new tank set up - any advice?

hi gang!
been cycling our new tank for a couple of weeks, just put our pups in there yesterday. i'll attach pics for you to look at. My question is, what is the process now? I've cycled the water for a little over a week, we had 2 medium fantails in there to help it along [they are out now] - I know it's not the 2-10 week plan, but reading the axolotl.org site, they put their axies in straight away! Just need to know, do i still do daily water change for a couple of weeks? or just test the water daily to make sure the levels stay good? have read through the site, got good tips, is there anything else i need to know?

I would say test the water daily, and do water changes "as needed". If you find you have a significant amount of ammonia or nitrite, you may need to change up to 25% of the water daily to keep it low. From now on, the minimum water change amount is 10% weekly.

thanks Jennifer!
here's the pics of the new set up. It's a 2ft [w] x 1ft [l] x 1.5ft [h] I have it set up with an internal filter [hailea hl-bt400 - does 200lt/h] which has the flow diffused by 4 plastic plants [real plants soon], a 50w fluval heater set at 20deg [celcius], aquarium rocks and driftwood set up with about 5 hidey holes, silicone sand substrate [thanks for that idea caudata.org!!] and a few cleverly positioned river stones [so the big rocks don't tip over, etc.] I suppose my main concern is, does it look like there's enough floor space for them to wander around in? Also, when i want to put real plants in there, what do i need to do / wait for? wanting to get real plants in asap too!!

Hi evilaxies,

Are the fish still in the tank or did you remove them once you added your axies? This might account for the damage to your axies gill filaments. Some fish find these irresistable not to nibble.

20 degrees celcius is at the top end of water temp for axies if you can adjust it I would lower it to 18 degrees.

Any living addition to your tank needs to be quarentined for at least 30 days, This may sound pedantic but lots of issues come from introducing disease to tanks on plants and axies.

Tanks looking good remember axies like hiding so the more hiding places the better.

Good Luck

new tank set up

hi ian,

yep, the fish are out, took them out before i put the axies in as i'd heard fishies like to nibble on axie fronds. Actually, are there any fish that can co-exist with the axies?

also, the heater we got only goes as low as 20deg celcius. We were going to get one that went lower, only this one had the heater guard to stop them from blindly swimming into it and burning themselves, auto shut off, thermostat control but the downside to that is the lowest temp is 20deg. the heater guard is supposed to drop the temp by 1-2 deg, but the constant water temp is 20.1deg, because the filter raises the temp by 1-2 deg.

got rid of the gravel, using sand/silcone substrate, so no gravel issues. Water is no longer cloudy, but ammonia went up to .25, PH 6.4, nitrites: 0 and nitrates .5ppm. does that sound okay [apart from the ammonia levels of course.

the tank they were in was a plastic holding tank, cheapy one that we bought along with the axies whilst we were setting up the new tank. the water in there was cloudy and no good for axies, but no matter how many water changes i did, the ammonia levels never got lower than 1, so i thought it better to get them into there new larger tank with cleaner water asap, because the bio load in the small tank was nuts!!

so, is my heater and tank temp harmful to axies, or can i go on from here?

plants in tank?

also, with the quarantine period of 30 days, how do i introduce plants into the tank?

you dont need to heat their water, on the contrary the colder the better they like it, so i would remove it if i were you.
as for the rest sounds good and looks better.
just continue water changes on a daily basis until all is right, they should be fine in there as long as you keep a hold on parameters.

heater query

so, should i just turn it off then?

The temps down here are getting to summer, so average 24deg outside. I just worry about the night time temp, it can get pretty cold down here at night coz we're on the coast - will the temp changes be an issue for them [ie: shock]??

If not, then no worries about removing it - i'll keep it in there [switched off] and only use during winter, coz the water temp will drop to around 14 deg if not.

yes i would definayely turn it off , the tank taemp will drop slower the larger the tank.

thanks catherine!
yep, that's my daily routine for the next few weeks. once everything settles, i'll ease up. thanks for your list though!!

evilaxies said:

so, should i just turn it off then?

The temps down here are getting to summer, so average 24deg outside. I just worry about the night time temp, it can get pretty cold down here at night coz we're on the coast - will the temp changes be an issue for them [ie: shock]??

If not, then no worries about removing it - i'll keep it in there [switched off] and only use during winter, coz the water temp will drop to around 14 deg if not.

Click to expand...

Yes turn the heater off. Even in winter unless the tankwater temperature drops below 5 deg Celcius. Our axolotls thrive during the winter/cooler months, tank temperatures 10-16 deg (depending on the room each tank is in). So it really won't be needed.

The temperatures to watch are the ones going over 20 deg-24 deg; they can get stressed with the increasing temperature and develop fungus; also the warmer the water the less oxygen in it, whereas cooler water has more oxygen.

evilaxies said:

i'll keep it in there [switched off] and only use during winter, coz the water temp will drop to around 14 deg if not.

Click to expand...

Axies will do fine at 14C, it’s not far off their optimum temperature. The heater really is unnecessary. If you keep them outdoors they may need to be protected from hard frosts but I can’t imagine that’s much of a problem in Melbourne.

catherinepet1 said:

I am sure any minute kaysie or zapo will reply to this ​

Click to expand...

Lol, “Zapo” must be Kapo’s superhero alter-ego .

PS - she beat me to it...

heater off!!

sweet! the heater is now no longer part of the set up, have removed it. i'll keep an eye on the temp, but by the sounds of things that's the least of my worries at the moment. I'll use some of the tips in the 'chiller' article for the hotter months...

sounds like the heater is more trouble than it's worth anyway, especially if it hinders healing and creates fungus / more ammonia..

thanks for the tips peoples - very much appreciated!!

ps. i was wondering who zapo was... now i know!!

Mark said:

Axies will do fine at 14C, it’s not far off their optimum temperature. The heater really is unnecessary. If you keep them outdoors they may need to be protected from hard frosts but I can’t imagine that’s much of a problem in Melbourne.


Lol, “Zapo” must be Kapo’s superhero alter-ego .

PS - she beat me to it...

Click to expand...

Well i must look at what i have typed/LOL
Sorry Kapo/Maybe Zapo is the super hero of all on this site/just watching over us all/Sorry again for the miss print.

Don't worry about it = I'm usually on later at night, NZ time, and my eyes go a bit crosseyed and tired, that and the fact I probably need new glasses .

A few axie owners have used polystyrene round the sides/back of the tank, ie Catherinepet1, to maintain a cooler temperature on their tanks.