Question: Tank Water

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Andrew51

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Andrew
I am looking to start a tank before aquiring some axolotl, adn was wondering if using my well water from home and the treating it would be harmful to the axolotl. Is that safe or would it be smarter to simply buy bottled water and treat it accordingly?
 
What would you be treating well water for?
 
If you have your water test kit already, you can test the well water to see what secrets it holds. Well water is often quite soft so check the hardness. Is your drinking water (tap water) well water?

-Eva
 
Yes my drinking water does come from the well, and it is hard water. My main concern is that we had an E. coli scare a few years back and I just want to make sure that the water will be safe.
 
E. coli, oh my! (Little poem for ya there.)

Well (pun intended) is the water safe to drink?

Look, you will most likely want a water test kit for your aquarium so you could buy it now and test the water yourself (although not for E. coli). You could also take a sample of it to an aquarium shop and the folks there will test it for you.

-Eva
 
Well no one in the house drinks the water (we use a water cooler now), but we have the water softner hooked up, so I realize that salt levels will be higher. Thanks for the help, I'll get it tested before I do anything else.:rolleyes:

What would be a healthy pH level fior the tank? I am also assuming Ammonia should be a zero....
 
Hi Andrew,

Do invest in a good colorimetric solution type test kit. There are master kits that would contain everything that you require. However, if you were to buy them individually, the very minimum would be ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. As suggested by Blueberlin, you can also bring the water sample to an aquarium shop to test for you. Do not purchase dipstick tests as these are highly inaccurate.

You want to aim for 0 ammonia and nitrite, <60 for nitrate and a neutral pH of around 7.

On a second note, there are no test kits that would detect the presence of E. coli. The only way is to culture a sample of the water on a special agar media to see if the bacteria grows. That can only be done at a laboratory though.

Cheers
 
Hi Andrew,

Axolotls will tolerate a broad range of pH. Artificially adjusting the pH level is difficult and causes swings in levels (as you add something to change the pH and then its effect decreases, then you add more..) which can stress the axolotl. It is therefore better to have a constant pH level than to try and maintain a different one.

Yes, ammonia should be 0.

Read here about the axolotl's requirements; I think you'll find a lot of answers there, and then you can click through the rest of the site. The Caudata Culture site also has many helpful articles.

-Eva
 
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