Should I put my axolotl in the tank?

[RynL]

Okay so I have been cycling my tank for a ridiculous amount of time now. I am currently on day 80. My tank appears to be “cycled” as it is technically cycling ammonia with 0 ppm nitrites present and about 20 ppm nitrates. BUT the ammonia is still processing very slowly, 1 ppm in about 5 days. I realized this issue and equated it to my crappy hob filter not providing enough bio media and air flow so I have since added a second (sponge) filter to provide more bio media and also add more aeration. I added this about 20 days ago. I have had my axolotl in a tub for about a month and I am getting anxious to add them to their home and feel awful stressing them with 100% water changes everyday.

My question is, should I continue to wait? Or should I add them in considering it’s “cycled” and allow the bacteria to just grow with the bio load and do water changes and testing daily? (Also removing all waste I can see)

-an anxious momma that wants their baby to enjoy their home!

 

[wolfen]

for it to be cycled it needs to be able to reduce 4ppm ammonia to zero along with nitrites at zero over a 24 hour period, 4ppm is the amount of waste a full grown axolotl can produce and although yours may still be small they grow very fast.
your nitrates are very low and should be a lot higher after 80 days.
it is very important that both ammonia and nitrites are zero so no your tank isn't considered cycled and if it can't remove at least 1ppm ammonia after 24hrs then you run the risk of elevated levels. ammonia is caustic and will cause burns damaging skin etc.. nitrites will poison the blood causing internal damage.
make sure there is enough bio media/filtration, warm water encourages bacteria growth ie.. get a heater whilst cycling, aerobic bacteria require oxygen ie.. fit air stones, low ph can hinder and stall a cycle even crashing an established tank, ie.. keep an eye on ph, if it start to go below 7 add enough bicarbonate of soda to bring the ph up to 7.4 - 7.6, using bottled bacteria can speed up the cycling process, do not do a water change unless either the nitrates are at 110ppm or higher or the cycling has finish, always make sure that ammonia and nitrites are zero before introducing any animal.

 

[RynL]

for it to be cycled it needs to be able to reduce 4ppm ammonia to zero along with nitrites at zero over a 24 hour period, 4ppm is the amount of waste a full grown axolotl can produce and although yours may still be small they grow very fast.
your nitrates are very low and should be a lot higher after 80 days.
it is very important that both ammonia and nitrites are zero so no your tank isn't considered cycled and if it can't remove at least 1ppm ammonia after 24hrs then you run the risk of elevated levels. ammonia is caustic and will cause burns damaging skin etc.. nitrites will poison the blood causing internal damage.
make sure there is enough bio media/filtration, warm water encourages bacteria growth ie.. get a heater whilst cycling, aerobic bacteria require oxygen ie.. fit air stones, low ph can hinder and stall a cycle even crashing an established tank, ie.. keep an eye on ph, if it start to go below 7 add enough bicarbonate of soda to bring the ph up to 7.4 - 7.6, using bottled bacteria can speed up the cycling process, do not do a water change unless either the nitrates are at 110ppm or higher or the cycling has finish, always make sure that ammonia and nitrites are zero before introducing any animal.

I believe the low nitrates are because I was using an insufficient filter. Hopefully they can increase soon considering I have added another filter so my tank can process the right bio load. I guess I was just saying my tank is technically “cycling” as it is processing ammonia and my nitrites are at a steady zero…things are “cycling”…just not fast enough. I will continue to wait. I just wasn’t sure how much ppm of waste axolotls create and thought maybe it would be ok with a small load.
I am aware of all of this and have been doing everything mentioned I’ve just had a long process of dealing with nitrite spikes, then lack of bio media then some other issues that have make my cycling process long and hectic. I have used bottled bacteria (tss) and my ph is 7.5