Question: What to do next?

Hi everyone,

I have been posting on here for a few weeks now talking about getting an axolotl.

Now I am finally a step closer.

Today my dad, boyfriend and myself built a cabinet to house my fish tank, that also has shelving above for my uni books for next year.

I will post pictures shortly.

The cabinet and tank are now in my room.

I have sand in the tank as my subtrate . I have purchased more as I would like to have a few mounds to it rather than just a flat surface. I plan to wash this tomorrow before adding it to the tank.

I am just wondering what are the next steps I should be taking to get my axie home ready. I dont want to miss anything.

I think after I add my ornaments and some plants I should be ready to fill the tank and declhorinate it??

I also need to set up my filter. This is in the hood of my tank. it is a 3 stage filter.

Please give me any tips or advice.

Also could some one please tell me the parameter levels im looking for, I do remeber reading them somewhere but I cant seem to find them.

I'm getting very excited =)

You can try 'slope' your sand substrate such that the back of the tank is deeper and gradually becomes shallower nearer the front of the tank. This can help detritus to accumulate for easy spot removal at the front of the tank, much like a drainage system. Throughout, the sand substrate should not be deeper than 1 inch to avoid anaerobic gases forming. These gas pockets are toxic and can foul the water.

It is better to dechlorinate the water per bucket basis as you fill up the tank. It is easier to dose the volume of water accurately this way. (The bucket volume is standard). It can be hard to estimate the volume of water in a full tank especially when you have substrate ornaments, hiding places and plants. However, having a hose to fill up the tank will be much easier as you don't have to shuttle with buckets around. Just go with what is better for you.

You can get everything ready and start the cycling process. If you don't want to use feeder fish/shrimp, you can always use the fishless cycling method.

Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling

Here is a link about filters. http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/filters.shtml

The main water parameters to look out for are ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. In a well cycled and maintained tank, ammonia and nitrites should read 0 while nitrates are less than 60.

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

thanks for that darkmaverick =)

so i have put all the sand in my tank. and filled it with water and ornaments. waiting for it to settle a bit. it isnt to bad.

i need to figure out how to set up my filter.

than soo i should be able to start cycling

Let the tank have a 48hr cycling period before adding any axolotls.
Have you worked out what your gonna be feeding you axolotl/s?
Just in case your planning to use a live food source
I would suggest you get that set-up so you can quarantine
them to avoid the chance of anything being pasted on to your axolotl.

Other then that you sound ready to go..
Good luck

Fully cycling your tank may take up to a month. The artical below explains the process .

Caudata Culture Articles - Cycling