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Cycling... What and Why?

andrew

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Hi, I live in Aus and have a golden albino in a 2ft tank. Honestly I have no idea what cycling is and why people do it. Can someone plz explain to me and whether or not it is essential.

(Message edited by axolover on July 03, 2006)
 
J

jennifer

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Welcome, Andrew. How long has the axolotl been in the tank? With the axolotl in the tank, the tank will cycle, whether you do anything about it or not. The only question is whether the ammonia or nitrite level will get high enough to hurt the animal during the process. If you have any questions after reading the article linked by Alex, feel free to ask.
 

andrew

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the axie has been in the tank for about 2 months and i have been doing regular 20-30% water changes and in that time i have done 1 full water with another one on the way as i am fully re-arranging everything. Also I do not have any tests. I guess I should 'invest' in getting some, hey?
 

kapo

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Andrew, if you are rearranging things in your tank; you shouldn't change the water completely as it will start your tank cycling again from the start. An easy way would be to put your axie in a separate container of dechlorinated water and do complete water changes on the container. Then sort your tank out how you want it, adding plants or sand/decos whatever. :D

Yes it would be a good idea to get the tests, if you can. You can get a master test kit which has all the tests (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, low ph, high ph) in it - costs NZ$60-$70 here not sure how much in Oz, but you might be able to get a cheapie online or on one of the auctionsites. Or, alternatively buy them separately. The main tests you need to worry about are ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and ph. But the first 3 are more important esp. where cycling is concerned.

How long ago did you do the 1 full water change on your tank?
 

andrew

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full water change was one and a half weeks ago and my tank temp is 18-19 degrees celcius.
 

kapo

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Well, looks like your tank is probably doing a cycle again.

If you aren't able to get the test kits (or master test kit) for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate; it'd be a good idea to get your tank water tested at your local petshop/aquarium every couple of days to keep an eye on the ammonia/nitrite and nitrate levels/readings while it is cycling.

Keep a note of the readings for each, and if unsure post them here).

You can leave your axie in tank, but if there are going to be big disturbances, ie: changing substrate, adding plants, decos etc... might be a good idea to move your axie to a temporary container, as mentioned in my previous post.

Do the full daily waterchanges only on your axie container. While the axie is in the plastic container/bucket (or whatever you use) there shud be no need at all do to waterchanges on your tank while it is cycling.
 
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jennifer

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The bacteria that do the "cycling" are mostly stuck to the surfaces inside the tank - the filter, the sand, ornaments, etc. Changing all the water won't ruin the cycling. However, cleaning off everything in the tank at once WILL kill most of the bacteria, and the tank will have to cycle again. Thus, when you clean your filter, you should not clean off all the sand and ornaments at the same time.

Regarding changing all the water at once... this can stress the animals in other ways. When a tank is up and running, many features of the water, such as pH and the concentration of various chemicals, change gradually over time. As they change, the animals adapt. But then if all the water is changed at once, that's an abrupt change.
 

andrew

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ok.so i was soon going to do a subtrate change to sand and add some ornaments. will this affect the cycle?
And what should the tests show if the cycle is finished?
 
Y

yvette

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i was in a pet shop today and the tests are like $15 to over $20 over here and they only seem to test one thing. i seen an axolotl that looked like yours today andrew! where'd you get yours? maybe there related! wait this one had brown spots... and more white. oh well they still could be.
see you at school luser.
 
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jennifer

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Andrew, it might affect the cycle, but you should be OK as long as you do not change the filter and wipe down the glass at the same time you change substrate.
 
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