Would love some cycling help and advice for new axolotl tank set up.

[wolfen]

there are numerous ways to cool a axie tank, the best but most expensive are the large chillers, for the diy'ers there are peltier coolers that you build yourself or can get prebuilt but still require some fidling, there is the fridge/freezer which are coiled pipe either just placed in the fridge or placed in large tub of water inside the fridge, there is using fans to cause evaporation, then there is the frozen bottles and finally chilled bottles of tank water. the chillers are the most controllable, the peltier are mainly for small tanks so require more than one for any reasonably sized tank, the fridge will cool the tank but tends to more a case of 4 or 5 degrees below room temperature rather than a set temperature, using fans require them to be able to blow across the waters surface causing evaporation and therefore cooling this requires getting the best place for maximum effect but only tends to drop the temperature only a couple of degrees and requires top ups. using bottles of ice or water are quick but also temporary solution and cause temperature swings that can be harmful, as a way of stopping the tank from absorbing heat from its surroundings poleystyrene sheets can be placed on the back and sides as well as underneath it. axie are mainly nocturnal so will tend to hide somewhere dark during the day, they have no eyelids so they don't like bright lights and can be easily startled by having the light switched (this normally involves shoot off across the tank until they hit something then playing possum for a few minutes). when getting a light look for the lumens for example a 10w security light is 1000 lumens. led lights for the aquarium can be far brighter then daylight (just not the same colour content, different colours use different wave lengths and are hard to reproduce artificially). all plants require light for photosynthesis, just in various amounts, some more than others, floating plants are good oxygenators for a aquarium and offer shade, other plants are good for hiding in but do tend to get uprooted by axies doing their best impressions of bulls in china shops.