100% water change

[WATERPUPPY]

how do you do a 100% water change whith out harming your little freind:wacko:
i would just like to know

 

[Jacquie]

A 100% water change is highly unorthodox - why are you thinking of doing one?

 

[WATERPUPPY]

my tanks bottom is really dirty

 

[Jacquie]

Axolotls are very messy. Have you been spot cleaning the tank each day and removing debris such as axie pooh and left over food?

While the tank is in its cycling process, you should be testing the water parameters daily for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/PH and doing 10-20% partial water changes daily depending on the readings.

What are your readings for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/PH?

What sort of filter are you using?

 

[JPDeed]

As Havelock mentioned, it is unorthodox, because it does disrupt the nitrogen cycle to a great degree. I would probably suggest, instead of the complete water change,

• some targeted 25% water changes, every 2 - 3 days using a gravel cleaner which can remove mulm from the substrate without disturbing the water column too much.
• After 4 of these changes, you should have removed the majority of the mulch at the bottom.
• If the tank bottom is dirty with a brown or green slime (usually a form of blue-green algae caused by too many nutrients in the water) - the same thing goes, except the matts of slime are usually too heavy for a gravel cleaner to pick up, so you may have to get your hands wet

The same thing goes though - partial water changes are better for the nitrogen cycle and better for the axolotl too. And if the bottom is this dirty, keep up those small regular water changes and avoid the probelm in the future. "A stitch in time saves nine" etc etc.

 

[WATERPUPPY]

yes what is spot cleaning and the bottom is full of dead plants
i do not yet have a ph reader im onley young and i have to buy evrethyng
and i have no job so if any one could send a old one to me PM me

 

[Jacquie]

yes what is spot cleaning and the bottom is full of dead plants
i do not yet have a ph reader im onley young and i have to buy evrethyng
and i have no job so if any one could send a old one to me PM me

Hi Waterpuppy,

Spot cleaning just means you tidy up any wastes you can see and remove them from the water.

Take all the dead plants out of the water.

How big is your tank?

 

[Jennewt]

For spot-cleaning, I'd recommend using a turkey baster. It may take a few tries to get the hang of it, but it's a good tool for quick clean-ups. Do you guys have turkey basters in AU? Here are some photos of what I'm talking about (so you don't have to ask "what is a turkey baster")
http://www.flippersandfins.net/Images/TurkeyBasterA.JPG
http://www.learningthings.us/acatalog/ist2_1078991_turkey_baster.jpg

If your axie has a small tank, and the filtration isn't great, then you may need to spot-clean the crud off the bottom of the tank every day. A chore? Yes. But worth it.

For right now, you need to get the dead plant material out of there right away, as this will make the water foul quickly. Try to remove all the plant material with only about half of the water. A 50% change is better than a 100% change. You do have some kind of siphon, right?

 

[WATERPUPPY]

my tank is 38cm length and 28 width 26 hieght
i dont know where to get them:violent:

 

[Jacquie]

Hi Waterpuppy,

That tank is very small - how big is your axolotl?

You can buy a turkey baster from a kitchenware store. An aquarium syphon can be purchased from any aquarium.

If you don't have a syphon, take axolotl out of the tank and place him in a tub of fresh dechlorinated water.

Once axie is out of the water, stir the water around in the tank to stir up the crud and use a container to bucket the water out - with each bucket out try to catch as much crud as you can. Only take about 50% of the water out as Jennewt said. You may need to keep stirring the water until all crud is caught and removed.

Fill bucket with water for topping up the tank with fresh and ensure you add dechlorinater to the bucket before you put the water in the tank.

Do you have a filter?

 

[WATERPUPPY]

my axolotle is about 18 cm he isnt that worried he can move around perfectly
i need a bigger tank so i put up a thread for a old set up i have no money
im hoping somone in brisbane or mt gravatt has a old fish tank so if any one has one please
i could use it:talker:

 

[Kal El]

Hello Waterpuppy,

my axolotle is about 18 cm he isnt that worried he can move around perfectly

An axolotl may always have a welcoming and cheerful personality, but this should not be used as indication of axolotl's health. I can guarantee you that an axolotl will still have the same 'happy' expression when it is unwell. But wouldn't it be great if an axolotl could show sullen emotions when they are sick?

Fish tanks can be purchased from eBay for a very cheap price, for instance:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/2-FOOT-FISH-...tcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Note: that is the starting price.

You can always ask an aquarium for fish tanks that they no longer want. They might give to you for a discounted price or if you're lucky, for free.

The best way to give rid of the gunk at the bottom of your tank is to use gravel siphon, which looks like this:

http://www.petco.com/Assets/product_images/9/9403616316B.jpg

Jay.

 

[WATERPUPPY]

thanks for that fish tank i will try to get it is it really onley
1$

 

[Kal El]

thanks for that fish tank i will try to get it is it really onley 1$

This is the starting price. The item still has six days of bidding, so the price will increase. I strongly doubt that it will sell for $1AUD because that is far too cheap. You're looking at roughly $50+AUD. Nonetheless, the tank will sell for cheap, and it's located in Toowoomba for pick-up.

Jay.