NEED HELP! water parameters VERY BAD!!

[kaikoga]

I have been at college this year and have recently come back home (My family had been taking care of my axolotls while I was gone. Had been planning on bringing the axies but their tank was too big!) I was testing the water parameters today and was horrified at what I found. A pH of 8.8, ammonia levels ~0.50-1.00ppm, 0ppm nitrites, ~20ppm nitrates. I have am not sure what all of these together indicate but that presence of ammonia is extremely alarming to me and that pH reading is SCARY! At first I thought maybe the ammonia levels were a bad read, but I tested them twice. Here is some other info that may be helpful:

I did a large water change 2 days ago. The water was not changed as often as I requested while I was gone, the tank seemed to have a lot of poop, and I was worried about nitrate levels. I changed about 70% of the water. I also replaced the filter cartridge because it was VERY dirty and had not been changed at all while I was gone.

When doing water changes, I use Seachem Prime in order to dechlorinate the tap water that I add.

I have a 20gal tank with a 20gal Aqueon filter. A few months ago, while I was at college, the previous filter stopped working altogether. This had me in a panic but my father bought the exact same type of filter, and just moved over the old biofilter frame into the new filter. This is what is currently in my tank. The tank is in my basement, and is usually around 16-17C.

I have 2 axolotls, a wildtype and a leucistic. Both have been behaving normally and do not seem sickly or stressed. My leucistic eats about every other day (earthworms), and my wildtype has always eaten more sparingly. But I haven't noticed any changes in behavior.

I thought maybe the high pH killed off some of the ammonia eating bacteria, but why is my pH so high in the first place?! And what should I do?

 

[Skudo09]

If you replaced all your filter media at once you most likely crashed your cycle. From your parameters, your tank is in the process of cycling again. The ammonia is high and I would recommend daily water changes and continue to test the water daily until it has completed the cycle. Once cycled, you can keep the nitrate down by testing regularly and conducting water changes if it gets too high (above 40ppm).

 

[kaikoga]

If you replaced all your filter media at once you most likely crashed your cycle. From your parameters, your tank is in the process of cycling again. The ammonia is high and I would recommend daily water changes and continue to test the water daily until it has completed the cycle. Once cycled, you can keep the nitrate down by testing regularly and conducting water changes if it gets too high (above 40ppm).

I thought that my cycle would still be OK since I kept the same biofilter frame, but I guess that was not the case I will keep doing water changes until the parameters start looking good. Is it normal for the pH to get so high during cycling though? Also, should I be feeding less while the cycling happens?

 

[Skudo09]

I think it should be fine to feed them as much as normal. Just keep doing daily water changes until cycled. I believe it is normal for the PH to rise whilst cycling. You will probably find the PH will lower once cycled.

 

[Jennewt]

Does your tap water contain chlorine or chloramine? The ammonia may have come from the water change itself, if you have chloramine. If you aren't sure which you have, do an ammonia test on fresh tap water.

 

[kaikoga]

Alright, so today I tested the parameters of my tap water and....it's the exact same as the water in my tank! Ammonia at 0.50ppm-1.00ppm, pH still 8.8. I even tested the water in two different areas in the house. I find it really hard to believe that tap water (especially where I live, where tap water is good) would be THIS bad. So what does this mean? Do I have a faulty test kit? The kit is the API freshwater brand. I'm thinking of bringing in a sample of tank water to have it tested in a pet store, and also to buy a new test kit. Thoughts?

 

[Kaini]

It isn't unusual for tap to have ammonia in it. My tap water around here has .25 PPM ammonia in it, and it's perfectly fine to use for water changes. the beneficial bacteria in the tank take care of it the same way they take care of the ammonia that come from the fish/Axolotl. .5 ppm ammonia in the tap isn't horrendously bad. I would venture to guess your test kit is perfectly fine.

 

[kaikoga]

It isn't unusual for tap to have ammonia in it. My tap water around here has .25 PPM ammonia in it, and it's perfectly fine to use for water changes. the beneficial bacteria in the tank take care of it the same way they take care of the ammonia that come from the fish/Axolotl. .5 ppm ammonia in the tap isn't horrendously bad. I would venture to guess your test kit is perfectly fine.

Hi, thanks! The ammonia I can believe, I've seen others on the site talk about ammonia in tap water too. Mostly what is alarming to me is the pH. Does tap water pH normally get that high? I would expect it to be at least in the 7 range. If my tap water really does have a normal pH this high, should I start refilling my tank with a different source or water (distilled water bought in bulk maybe )?

I will still take a sample of the tank water to be tested elsewhere just to be sure.

 

[Kaini]

Axies can tolerate a range of pH but that is a little high...

I wouldn't use distilled water personally, plus it'd get super expensive always water changing with distilled. Also whatever you do, don't use chemicals to lower the pH - they're toxic to axies.

Indian almond leaves will lower pH, and they're good for an axies skin. You could give those a try in the tank.

 

[kaikoga]

Thanks everyone for the input so far!

I took samples of both my tap water and tank water to the pet store for parameter testing. I was told that my tank water was actually slightly acidic, and that the huge water change I did may have caused the axies to shed their slime coat and could have messed the parameters up. The employee told me that in the future, I should have a few gallons of water (with Seachem Prime) sitting out for 48 hours before I do a water change.

Do you guys think this is good advice? Before, I had just been taking tap water straight from the faucet into my tank. I know I've heard before that sometimes pet stores don't give the most accurate information so I just wanted to make sure. Sorry for asking so many questions, everyone is just very helpful

 

[Skudo09]

I would not be adding tap water straight to the tank before dechlorinating it. This could kill off the beneficial bacteria and also cause irritation to the axolotls. I would be dechlorinating the water before adding it to the tank.

I have doubts that doing a large water change would cause the axolotls to shed their slime coat but someone can fill me in on this?

Ask as many questions as you like it is how we learn

 

[Kaini]

I second the don't add tap water straight to the tank - you should ALWAYS dechlorinate water in a separate tub/bucket and then add it to the tank. The chlorine will kill your beneficial bacteria instantly if you just add it to the tank, that's a no-no. It's also bad for the animal.

However what the pet store said sounds like baloney - usually large water changes aren't harmful, if you're doing it correctly - however if you were adding water with chlorine in it to the tank, that could be what caused the Axies problems.

In the future dechlorinate your water before adding it - do not add water straight from the faucet. Leaving it sit for 48 hours isn't necessary however - dechlorinator works instantly.

 

[kaikoga]

I would not be adding tap water straight to the tank before dechlorinating it. This could kill off the beneficial bacteria and also cause irritation to the axolotls. I would be dechlorinating the water before adding it to the tank.

I have doubts that doing a large water change would cause the axolotls to shed their slime coat but someone can fill me in on this?

Ask as many questions as you like it is how we learn

I second the don't add tap water straight to the tank - you should ALWAYS dechlorinate water in a separate tub/bucket and then add it to the tank. The chlorine will kill your beneficial bacteria instantly if you just add it to the tank, that's a no-no. It's also bad for the animal.

However what the pet store said sounds like baloney - usually large water changes aren't harmful, if you're doing it correctly - however if you were adding water with chlorine in it to the tank, that could be what caused the Axies problems.

In the future dechlorinate your water before adding it - do not add water straight from the faucet. Leaving it sit for 48 hours isn't necessary however - dechlorinator works instantly.

Oops, I just realized how misleading my post was! I actually do add dechlorinator before adding tap water to the tank, I just meant that I don't let the water sit out for a day or two first. For me it's always been: put a tub under the faucet, put in a bit of dechlorinator while the tub is filling up, then pour into the tank. My bad on the wording

The employee also told me my tap water has a bit of ammonia but my tank water is good ammonia-wise. The readings were definitely different than what I got from my API kit... for now I will just keep an eye on the tank & the axies and continue doing tests to see if any of my readings change. Thanks you guys for all your help!

 

[Kaini]

AH okay. XD Yes that's fine. 8> Good luck!

 

[xxianxx]

I second the don't add tap water straight to the tank - you should ALWAYS dechlorinate water in a separate tub/bucket and then add it to the tank. The chlorine will kill your beneficial bacteria instantly if you just add it to the tank, that's a no-no.

Untrue, adding 50% tap water to a tank at room temp does not blow the cycle, it will if the water is cool, at 10c I wouldnt add more than 20% untreated water. Axolotls do not fall apart in chlorinated water, it causes irritation and it is actually a treatment for fungus. Dechlorinating your water is considered good practice as it kinder to the axolotl and it removes heavy metals. Different countries may have differing amounts of chlorine, my experience is based on UK water.

 

[Kaini]

True, I tend to forget other countries add different amounts and some countries don't chlorinate their water at all. But in the US the chlorine content is pretty high and the one time I accidentally forgot to dechlorinate my water beforehand my cycle took weeks to recover. :x So since OP is living in the US I would advise against adding chlorinated water to the tank, but if anyone else is reading this from a different country, it may not crash your cycle after all. I still wouldn't consider it a very good practice though.

 

[vainglory]

I let my water sit out for a day usually before adding dechlorinator and adding it to the tank, but my reason is for it to get to room temperature and not shock the tank temp. Also, they double in function as emergency back up safe water in case something were to happen. I have about 6 or so gallons that I keep under a sink in 2 containers and replace whenever I do my weekly water changes.

 

[Boomsloth]

Untrue, adding 50% tap water to a tank at room temp does not blow the cycle, it will if the water is cool, at 10c I wouldnt add more than 20% untreated water. Axolotls do not fall apart in chlorinated water, it causes irritation and it is actually a treatment for fungus. Dechlorinating your water is considered good practice as it kinder to the axolotl and it removes heavy metals. Different countries may have differing amounts of chlorine, my experience is based on UK water.

Just explaining this so people understand. If tap water has a certain amount of chlorine that kills off 20% of your bacterial colonies, then the bacteria needs to replenish what was lost. Bacteria grow and divide much faster at warmer temperatures so killing off 20% at room temp won't cause much issue since the colony quickly replaces what was lost. But at 10C the colony divides much slower and can take days or weeks to build back up. This is something that I notice on here when people are cycling their tank for their axolotl. If there are no live axolotls in the tank adding a small heater and raising the temp a little would just speed up the cycle. Once the tank is cycled, you remove the heater and lower it down.