What should I get? (newbie questions)

I'm considering getting some Axolotls for my dorm room and would like to know everything I need to buy.
Obviously I need a tank. Does the tank have to have a lid?
Can I have multiple axies together? I read sometimes they bite each other or cannabalize but I don't know how much truth there is in that.
Could I have two in a 15 gallon tank? Could I have one in a ten gallon tank?
Do I need a filter? What kind is best?
My school is right on a beach so I have access to that sand but it would be salty. Is there anyway I can rinse the salt out or would I be better just buying play sand from home depot? Would I be better off going with something other than sand? I don't know if there are any hoses around on campus. Though I suppose I could deal with the sand whenever I go home and just bring it back with me.

What about drift wood from the beach? Would I be able to rinse the salt off of that to use it or would I be better just buying real or fake wood from the pet store?

Okay, and just give me checklist of everything I need if you can, I want to do this right if I'm going to do it.

Thanks!

I don't believe that the tank will need a lid as long as the water level isn't too close to the top to where they could get out.

You can have multiple axies together, but would need a bigger tank than 20 gallons. The rule of thumb tends to be more than 10 gallons per axolotl. Also, if you want to keep axies together, make sure that they are adults. They only nip and bite when they are in the juvenile stage of development.

2 in a 15 gallon tank would be too small of an area for them.

A filter will help with water quality. I'm not sure what kind is best for that size. Axolotls don't like a lot of water movement so nothing that produces a strong current.

As for the sand... I think it would be safer to just buy the play sand. That's what I did. Oh and RINSE it! Otherwise your tank will be a mess and you will have to start over. I rinsed mine a LOT and still had it be a bit cloudy. Sand is the best substrate to have. You can not have gravel because axolotls tend to accidentally suck them in and often times it will kill them. NO GRAVEL.
Big rocks are a pain too because all uneaten food and waste gets stuck in between and it makes it difficult to clean.

I'm not sure if I would try driftwood from the beach... I would imagine that the salt would be hard to completely remove. I'm not very knowledgeable in that area though. >_< I just got some from Petco and I know that other stores have some. Just don't buy reptile wood.

You will want to have live foods on hand if possible. Earth worms have the most nutritional value.
Axies also like dark places to hide because they don't have eyelids.


I hope this helps.
Tahnee

Thanks for the help! I'll probably just get one then and buy a 15 gallon tank. I'll stick with buying my decorations too, it seems like it'd be safer. See with the hermit crabs I have it easy because salt is fine for them (it actually prevents mold growth) so I get beach sand, yay free stuff.

And thanks for the tip about reptile wood, so would anything made to go in a fish tank be fine?
I didn't know that about the eye lids either. My dresser is near the window right now...I could move it under my bed further and it should be shaded pretty well, I'll just need to fine another way to get into my bed lol.

Now as for the worms, if I can't find any on campus (I don't know how they'd feel about me digging lol) can I use ones I buy from like a bait shop for fishing? Although those are always huge...I'll have to explore around campus more I think, we have woods so I'll check out there. How many do they usually eat a day?

Yay for free stuff!!
Anything made to go in a fish tank? Yes it should be fine. Certain wood types can alter PH levels so be wary of that. Oh and if you buy real wood be sure to soak/ boil it for a few hours... otherwise it will discolor your water to an ugly shade of brownish yellow.

Hehe crawl over the dresser? XD As long as the light level is low and he has plenty of hides he should be fine. Maybe blinds would help?

Yes you can buy ones from a bait shop, but as you said those are BIG. Too big for my juveniles at least. I dug some up from the backyard that were smaller and I've got a worm garden started. You can also feed them blood worms that can be bought from pet stores. Be careful with those because some people do have allergies to them.
Juveniles usually eat once a day. I guess it would depend on the worm size? Mine will eat until they are full and then I just take out whatever is left over. I give them a blood worm cube a day right now.