Question: New axie setup- coldwater cycling & growth questions

Hello,

I'm a new member here, and after making my intro post I hoped to ask a few questions here. I'm an experienced aquarist but have never kept a tank in such a cold temperature range and noticed some anomalies I could use some help with.

For starters...

My current setup stats are:
- 1 juvie axolotl (3" BL, 4.5" TL)
- 10 gal tank
- Mesh lid
- LED string light
- Aquaclear 20 with corkboard under output to buffer flow
-Flora substrate with a fine sand cap of 2"
-2 Coolworks ice probes in the mail but currently cooled with a floor fan
- Some Anubias, val and crypt plants
-Whisper 10 air pump (added today)

TANK
Ammonia- 0.25/0.5ppm
Nitrite- 0.0ppm
Nitrate- <5ppm
Temp- 64-66°F

TAP
Ammonia- 1.5 ppm
Nitrite- 0.0ppm
Nitrate- 0.0ppm

Dechlorinator- Seachem Prime

I seeded the aquaclear with fully established biomedia from my ranchu goldfish tank(usually 72°F) and filled the tank with tap water a week ago. In 3 days I noticed no measureable drop in the ammonia.

All tap water had been double dosed with Prime and aerated before adding it to the tank because I am super aware of my horrible tap water. My tap water has chloramines in spring added by my city to compensate for the spring runoff from nearby farms.

The axie had to come home from the breeder 2 days ago so I took some pre filtered clean tank water from my other tank and used it to do a 75% water change. The ammonia read a bit above 0.25ppm. Now, two days later it still tests a bit above 0.25ppm. To me this is a good sign because with the axie and it's big bloodworm feedings the ammonia should have risen over 48 hours if there was no biofilter.

My questions directly are;

-Is the cold temperature possibly the reason my established biomedia from the other tank is doing so little in this one?

-I just added an airstone today as there was barely any surface agitation. Could the lower oxygen levels in the water have been inhibiting bacteria growth? It didn't seem to bother the axie.

-Has anyone else experienced this issue when seeding from a warmer tank? If so how long did it take to rectify?

-As long as it doesn't spike, and seems to hold or slowly drop, can my axie deal with the 0.25 ammonia? Can I redose with prime every 48 hours to bind the ammonia or are axies too sensitive to take that much prime?

-Because my ambient room temperature alters by a few degrees, the axie tank goes up about 2°F over a 12 hr day and drops back down by 2°F overnight. I don't like the fluctuation but until my chillers arrive the fan is my best bet. My fish could tolerate this, but is this okay for the axie?

Thank you so much for reading my long post! Any advice is appreciated

Here is a cutie pie axie photo and a setup photo:

I've suspected that bacteria that perform well at one temperature might not do as well at a different one, but haven't had any evidence to support it before. :happy: It would be nice if someone ever has time to do some more formal experiments.

I would think that if there is enough oxygen that the axies aren't constantly surfacing for air, that there would be enough oxygen for the beneficial bacteria.

Unless you have very high pH (which makes ammonia more toxic), the axies should be fine. I'm leery about continuing to dose with even an awesome product like Prime, but I haven't heard of anyone having problems with Prime use according to direction.

The temp change is fine too - it isn't a fast change.

Nice tank. Cute axie! :happy:

Thank you for your help!

I am tracking daily levels, in case I ever have to seed for another coldwater tank from a warmer one. I'm hoping the tank will be zeroing out the ammonia within the week since it doesn't seem to be rising. A small part of me is terrified all of my bio bac have died off in the coldwater but I thiiiink it's unlikely.

A surface film had formed it was so still, hence the airstone addition. My goldfish tank is heavily planted and heavily aerated so I wondered if that difference upset the bacteria too? So many variables ahhh hehe

And oh I forgot to post pH! Its 7.8 from tap now and I've tested it as high as 8 from tap at different times of year. On one hand my gh/kh keep it super super stable. On the other hand ammonia scares me at that level. I know with my ranchu it's better to have high pH that stays stable than to start messing with it and chance a pH swing. Is this true for axies?

Thanks again for all the help! I know I'm talking tank science but inside I'm totally freaking out at how cute these guys all are. So happy to be a keeper

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Yes, it is better to have high-stable pH than to have pH bouncing around. And yes, the ammonia worries me too. (My pH is about 8.2.) But I don't have chloramine here. At least, not yet. If I ever do, I'm going to have to change how I handle water for the babies, who live in containers without filters.

You do seem to have established a functioning cycle considering your test results show nitrAte and your ammonia is staying stable even though you have a high reading in your tap water. Bare in mind that Prime will only bind the ammonia in your tap water for 48 hours, not remove it, though Prime is supposed to make it readily available to the biofilter, which seems to be working.

I wouldn't worry about the bacteria at different temperatures. When I cycled my tank I did water changes which would lower the temp from 19 degrees Celsius to 11 degrees Celsius and my tank cycled just fine. Though it would be nice if there were any research to show some true test results.

Your going to want to be careful while cycling since ideally you'd want to be dosing your tank to higher levels of ammonia to establish a strong colony of bacteria for your biofilter, and this would be exposing your Axolotl to level of ammonia that would cause stress, or potentially worse. It would be safer and kinder to remove your Axolotl and finish your cycle using either pure liquid ammonia or food as the ammonia source.

Tanks looking good, add more plants! I wish I had knew about the Flora Substrate before I setup my tank.