill your good baterica). And once that is all done, just whack the sand in there, fill the tank up with water and let the sand settle for awhile before adding the decorations and axies to your tank again.

I hope this helps and I hope I haven't forgotten anything because I'm a preoccupied...LOL

Take care and have fun

[Paul]

Looks like Kira has beaten me to the punch.

The only things I would add to what Kira has said is:

1. The more you rinse your sand the clearer your water will be - by the end of it you will be sick of rinsing sand. I rinsed mine several times a day for a week prior to puting it in the tank.

2. After placing the sand in the tank, get a plate. Place it on the sand and pour your water onto the plate. This will also assist in not mucking up the water so much.

3. Return your axolotls to the tank after 24 hours.

4. When you do clean the substrate each week or two you can get your fingers into the sand and just move it around a little, this will ensure there are no air pockets. The reason I say this is until you get use to using a siphon you might find that your also sucking up a lot of sand.

Don't be surprised if the whole cycling process is back to stage one - that is what happend with my tank.

If you click on my name in this post it will take you to my membership, I have pictures there of our tank set up with the "childrens play sand" substrate.

If there is any thing else we can help with please just ask, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Good luck and let us know how you go - also once your up and running make sure you post some pictures on here too.

Thanks

[Nat]

When changing Axi's water/ tank cleaning, how much water can you remmove at one time? I got told a total change is fine if it's messy, but someone else told me only 10%! I'm so confused but only had them 2 days, so at least I have time to ask. I have no filters.

[Rayson]

Hi Nat,

Ideally you should only perform about 20% water change each time. You can use a siphon or turkey baster to remove solid wastes and uneaten food. Avoid total water changes.

Cheers

[Nat]

Originally Posted by Darkmaverick

Hi Nat,

Ideally you should only perform about 20% water change each time. You can use a siphon or turkey baster to remove solid wastes and uneaten food. Avoid total water changes.

Cheers

Great! Thanks very much!