Axolotl tank setup

[Autistic Catholic]

I'm interested in the potential of getting a pet Axolotl so I am curious about tank setup. I am looking into thirty-to-fifty gallon tanks and would need to know how long they can be. I have a spot on my bedroom floor which might be a good spot for a tank that's about 3.5-4ft wide (roughly 1-1.3m).

Also, how would I set up live plants in the aquarium and would duckweed portals (like that seen on Aquarium Info's YT channel) be easier or harder to maintain.

We keep our house around 71-75 degrees Fahrenheit but my room is in the basement. Would a water chiller be a good investment or would a fan blowing on the surface provide the needed coolness for the little fellow? Obviously, I could do some experimentation first.

I want to get the home set up before I get in touch with a breeder about getting an axolotl into the tank. That's most important for me. I've impulsed bought reptiles in high school and they both ultimately died from impaction which I wouldn't have known at the time but now know better.

Finally, for the filter, should I attach a louffa or something to the inlet. I recently saw someone on here who's little fellow got beat up in a freak filter accident and want to prevent that if possible.

Everything should be rinsed with dechlorinated water, right?

Thanks to whoever sees this and can provide more information on tank setup as well as what kind of sand, large stone, or plants they use in their tanks.

 

[JM29]

The first step will be to measure the actual temperature of your room with a thermometer.
If you can wait until summer, it's better because you need to know your summer temperatures.

Whith a 30 to 50 gallons planted tank for 1 axolotl, you should consider a non-filtered setup, especially if your temperatures are Ok.

You can easily set up live plants if you have 2 inches of sand (not gravel because impaction risk) and good lighting. Floating plants like Pistia, hornwort, Salvinia are also interesting.

 

[wolfen]

you can get sponges and shrimp inlet guards for pipe ends, for internal filters a thin layer of filter floss placed over the inlet vents using cable ties will stop any trapping of limbs.
there are numerous plants like java fern, anubias that can be attached to rocks, others like amazon sword require a substrate. any that you have will need to be low fertiliser/co2/light. frogbit/duckweed etc can be good for surface and will provide shade, mossballs are just free wanderers but do need squeezing on occasion to prevent rot.
don't have any sand/substrate until it is at least five inches in length as the axolotl will swallow some and in smaller animals it will cause impaction.
if the room temp is 20°c/68°f or lower in summer then a fan will suffice, if it is warmer then another means such as chiller will be required.
if everything is new in the tank just fill with normal tap water and let it vent the chlorine off, if the filter media is from a live tank then the water will need dechlorinating before adding to the tank. always dechlorinate before adding not after.
even with plants add an air-stone into the water to allow oxygen saturation, both axolotls and filter bacteria require oxygen.

 

[Autistic Catholic]

The first step will be to measure the actual temperature of your room with a thermometer.
If you can wait until summer, it's better because you need to know your summer temperatures.

Whith a 30 to 50 gallons planted tank for 1 axolotl, you should consider a non-filtered setup, especially if your temperatures are Ok.

You can easily set up live plants if you have 2 inches of sand (not gravel because impaction risk) and good lighting. Floating plants like Pistia, hornwort, Salvinia are also interesting.

Thank you for that! It's Lent right now so I am going to wait until after Pascha to get a tank so I'll definitely have the Summer temperature.

I'm leaning towards having a filter in case I may want a second down the line. What the advantages/disadvantages be of having a filter with that size tank out of curiosity?

I'm hoping when I look into getting one to go in a prepared tank it's already a juvenile of at least four inches too. But like I said, I want the home prepared first.

 

[JM29]

What the advantages/disadvantages be of having a filter with that size tank out of curiosity?

To explain it simply, aquatic animals like axolotls or fishes excrete ammonia and other waste which are converted into ammonia by bacteria.
This ammonia must be eliminated.
Nitrogen cycle offers 3 main ways to get rid of ammonia.

The most often taught is nitrification, which is badly named "nitrogen cycle".

Some bacteria called "beneficial bacteria" convert ammonia into nitrite (dangerous) and after into nitrate (not very toxic).
A filter rely makes nitrification the main way, but nitrates often accumulate in filtered tanks and frequent water changes are necessary.
Moreover, each time one clean the filter, there is a risk to lower bacteria populations with a risk of ammonia or nitrite spike.
Aquatic plants can use nitrate but not as well as ammonium. High levels of nitrates triggers algae development.
A filter becomes effective within 4 to 6 weeks.

If a tank is big enough and densely planted with fast-growing plants (and not overstocked with animals), a filter is not necessary.
Ammonia is then directly uptaken by plants (assimilation). pH should stay below 7,5 so that plants grow well.
Without nitrate accumulation, the water changes can be sparce.
Nitrification does take place, but stays marginal.
It's the way I've been doing for 20 years, successfully.
Fast-growing plants are effective within 1 or 2 days.

A third way is putting organic matter carbon-rich and poor in nitrogen, like dead leaves.
It can also help as a carbon source for bacteria using the ammonia of the water. Effective within 1 or 2 weeks.
I've never use this way, called retrogradation (or sometimes bacterial assimilation), as the only way, but I like to combine dense plantation with some dead leaves.

Having or not a filter is a technical choice I wont discuss but everyone should be aware the filter is not the only available solution.

 

[wolfen]

To explain it simply, aquatic animals like axolotls or fishes excrete ammonia and other waste which are converted into ammonia by bacteria.
This ammonia must be eliminated.
Nitrogen cycle offers 3 main ways to get rid of ammonia.

The most often taught is nitrification, which is badly named "nitrogen cycle".
View attachment 91980
Some bacteria called "beneficial bacteria" convert ammonia into nitrite (dangerous) and after into nitrate (not very toxic).
A filter rely makes nitrification the main way, but nitrates often accumulate in filtered tanks and frequent water changes are necessary.
Moreover, each time one clean the filter, there is a risk to lower bacteria populations with a risk of ammonia or nitrite spike.
Aquatic plants can use nitrate but not as well as ammonium. High levels of nitrates triggers algae development.
A filter becomes effective within 4 to 6 weeks.
View attachment 91981
If a tank is big enough and densely planted with fast-growing plants (and not overstocked with animals), a filter is not necessary.
Ammonia is then directly uptaken by plants (assimilation). pH should stay below 7,5 so that plants grow well.
Without nitrate accumulation, the water changes can be sparce.
Nitrification does take place, but stays marginal.
It's the way I've been doing for 20 years, successfully.
Fast-growing plants are effective within 1 or 2 days.
View attachment 91982
A third way is putting organic matter carbon-rich and poor in nitrogen, like dead leaves.
It can also help as a carbon source for bacteria using the ammonia of the water. Effective within 1 or 2 weeks.
I've never use this way, called retrogradation (or sometimes bacterial assimilation), as the only way, but I like to combine dense plantation with some dead leaves.

Having or not a filter is a technical choice I wont discuss but everyone should be aware the filter is not the only available solution.

by adding some small inverts possibly scuds to help break down the waste from food etc.. it could possibly be quite feasible, the wild card would be the axolotl though, in a 10 gallon tank one adult axolotl would be the equivalent to a full stocked tank, so at 30 gallon is a third and so on. it would be quite easily possible with a large enough aquarium (after all there are plenty of eco-systems around the world that work on the same principle). my main concern would be the waste itself, you could use a filter as such be without the bio-media so its main function would be waste removal. you would need low light/fertiliser/co2 plants as well.
on the process on nitrogen cycle there is also denitrifying bacteria which consume carbon and take the oxygen from nitrates release nitrogen gas, this is normally performed in areas of low oxygen such as deep sand beds, some eco-stones etc..