Question: I'm New, and Some Things Confuse Me

Hello! I'm going to be a new axolotl owner soon, but I want to make sure that I am as prepared as possible before my little guy comes home.

While doing research I've come across a few things that have me pretty confused, and I'm wondering if someone will dumb down some of these things in a way that a person having no past experience will understand.

1. I only have experience with terrestrial reptiles and amphibians, so I'm new with this "cycling" business. I know what ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite are chemistry-wise, but I'm not sure how any of this plays into cycling. What does one do in order to "cycle" their tank? At what point is it safe to add an axolotl to the tank?
2. What role in the cycling process does a filter have?
3. What role in the cycling process do plants have? I would like to create a moss carpet on the bottom of the tank using the method of growing java moss inside some fine mesh. Will this work as a replacement to substrate? I think it would be beneficial to the cycling, oxygen, etc of the tank, but I'm not sure. Also, I think I'm going to set up a system like the one in this thread... What does that mean for cycling? http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...ups-filters-substrate/75767-plant-filter.html

Answering any of these questions for me would be so much help. Please and thank you!

I'm new myself, but...

- Filters house good bacteria and oxygenate the water, some provide mechanical filtration as well. The filter is generally the richest source of good bacteria in the tank.

- To cycle, you can use bottled ammonia or feeder fish that may or may not survive. You can also "seed" the tank with good bacteria from an established source. For instance, the pet store I go to sells "live" filters so you don't really have to cycle at all. They also sell various live substrate. I got some live sand for $1 to help jump-start things. Sand's not as good as gravel, but as small gravel's not safe for axolotls, so it was the best choice, considering.

- Plants use the waste and convert it to less harmful molecules, basically. These can only be removed by water-changes.



And, yeah, it's a lot to take in if you're never had an aquarium before. D:


I'm not sure about the moss carpet. My first thought is it might be very difficult to keep clean and the wire, if they can reach it through the moss, could be a hazard/uncomfortable. Especially with live plants, axolotls are messy creatures.

Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are chemicals that harm your axolotl, so you try to cultivate bacteria to convert ammonia(most dangerous toxin) to nitrite(next dangerous) to nitrate(least dangerous). The cycling is the process of growing those bacteria. You need an ammonia source to start cycling, to start off the bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite. After adding an ammonia source you will notice the ammonia will slowly drop and the nitrite will start to rise. You will need to add more ammonia to feed the bacteria, and eventually nitrite will drop, and you'll start to see nitrate rise. Nitrate is relatively harmless, and as long as you keep the nitrate level below 40 ppm's your axolotls will be happy water parameter wise. This process usually takes 4-6 weeks
So the filter cultivates certain bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite, and nitrite to nitrate. You don't need to have a filter to cultivate this bacteria, but a filter provides porous material that receives plenty of oxygen, and runs through the water, so I suggest having at least a sponge filter.
Plants are typically very good media for beneficial bacteria, and their roots provide oxygen and are very porous, so you could say plant roots can be used as beneficial bacteria media. Plants also reduce ammonia (some say nitrite) and nitrate directly, which is always handy. I always use plants in every one of my setups.
Even though you're going to use a plant filter(I love mine) I would still suggest cycling prior to introducing the plant filter. Not only does it take a month or so for the plants to acclimate to aquatic conditions, but some random roots will still rot off for a few months even after the plant has acclimated to aquatic conditions, which doesn't help water conditions. I personally used the plant filter to combat the ammonia/nitrite i was getting in my tank so I didn't have to do as many waterchanges per day, but that was because my tank became uncycled after the tank was already setup. Adding a plant filter will not harm your bb, or mess up the cycle, so it's less risky to just cycle first, and then add the plant filter. That way if a massive amounts of roots die off in your tank(btw i suggest acclimating the plants in a bucket for a few months) you'll just get some nitrate instead of ammonia which could potentially severely harm your axolotls. Although if you're still monitoring the water on a daily basis, adding a plant filter while cycling shouldn't hurt the process either
If you're going to fishless cycle you should keep ammonia at 4 ppm's until it drops, and then start adding ammonia to keep the level at 4 until it drops to 0 within a day.
If you're going to cycle with the axolotls do your best to keep ammonia at .5 ppm's or lower, nitrite at 3 ppm's or lower, and nitrate below 40 ppm's(general rule for nitrate).
I also highly suggest fishless cycling, its faster, easier, and using feeder fish subject the fish to unnecessary harm.
A moss carpet should be fine, but axolotls don't like light, so that may be a potential problem to work around. I'm not sure how well they'd be able to walk on mesh, but it shouldn't be too problematic

I use plants in my filtration, and it works better than I could have imagined. household plants such as peace lilies, pothos and even dwarf papyrus work well.

if you have the space to make a sump for your tank complete with plants, I'd go for it.

also, happy Australia day!

Thanks everyone! Your explanations and breaking everything down made sense. I guess I'll set up a tank and start getting it cycled!