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1st time set up...any problems?

jacksonuk

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This is my 1st set up for an Axolotl. Tank is 2'x1'x about 16" high.
Currently running just below 22oC, but will be fitting a reef fan as soon as it arrives in the post. Might fit a 2nd one if im not satisfied.

So yeah, just want you guys to check for any flaws in the the tank before we get the Axie in a few weeks.
 

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philbaker76

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Looks OK to me; maybe a few more plants (or wait for those to grow). See how your Axolotl gets on with the light he/she may not like it. Signs of stess are gills pointing forward (all the time) and a bent tail.

Good luck with your new Axolotl :)
 

blueberlin

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Hi Jack,

Take off the lid and the light and the tank will cool down immensely (albeit not necessarily very quickly). If you want to run the light for the plants, do so for periods as short as possible - axolotls do not like light. If the rocks leaning at the right of the tank are also a hide, I like it - from this view, it seems to provide much better protection against the light than the flower pot.

In all, though, I think it is a very nice tank and looks most inviting!

-Eva
 

jacksonuk

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Cheers, yeah i just added some basic plants to begin with. Was gonna add some more later on. Was considering some plastic floating plants, will create some shade that way. I can get a reflector for the tank and angle it the other way to dim the tank.

As for the temperature, I'd rather leave the lid on and cool the tank with fans than risk a jumpy Axolotl. Each fan should cool with 3oC so I can get potentially the tank can get down to a max of 16oC.

The pump filters the tank water 4 times an hour. I'm gonna deflect the flow and if thats still too strong i'll downgrade the pump.
 

blueberlin

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Aaaah, the dark part on the right is an internal filter! Won't that heat up the tank, too?

I have no lids on my aquaria. The water is a couple, three inches from the top; the axolotl won't fall out of the water that way.

I also have plastic plants floating in the aquarium with my juveniles. This wasn't actually intentional, I just lost the base of the plant somewhere under the sand. :rolleyes: the axolotls love it, though, and hang out there all the time.

You can deflect the water flow, put plants under it to break it up, etc. I am not sure what the output of an internal filter looks like, but if you can attach a spray bar to it, these are excellent for slowing outflow to a trickle.

-Eva
 

jacksonuk

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No the internal heater wont heat up the tank. The motor for the pump may emit a small amount of heat but the water temp will be about 16oc anyway with the two cooling fans.

I am going to buy a few packs of plastic floating water lettuce to create some shade, along with a reflector for the light. But the reflector will be angled away from the water to block alot of the light.

I dont believe there is a spray bar available for Juwel aquariums. But im going to angle the pump inside the filter box so the majority of the flow is deflected and stays inside the filter box.
 

gr33neyes

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You could try growing some anubia and Java fern in your tank. These do well in tanks with little lighting if you prefer to keep your tank minimally lit.
There is just one small thing I have noticed with your tank, that could pose a problem but other members may think it is ok.
Its your thermometer. A glass one . Axolotls can have a bit of a mad moment sometimes especially if they get startled and thrash around the tank a bit. I feel there is a small chance your axolotl could knock the thermometer and possibly smash it causing the liquid inside to contaminate your water.
 

jacksonuk

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Yeah I got a glass one one side and a liquid one the other. I only added the glass one temporarily to double check the temps.

I want the tank lit to some extent. The reflector will help alot to redirect the light.
 

gr33neyes

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As long as you provide your axolotl with plenty of hides the light will not pose too much of a problem. I have numerous hides in my tank so my axies can hide at night when I switch the tank lights on. You can find a photo of my tank in my album on my profile page.
 

Terri9967

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If you have light on all the time your axie will stay in its hiding places and you wont see much of him/her. A friend of mine did what you are doing. deflecting the light....it still lights it up more then they like and her axie never came out. So she only turns hers on and hour at a time a couple times a day.

Good luck
Terri
 

blueberlin

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No the internal heater wont heat up the tank. The motor for the pump may emit a small amount of heat but the water temp will be about 16oc anyway with the two cooling fans.

Ok thanks, I honestly have never knowingly seen an internal filter in use, so I don't know what their parts look like. Cooling fans will reduce temps that much? That's good to know.

I am going to buy a few packs of plastic floating water lettuce to create some shade, along with a reflector for the light. But the reflector will be angled away from the water to block alot of the light..

My "floating plant" is supposed to be an ivy or something; at least, that's what the leaves remind me of most - Hedera. It's really bushy and like I wrote before, the little ones love it. Shade is always good - like Becky wrote, if you don't keep the lights burning all day and give the axolotl lots of hides in which he can escape, he should be fine. I'm a bit worried that the flower pot may not offer enough shade, though. Also as Becky wrote, there are several plants you can use that have low light requirements - Java moss, Java fern, and hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) are a few examples of plants that will grow fine with nothing more than ambient light.

Axolotls can have a bit of a mad moment sometimes especially if they get startled and thrash around the tank a bit. I feel there is a small chance your axolotl could knock the thermometer and possibly smash it causing the liquid inside to contaminate your water.

Oh thanks, Becky, now I have another paranoia. Just when you think you've thought of everything... :rolleyes:

-Eva
 

jacksonuk

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Im gonna be trying a mixture of floating plants and the light reflected at a complete right angle straight at the back of the tank. I will see how this works then adjust from there.

Also will be re landscaping a little. Gonna leave the flowerpot as is. but all around the rest of the tank will be caves and hides made out of slate and rock, with taller plastic plants rooted into the sand around the hides.
 

blueberlin

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Well what I first saw when I looked at your pic was the rocks at the right. I thought the filter was a shadow made by the rocks leaning together. What you want to try and create is a place of total shadow as black as the filter. If you will leave the flower pot as it is, I would put something in front of the opening to shade it further. I'm thinking of ants and magnifying glasses... Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide...

I'm still not entirely sure why you have the light, unless it is to support plants. With all due respect, your aquarium looks to be modest in size - appropriate for the sustanance of a single axolotl. It may be a bit complicated to want to nurture plants and an animal together there - certainly not impossible, but a delicate balance.

-Eva
 

jacksonuk

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It looks like im gonna get rid of the lid as the cooling fans dont fit on properly or safetly.

I want a light on the tank. Why? Because I have seen plenty of tanks with them and like how it looks. I'm going to get a small wattage clip on lamp or maybe a LED lamp. But please know, The Axolotls needs will always come before my preferences ;)

I'll take some pics in a few days when the tank is rearranged.
 

gr33neyes

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You don't neccessarily have to sacrifice good lighting. Just be sure to provide good deep hides that allow the axolotl to retreat into them, but you can still see your axolotl in them.

I have hides resting on hides, hides side by side etc, but I can usually always see my axies and I only keep my tank lit in the evening. The lights go off when we go to bed and then its party! party! time for the axolotls.
 
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