All Right?

Kaskoda

Kaskoda

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Hey, I'm soon to be new to the axie world, but i'd just like to have conformation that everything is all right, i'll probably be getting one or two in a week or two.
I'll be feeding it/them bloodworms, earth worms and beef heart(as a treat)

My tank at the moment (which is attached), dimensions are 70x40x40 112 liters, which is about 30 gallons. I bought some plants and a hiding place, i have a filter with a changable flow rate and at the moment i'm straighning out my spray tube for it. It has been running for 2 days. i tested the water today and it is:

pH:7.6
Amonia: 1
Nitrite: 0
Nitrite: 0

I'll wait another week or two because of the biologicaal filter. I'm missing if the water if the water is hard or not, i don't know how to test it or what even it means, help?

Any flaws will be greated, i'm still a novice and want everything to be perfect before i do anything towards my axolol. Thankyou

Kaskoda
 

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Most of those stones will be too big unfortunetly, they will have to be replaced by sand or a barebottomed tank. Unless they are juveniles which in that case you can either leave the stones and change them when your axies get to big and can swallow them or now before you start cycling. That reading for nitrie, nitrate and amonia indicates your tank is not cycled which means it will have to be. This will take a month at least. If you are getting mroe than one axie, you will need more hides. They should have a hide each.

Goodluck!!!
 
no not yet, thats why i'm waiting a couple of weeks till then, i'm doing fishless cycle with plants so it may take longer than that i'll just have to wait and see.
 
K thx for that, i'll probably buy small juviniles and when they grow up buy another tank and use the other one for plants, and live food for the bigger axolotls
 
I'm cycling at the moment & there haven't been any nitrites at all. I've heard this is because of my plants, perhaps, so maybe you should remove the plants while cycling, because as you said, it will take longer & can be frustrating. Just a suggestion :]
 
yer i was thinking that, but if amonia goes up significantly tomorrow i'll leave it them for a little while.
btw any one know what type of plants they are?

btw since you live in brisbane, do you cool your tank in any way? i was thinking of just having the aircon on since the tank is just in my room, but i don't think my parents will appritiate the power pill that much.
 
Looking at your chemistry results you still have quite some time to go on the cycling.
The ammonia level worries me though. In a newly set up tank little or no ammonia should show up unless live animals are present, such as a goldfish to get the Nitrogen Cycle rolling. Has your water been properly dechlorinated? Chloramines will spike your ammonia test and will prevent proper cycling from ever taking place.
 
i've taking the plants out now.
I only added the dechrolrinater after i went and got it, so it has been about 12 hours since i dechlorinated it and 10 hours since the intial test. Also i did but some bloodworms in there to give it a head start, was that right thing to do?
 
Sadly, dead animals will not help the cycling along much. A few small caudate friendly feeder fish work best, like a couple of guppies, zebra danios, or rosy red minnows are your best bet. Either way it will take around a month to get the tank properly cycled. The presence of live plants is beneficial as they carry a surface bioload of microorganisms that will help get the tank properly cycled.

Have you read the tank cycling pages on Caudata Culture?
 
So confusing, Some people say take them out because they absorb too much amonia, and then you say put them in. :S
Well i think i'll speed it up a bit, i think i'll but some red minnow's or something in today.

I've skimmed through it yesterday night, i was too tired too read it all the way through. but i'm going to re-read it after i read up on salt baths :D
 
Actually, the bloodworms are probably the cause of the ammonia. Anything that decomposes, will create ammonia and cycle a tank. Rotting plant matter, food, as well as fish waste. Many people cycle tanks by dropping in a cocktail shrimp and letting it slowly rot.
 
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Hey,

I used guppies ot cycle my tank.

They did a good job of it. I just fed them alot and they did all the work for me =)
 
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The entire "decaying matter" method of cycling a tank contains a major fallacy. In order for ammonia to be converted into nitrates and nitrites, live nitrifying bacteria must be present. Providing a tank with a source of ammonia is good, but unless those bacteria are present no cycling will occur. You will however create a wonderfully foul smelling tank of window cleaner!:p
Many of us suggest and use the live fish method as you are killing two birds with one stone: The live fish creates ammonia as waste AND it caries along a "starter culture" of the proper bacteria.
There are off the shelf products available that claim to contain these bacteria. Truth be told, I personally do not find them to be useful for anything but taking money out of your pocket.
In a mini experiment I did a few years back, I cycled two tanks of the same volume in the same conditions, one with one of these products, the other with a goldfish. The goldfish tank cycled in 38 days. The bottled treatment tank cycled in 52.

As for plants, this too is a point of contention among hobbyists. It really depends on what sort of plant you use. Elodea works well as do most cabomba. Java moss does all right too. Anubias and java ferns, not so much. Where the plants become important is oxygen. Oxygen is a major factor in tank cycling as it supports beneficial bacteria by limiting the growth of harmful anaerobic bacteria.. A larger than normal amount of CO2 (carbon dioxide) is just as detrimental to cycling as chlorine and chloramines. Plants help to remove some CO2 and produce O2.

In short, the fastest way to cycle a new tank is with a few live plants, a hardy feeder fish or two and a sample of water from a known healthy, cycled tank. It will still take a month or more with proper maintenance and husbandry. The Caudata Culture Article on this topic, written by renowned caudate expert Ed Kowalski, really is the best source for this information. It shows tried and true methods applied by many experienced caudate keepers in getting a tank ready for a new pet.
 
Originally posted by: angyles

So basically you're saying you don't believe in fishless cycling? The Cycling page here on the caudata site (the one you linked to), advocates fishless cycling by introducing food to decompose, and nothing else. A large majority of people within the aquaria hobby rely solely on fishless cycling and would never consider using a live animal in their process. Simply keeping your ammonia at 5ppm will start a cycle.


(clicked the wrong button in the wrong tab and inadvertently deleted the original post, my apologies!)~Johnny
 
No, I said nothing of the sort. Please do not put words in my mouth.:p

I merely suggest what I feel is the simplest method for someone new to the process.
 
The stones look perfect to me. I love how your tank looks!
 
The stones do look nice, but they can cause some problems. Axolotl make a lot of mess and the detritus will fall between the cracks of the stones, they will be a nightmare to keep clean. Also axolotl , as they feed, gulp in their food....its like a giant vacuum and literally anything that will fit will be sucked in too.
 
hi kaskoda

i live in brisbane and yes i cool my tank with frozen 3lt milk bottles flosting in the tank and i also have a fridge with hose from the filter curled up in the bottom covered by water crystals ......the fridge cools the crystals and the water runs from the tank through the filter, through the hose and then back into the tank cooling the tank.....without the ice bottles in the tank the water temp is sitting a 23 24 degrees even when the outside temp is up to 35 degrees(I should say i dont have a axie in there at the moment im cyling my tank again)

lea:happy:
 
thx all, i'll proabbly continue fishless for a while main reason no money. but then again i might steal i mean borrow some fish from our botanical gardens. I did a test yesterday and i i think my readings are from memory

pH: 7.4
Amonia: .75
Nitite: .25
Nitrate 0

does that sound right?
It was cloudy and smelly for a day then it sudedenly cleared up and not really smelling at all.
 
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