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Stability & ammonia HELP

Crystallynn

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Ok so I found out my tank wasn't cycled... So I started stability , I have ammonia in the tank that's what the strip says I'm going to buy a liquid tester Friday but what should I do because I don't want to do an water change when I'm supposed to be cycling my tank?? And his gills are forward...
 

peatea

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Ok so I found out my tank wasn't cycled... So I started stability , I have ammonia in the tank that's what the strip says I'm going to buy a liquid tester Friday but what should I do because I don't want to do an water change when I'm supposed to be cycling my tank?? And his gills are forward...

If your axolotl is in the tank while it's cycling (and believe me there are many of us who have done this!), you will need to do regular partial water changes - sometimes daily or even twice daily - to keep the ammonia and nitrites at safe levels. Don't worry your tank will still cycle.

How long has your tank been set up and when was the last time you changed some of the water?

Until you get your liquid test kit, I would suggest a 20% partial water change daily. Once you get your liquid test kit, you'll be able to determine how much and when do the water changes based on the test results.

I didn't use Stability when cycling our tank, so maybe someone with experience can give you some further advice on using it whilst cycling.
 

net

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You have to water change or get something like ammo lock as soon as you can or maybe put your axie in another container with different water for the time being.
 

Alkylhalide

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I was told against using things like ammo lock. It converts ammonia to ammonium which is non toxic to your fish however if you are trying to cycle a tank is may stop it in its tracks because the bacteria you want eats ammonia, not ammonium.
I dont know about a cycled tank but i read somewhere(i think somewhere here) that you shouldnt use any chemicals to lower the ammonia nitrite nitrates which cycling a tank because it will disrupt the natural cycle.
I am not sure how accurate this is but i was never planning on using anything other then water changes and normal dechlorinator so it didnt really matter to me.
 

Crystallynn

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I've had the tank up for like 3 months but I messed up but doing a full water change ! I thought that the more water changed the better.. But I have a little ammonia and my nitrates and nitrites are 0 and 0 means its not cycled right??
 

Jen10s

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I too have been advised against using products like ammo lock - it doesn't allow the tank to ever finish cycling.

Your water change should not have caused the cycle to crash - good bacteria lives on the filter media, decorations, plants & substrate (not in the water itself).

It's important to do frequent water changes to keep the toxic levels down whilst the bacteria establishes itself as mentioned above. Never wash or scrub your decorations and stuff, if they are really dirty, just swish them in the dirty tank water from your water change.

Good luck :happy:

Ps - as peatea says, 20% daily water changes should be enough, personally I'd not do any more than 40% at any given time. Read up on cycling, there are plenty of threads on here where members have had similar problems.
 
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