Question: Hairy white stuff on the wall of my tank, should I be worried?

1. Reduce feedings? I have two juvenile Axies, I was told that feeding them twice a day is best( What I have been doing.)
2. I agree about the testing strips. I hate them :p

3. Lowering the ph...sounds easier said then done.. I have some Ph buffer tablets...if you think those would be suitable.

4. I have 20 gallon tank. How much Aquarium salt do you think I should add?
 
Well, I'm stressing again. I used the API drop test on my tap water straight and it tested at about 1-2 ppms of ammonia >: o

Gosh i hate my tap water. True, maybe part of my tank's ammonia levels were from the animals and food, but if i'm just cycling in my tap water it really isn't fixing anything.

Advice?? :c (And for the love of God, don't say find a different hobby.)
 
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GazerOfStars said:
1. Reduce feedings? I have two juvenile Axies, I was told that feeding them twice a day is best( What I have been doing.)
2. I agree about the testing strips. I hate them :p

3. Lowering the ph...sounds easier said then done.. I have some Ph buffer tablets...if you think those would be suitable.

4. I have 20 gallon tank. How much Aquarium salt do you think I should add?
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I wouldn't try using the buffer unless you know what you were doing...

At this point I wouldn't add more than 2 tablespoons aquarium salt/5 gallons (do not use table salt or any salt that has an anticaking agent added to it).

Reducing feedings is important as it reduces nutrient input allowing the bacteria to try and catch up to the bioload. The more food you add the more particles and more waste the axolotls produce at this point all increase bioload.. increased bioload means higher ammonia and nitrite levels which can cause problems.

Ammonia in the tap water is often from chloramines added as a disinfectent to the water. Dechlorinator takes care of the chlorine and typically aeration and bacterial take care of the rest.

Ed
 
I did some more reading, and apparently Prime (which is what I've always used for any new water added to the tank.) Breaks down the Chloramine(Or was it Chlorine?) into Non-toxic ammonia. Someone said this 'safe' ammonia would last 24-36 hours.

Since I've been doing such frequent water changes with doses of Prime I guess my ammonia present isn't toxic? Granted, We'd like for a cycled tank to take care of the ammonia eventually, but until that day comes I should be set with daily water changes w/ prime?

Finally with the Ph Issue, should I be worried and what should I do? With a cycled tank does that lower Ph? The buffer tablets do lower it, but only temporarily, and I'd hate for that to hinder my cycling process or worse: harm my axies.
 
GazerOfStars said:
I did some more reading, and apparently Prime (which is what I've always used for any new water added to the tank.) Breaks down the Chloramine(Or was it Chlorine?) into Non-toxic ammonia. Someone said this 'safe' ammonia would last 24-36 hours.

Since I've been doing such frequent water changes with doses of Prime I guess my ammonia present isn't toxic? Granted, We'd like for a cycled tank to take care of the ammonia eventually, but until that day comes I should be set with daily water changes w/ prime?

Finally with the Ph Issue, should I be worried and what should I do? With a cycled tank does that lower Ph? The buffer tablets do lower it, but only temporarily, and I'd hate for that to hinder my cycling process or worse: harm my axies .
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With respect to Prime and several other products that render it "harmless"... these products bind it up for a couple of days and then they release it, They also prevent the bacteria from accessing it during that period which results in a slower cycle.

With respect to the buffer tablets, that is exactly why I suggested not doing it unless you know exactly what you are doing. If it is only working temporarily, it means that the water has a greater ability to buffer itself back to close to the original pH. You would have to overcome this which is why you would have to know what you are doing before messing with it. \

Over time, a cycled tank where organics can build up will show a decrease in pH as the process of breaking down ammonia converts it to two different acids, nitrous and nitric acid however if water changes are maintained and the excess organics are removed, it isn't likely to be noticible for decades.
 
"it isn't likely to be noticible for decades." Whaat? :S I can't imagine anyone owns one tank for "Decades."

How about I just go buy some driftwood to naturally lower my ph :p

Also from the Prime FAQ, "Prime works by removing chlorine from the water and then binds with ammonia until it can be consumed by your biological filtration (chloramine minus chlorine = ammonia). The bond is not reversible and ammonia is still available for your bacteria to consume. Prime will not halt your cycling process."

See, this is what is stressing me out. Posters will say one thing, sites will say another.
 
there's nothing wrong with a pH of 7.8. In fact, that's a very good pH for aquatic caudates. It's just that ammonia is more toxic at a higher pH, and ammonia levels of 2 ppm are too high. I would focus on reducing ammonia and forget about the pH for now.

I also recommend adding some fast-growing live plants. Good ones are Elodea, hornwort and duckweed. These, esp. hornwort, actually use ammonia as a nutrient and help lower the levels. They also come with bacteria of the N cycle attached to them and therefore speed up cycling.
 
Ed said:
Is the active ingredient sodium thiosulfate?
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I don't know, is it? :eek: Prime is one of the most used water conditioners.

I bought some driftwood with a plant growing in it today. So I have a total or 3 plants growing in my 20 gallon tank. I'm hoping that will help both my ammonia and ph while my tank cycles :) But hornwort sounds pretty great, I'll look at my local petstore to see if they have any.

I have an Anubis plant, a moss ball, and now the drIftwood. ammonia measuring Is tricky business, since the test kits also measure the bound ammonia ions that the conditioner creates. My Axies seem fine and are eating. But since my tap water is so ph and ammonia high, I have to worry and ask the experts here. If I woke up to find dead Axies I would never forgive myself, so I have to make sure they have the most hospitable environment possible. I'm sorry if all my questions bug you because of this.
 
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hmmm.is there a way to get water from a different source, at least temporarily?

also, anubias and java moss and whatever is growing on that driftwood (java fern? another anubis?) are all fine plants, but neither is fast-growing and they won't do much to improve water quality. I'd get some fast-growing stem plants, and lots too. That might help a bit :)
 
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GazerOfStars said:
Well in some previous threads I've tried to mention buying some sort of spring/distilled water. But I was greeted with curmudgeon responses of "Cycle your water..hur brah brr."

Any advice there?

Here is a link to my city's water report for 2010. If you read it, you'd be as worried as I am...

http://www.cityoffargo.com/attachments/0da7a2b9-c7b4-4431-a0ff-d9e708d28b08/2010%20Water%20Quality%20Report.pdf
(Second page)

Also, know of any other fast growing plants usually available at petstores?
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Okay, slow down and as a famous author once wrote," Don't Panic". The problem with spring and bottled water is that there are no standards on them, so you could just be getting someone else's tap water (for example New York city's tap water is commonly bottled and sold by some companies).

The reason I asked if it was sodium thiosulphate was because you have the bottle in hand. Okay, I found the MSDS for it.
http://www.seachem.com/support/MSDS/Prime.doc.pdf It says proprietary complexed hydrosulphite salts. That means it is probably pentahydrate sodium thiosulphate. You should keep in mind that any dechlorinator that includes materials to encourage slime coat production typically increases ammonia and nitrite as they are degraded in the aqurium. You need to be aware that that there are little or no regulations that require these products to meet the claims on the label. For example it is claimed that it detoxifies nitrate and binds it up. Nitrate is soluble in virtually all conditions so it won't be bound up and it is not toxic unless you have a huge amount of it in the water.

Unless you have a real pet store (not chains) near you, your unlikely to find much in the way of aquarium plants. In any case, fast growing aquarium plants require a lot of light, which will reduce the activity of the axolotl during the day.

I looked at your water report and it is typical of many bigger cities. The higher pH is not a problem for axolotls. The main thing right now is that you want to reduce the organic input into the tank. This can only be controlled by reducing feeding since your well into a cycle now. The axolotls are not going to starve and amphibians can undergo what is called compensatory growth once the issue is done.

What kind of filter are you using on the tank? Are you including any other sources of aeration?

Ed
 
I am relieved that my water is mostly fine. I'm using a penguin bio wheel filter. I can show you a picture of it if you'd like. It does splash the water a bit on the side that it's on, I'm hoping that provides adequate aeration.
 
The carbon in the penguin filter will help with any residual chlorine so that isn't/should be a concern.

Adding an airstone (if you already have a pump) can go a long way towards increasing oxygenation which will also help speed the cycle along. Since you added live plants, you may actually see a faster cycle since those plants would also have had bacteria on it.

Reduce organic input, monitor and continue with the water changes.

Ed
 
No pump yet. Surprisingly when I asked the petstore guy about airpumps/stones he said "oh you don't need one, they're just for decoration." Since I always thought they were trying to make a buck, I figured I didn't it if they didn't want me to get something :p

Then again, this is coming from the guy that thought I should buy a heater for them because they're in the salamander family.... (I knew before hand that heaters are a no no.)
 
lol

rule # 1 of pet keeping:

never, ever, ask for advice in a pet store. They don't know Jack. Just buy whatever you need and get the hell outta there :)
 
haha, i agree with Molch. The guy in the pet store next to my work told me that axolotls wern't salamanders and that they were a fish with legs. and he owns the pet store.
 
Monsieur Jack Merde, PhD. :D
 
yellowpebble said:
haha, i agree with Molch. The guy in the pet store next to my work told me that axolotls wern't salamanders and that they were a fish with legs. and he owns the pet store.
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Oh wow :D lol

Someone needs to take a class on caudates :p
 
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