Cloudy Water

[EasternRomioi3]

Hey, can anyone help me with my axolotl's tank. About...3-4 days ago, her tank got progressively more cloudy. The one day it looked a little cloudy after doing a water change so I waited another day, and did another water change but when I was done, like immediately, my axolotl used the bathroom, so that was great. That was 2 days ago and her tank is getting cloudier and I don't know what to do. In the past month or two, she's developed a black dot on her lower jaw, no one seems to know what it is and it doesn't seem to be bothering her but the timing seems weird.

I have photos of the cloudiness and her tank metrics, which are kinda terrible right now and I don't know why. Lemme show. I don't understand how her nitrates are so high, she's had a fully cycled tank since October 2020, and she's had no fungus or anything, She has 2 sponge filters that work constantly. I have a third mini one that I could add as a backup. She's being alert and attentive, she's reacting when I come by, she doesn't look bad or anything, or agitated, it's just her tank water, which is USUALLY crystal clear, looks terrible all of a sudden and I don't have any idea what to do. The only two thoughts I have are "sand being thrown up about" or "bacteria bloom." So she has that really brown, earthy, fine sand, I do stir it up every now and then to get out pockets of ammonia and waste, yadda yadda. Did I over do it? Or, if it's a bacteria bloom, what is that, is it dangerous for her, and how do I fix it? She's ALWAYS had a clean tank and I change her tank every 5 days, unless I'm sick and I miss a day. Nitrates have always been high, I've never been able to really reduce them beyond water changes. We tried plants, they didn't do anything really. I feed her about every other day, usually some pellets, but also chunks of a worm. She's had a hard time eating long worms so I've been cutting them into little inch pieces and giving them to her and she's been quite thrilled with them. Tomorrow is feeding day, so I might give her a worm but I also might clean her tank before work. Is that too soon? Should I wait till Monday?

Let me know if you can help. She's 4 years old, in a 20 gallon tank, and she is my favorite.

 

[wolfen]

by the look of the nitrites, it could be algae. If you are concerned about it being bacteria bloom adding a second air/sponge filter will help remove them from the water column. with nitrates that high doing a water change at any time is a good idea

 

[EasternRomioi3]

She has 2 filters already, 2 medium sized sponge filters. I have a 3rd small one for backup, I could add it.

But the thing with the nitrates, it seems like if I do a big water change, the nitrates drop to 20, and then 2 days later, they're back up massively. I can never seem to get them down. I did just feed her a worm, she was thrilled. I am planning on doing a much more thorough water change tomorrow. I'll take her sponge filters apart, really clean the air stone part and ring out the sponges. I usually use the water from her tank, before I throw it out, to clean the sponges themselves but I'm thinking I might need to use some of the good clean water that's going into her tank. We have a lot of dechlorinated water due to my dad having a lot of turtles, so I was thinking on grabbing one of their clean buckets and submerging the sponges in it.

An algae issue, never thought that would be possible, she has almost no sun exposure and we've never had algae issues before. I need to be more careful when I pour her water in too, I don't want to disturb the sand. I think that's where my problem is actually coming from. I may have to take her out into her tub but I really, really don't want to do that. She's hard to corral into the tub so I am almost always forced to hold her, which I know is not advisable. She's not afraid of me at least.

 

[wolfen]

take her out whilst you clean the sand but clean it before a water change so you are removing the crud with the water, wash/squeeze the sponge filter clean into old tank water, you can wash the driftwood in dechlorinated water. with nitrates going high it looks like you have a build up of muck somewhere just be careful when cleaning that you don't damage the nitrogen cycle (might be a idea to add some bacteria after you have done a clean). the sponge filters might be to small (clean them first might just be gunked up, at 4 she's not going to be growing much more so the filters have been able to cope with her so far).

 

[EasternRomioi3]

When you say add some bacteria, what do you mean? Like, I don't know how to do that. I don't know where'd I'd even get it, other than what she has in her tank now.

 

[wolfen]

majority of pet shops will sell nitrifying bacteria as a way of boosting the bacteria in the tank or to help start a tank to cycle or even to kick start a pond filter after the winter season, the reason I said that you might need it is because by removing all the muck and gunk you may also end up removing some of the bacteria, so after a filter cleaned its always a good idea to just give the bacteria a bit of a top up.

 

[EasternRomioi3]

I don't know if they'll have that stuff. I went to 4 different pet stores today and they didn't have any of the little Penn Plax charcoal toppers that I used when her water was real bad in summer 2020. I did a very large water change today, didn't take her out but I did take all her toys out and clean them in her dechlorinated water, siphoned as much of the water out as I could without disturbing her, and I used some of her dechlorinated water to help clean her sponges. I poured a little on top, and then squeezed them out, was able to see just how backed up her filters were. They're running now, and her tank is about, I'd say almost fully clear now. Like 25% cloudy. I didn't do anything with her sand, didn't want to kick particles up or remove any of the good bacteria. When I poured her clean, new water in, I put one of her ice packs down to blunt the water, so it didn't hit the sand and kick everything up.

I just feel bad over this because she went all of 2021 with NO water issues, no health issues, save for a cut on her tail that we took care of. Her water has always been ultra clear. Took me by surprise.

 

[wolfen]

I don't know if they'll have that stuff. I went to 4 different pet stores today and they didn't have any of the little Penn Plax charcoal toppers that I used when her water was real bad in summer 2020. I did a very large water change today, didn't take her out but I did take all her toys out and clean them in her dechlorinated water, siphoned as much of the water out as I could without disturbing her, and I used some of her dechlorinated water to help clean her sponges. I poured a little on top, and then squeezed them out, was able to see just how backed up her filters were. They're running now, and her tank is about, I'd say almost fully clear now. Like 25% cloudy. I didn't do anything with her sand, didn't want to kick particles up or remove any of the good bacteria. When I poured her clean, new water in, I put one of her ice packs down to blunt the water, so it didn't hit the sand and kick everything up.

I just feel bad over this because she went all of 2021 with NO water issues, no health issues, save for a cut on her tail that we took care of. Her water has always been ultra clear. Took me by surprise.

It happens what matters is that you dealt with it, and if it happens again you'll know what to do, glad you've got it sorted