Axolotl- so much money

LSuzuki said:
7.6 is not particularly high. Mine is 8.2. :)

But were you able to measure nitrite before the ammonia started dropping? Typically, there isn't measurable nitrite in the water before then, so nothing for nitrite eating bacteria to eat. (Some water supplies have nitrite/nitrate - I'm not sure at what levels though.)
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Hmmm I can't recall. :( my bad
 
Be patient. :happy:
 
Oh my gosh I just checked the nitrite and it's down to .25!! :D such a relief. Hopefully all goes smooth within the next couple of days.
 
Check your NitrAte to see if there is an increase, as said before:

Ammonia converts into Nitrite, Nitrite converts into NitrAtes.

Once you start seeing an increase of NitrAtes you know that the beneficial bacteria exists to complete a full converstion (cycle) of Ammonia > Nitrites > NitrAtes

Eventually you will have enough beneficial bacteria to continuously convert Ammonia and Nitrite, leaving you with only NitrAtes which you can keep below 40ppm by performing 30% water changes every week or two.
 
AxolotlChris said:
Check your NitrAte to see if there is an increase, as said before:

Ammonia converts into Nitrite, Nitrite converts into NitrAtes.

Once you start seeing an increase of NitrAtes you know that the beneficial bacteria exists to complete a full converstion (cycle) of Ammonia > Nitrites > NitrAtes

Eventually you will have enough beneficial bacteria to continuously convert Ammonia and Nitrite, leaving you with only NitrAtes which you can keep below 40ppm by performing 30% water changes every week or two.
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Well I'm sure there is a high amount of nitrates.. it's been like that since the beginning of the cycle & my ammonia goes all the way down from 4ppm to 0ppm. My nitrites just aren't going anywhere. (that .25 went back up to a 2 today :confused:)
 
& normally the nitrite test tube stays pink but if I wait 10 more minutes it turns a light purple like .25?
 
LSuzuki said:
Follow the instructions exactly. Some of them change color more after a while.

Found this while googling ... Enjoy ... Nitrite Test Weirdness... - 127264

:happy:
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Thanks! Is it normal for there to be nitrates present while the nitrites still aren't reaching 0 within 24hrs?

Anything I can do to speed up the process? My teacher I've been talking to at school may lend me her fish tank decoration.. how much would it help?
 
Yes, it is normal for nitrates to be present when nitrites still aren't going to 0 overnight. The nitrites that are going away are turning into nitrates. However, usually once you hit the phase where the nitrites are dropping noticeably overnight, it isn't very long (like a couple of days, max) before the tank is totally cycled. How long has it been?
 
LSuzuki said:
Yes, it is normal for nitrates to be present when nitrites still aren't going to 0 overnight. The nitrites that are going away are turning into nitrates. However, usually once you hit the phase where the nitrites are dropping noticeably overnight, it isn't very long (like a couple of days, max) before the tank is totally cycled. How long has it been?
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The nitrites actually haven't dropped at all. A few times the purple has been lighter rather than magenta but It must've just been an error in my testing.
 
Remind me again - is there anything unusual about your water or tank set-up or anything? I kind-of expected your tank to be all cycled. What is the pH right now?
 
LSuzuki said:
Remind me again - is there anything unusual about your water or tank set-up or anything? I kind-of expected your tank to be all cycled. What is the pH right now?
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wow okay so yesterday the nitrite was blue and I was so excited but it turned violet.. :(

but just now.. it turned blue so the nitrite level is at zero!! :eek: *hallelujah*
I will bump it back up to 4ppm of ammonia and see how it goes. :)
(and also test the pH)
 
LSuzuki said:
Remind me again - is there anything unusual about your water or tank set-up or anything? I kind-of expected your tank to be all cycled. What is the pH right now?
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Ummm the pH is pretty low at 6.4 but hopefully it will boost back up to 7.4 once I do that huge 90% water change at the end of cycling.
 
Is your pH naturally higher than that? Nitrate will lower the pH. I suspect you have a lot of nitrate.

Do a big water change now (don't forget dechlorinator) and see if you can get the pH up. Low pH will "stall" the cycle according to some sources. I don't think (but don't know for sure) that the pH kills the bacteria, but it slows down their activity a lot. (Maybe someone who has low pH can speak more intelligently on this.)

If I'm wrong, the big water change won't hurt anything (you will be dosing with ammonia again, so won't starve the bacteria), and you will drop the nitrates down a little early. If I am right, you may find out the tank is cycled already, but was stalled due to the pH.
 
Phew
I am confident to say the tank is cycled after carefully measuring my ammonia before and after 23 hours...
I am just about to put my axolotl back in but there is this stringy stuff in the tank like algae, I assume it is just from the tank cycling but I am going to dose it up to 1ppm of Ammonia tonight and wait to see if it clears up in the morning after breaking most of it off of the plastic plants
 
LSuzuki said:
Is your pH naturally higher than that? Nitrate will lower the pH. I suspect you have a lot of nitrate.

Do a big water change now (don't forget dechlorinator) and see if you can get the pH up. Low pH will "stall" the cycle according to some sources. I don't think (but don't know for sure) that the pH kills the bacteria, but it slows down their activity a lot. (Maybe someone who has low pH can speak more intelligently on this.)

If I'm wrong, the big water change won't hurt anything (you will be dosing with ammonia again, so won't starve the bacteria), and you will drop the nitrates down a little early. If I am right, you may find out the tank is cycled already, but was stalled due to the pH.
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^ oops I forgot to quote you. [I still don't know how this site works and if you get notifications or you just keep coming back to check, either way thanks]
 
Don't forget that big water change. :)

Make sure your nitrates are below 40 ppm and stay that way. (The nitrate test is picky - follow instructions exactly. I may have told you that already. :) )

That stringy-stuff is common in cycling tanks. You can clean it up. It should stop coming back soon.

Keep an eye on the levels even (especially) once you have your axie in there. :)

Make sure you know how to clean your filter without over-cleaning it. (I've forgotten what you have and it is too late at night to read all the posts and find it.)

I hope it is smooth sailing from here on out for you!
 
LSuzuki said:
Don't forget that big water change. :)

Make sure your nitrates are below 40 ppm and stay that way. (The nitrate test is picky - follow instructions exactly. I may have told you that already. :) )

That stringy-stuff is common in cycling tanks. You can clean it up. It should stop coming back soon.

Keep an eye on the levels even (especially) once you have your axie in there. :)

Make sure you know how to clean your filter without over-cleaning it. (I've forgotten what you have and it is too late at night to read all the posts and find it.)

I hope it is smooth sailing from here on out for you!
Click to expand...

Thank you so much you have been very helpful through out this whole process and convinced me to keep him haha xD

-Sam
 
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