Cloudy water? Water Clarifier safe to use?

Heya all! I'm fairly new to the axie scene - and have mainly been lurking on these forums for bits and peices of advice. However, I was just wondering; is Tetra Aqua Water Clarifier safe for use with Axolotls?


I ask simply because my water is slightly cloudy - I use Large gravel as a substrate, and do my very best to siphon out any waste food. I use a filter with a spray bar (although this filter is rather new [about a week]) So it could just be that my cycle has not established itself properly yet - especially since the tank was only aged for about 3 days before adding my axies about 3 weeks ago.

I usually conduct 30% water changes every 2 days or so, to try and bring down the cloudiness level, and keep everything cool - but it always ends up the same cloudiness.

I don't have any readings for ammonia or nitrite/nitrate - however, I can tell you that the PH is 7.0.

- Anyhoo! I was intending to use the water clarifier to clear up the water a touch while the cycle settles in.
If anyone could help me, I'd be very grateful!
Thank you!
~ Lewis ^^

The tank is probably had to start it's cycle again because it wasn't cycled for long enough, therefore if you did do an ammonia test you'd probably find it has gone right up.
I don't know whether the chemical is safe because I don't know it's ingredients, but, personally I'd steer clear of any chemicals if you can, as the tank is re-cycling you will need to do daily 20% water changes until the ammonia and nitrite levels lower, it's really good to get hold of some testing kits if you can.
to avoid chemicals let the water you are using to do the changes stand for a couple of days to dechlorinate it, much healthier than packing it full of chemicals

Thanks very much ^^ I'll steer clear of using it then, and I'll leave a few buckets out for my next water change! Thanks very much for the advice!

~ Lewis

LewisDunbar said:

Heya all! I'm fairly new to the axie scene - and have mainly been lurking on these forums for bits and peices of advice. However, I was just wondering; is Tetra Aqua Water Clarifier safe for use with Axolotls?

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Hi Lewis,

No it isn't. Axies are very sensitive to chemicals. Don't use chemical clarifiers to balance a tank - they do more harm than good and wreak havoc on your cycling!

LewisDunbar said:

I ask simply because my water is slightly cloudy - I use Large gravel as a substrate

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Sorry how large is the substrate? Any substrate smaller than the axolotls head should be replaced. Have you considered sand as substrate? It's a lot easier to keep clean. I had large stones for some time and they were a real pain to clean under - you need to be thorough in cleaning under them as waste and food buries itself away.

LewisDunbar said:

and do my very best to siphon out any waste food. I use a filter with a spray bar

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Excellent!

LewisDunbar said:

(although this filter is rather new [about a week]) So it could just be that my cycle has not established itself properly yet - especially since the tank was only aged for about 3 days before adding my axies about 3 weeks ago.

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Just aging the water does not cycle your tank. Cycling takes two to three months. As your axies are now in the tank, they will be cycling your tank for you. The link below tells you all about cycling. I've tried to summarise it a bit below.

http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml

LewisDunbar said:

(I usually conduct 30% water changes every 2 days or so, to try and bring down the cloudiness level, and keep everything cool - but it always ends up the same cloudiness.

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Do you feed your axies pellets? These are a great staple diet for axies but are notorious for crumbling and causing 'cloudiness' in the water.

When you syphon the water from the gravel, do you move the gravel as you clean? A great deal of gunk accumulates under rocks, if not removed from the water it contributes to cloudiness.

LewisDunbar said:

I don't have any readings for ammonia or nitrite/nitrate - however, I can tell you that the PH is 7.0.

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You really do need to be able to monitor ammonia and nitrite readings. I would suggest you purchase test kits for these as a priority. The readings should be zero, anything higher is toxic to an axolotl. If you cannot purchase the kits, an aquarium can do the tests for you - it's cheap as chips in Australia, not sure about England. :happy:

As your tank has not been cycled before introducing your axies, the ammonia and nitrite levels can raise drastically before you are aware of it and be a great danger to the axies. You will need to do 20% water changes daily - this should keep the ammonia and nitrite under control.

An indication of a completed cycle is a Nitrate reading 10-80, Nitrite and Ammonia readings should be 0. The Nitrate when established breaks the nitrite and ammonia down into non toxic - at this stage you only need to do partial water changes once a week.

LewisDunbar said:

Anyhoo! I was intending to use the water clarifier to clear up the water a touch while the cycle settles in.

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Please dont. If anything, it will delay your cycle and totally knacker it up!

I hope I haven't bombarded you with too much information.

If you have any questions at all, please leap right in.

And welcome aboard! Cheers Jacq.