Ammonia extremely high in tub after less than 24 hours.

[MrEnder1103]

Hi! I am currently tubbing my axolotl and his tank is very close to being ready. I've been testing my tank chemicals every day, but haven't been thinking to test the tub. Today, I tested my tub chemicals and was surprised and worried to find that ammonia was at 4+ppm even though he'd only been in the water for ~24 hours.

Currently, my tank is getting to about .25 ppm in 24 hours after a full dose of ammonia, so my tank is *very* close to being cycled but not all the way. But given how high the ammonia is in the tub after 24 hours, should I go ahead and move him to the tank? Or should I be changing his tub water twice per day instead of once per day?

By the way, he's not showing any signs of distress in the tub. He is moving normally and eating every day.

Thank you for the advice!

 

[wolfen]

if the ammonia levels are high in the tub the water will need changing more frequently, always use 2g/l non-iodised salt in the water, do not increase the ph in the tub water.
low ph and salt will reduce any effects caused by ammonia.
what are the tubs normal ph, temperature, salinity?
go to Free Ammonia Calculator put your ph, temperature, ammonia and salinity levels (2g would be 2 parts per thousand) into the spaces provided to calculate the NH3 (free ammonia, very toxic), 0.025 and below is relatively safe, 0.025 - 0.05 is bad/warning, 0.05 and higher is highly toxic lethal levels.

 

[Autistic Catholic]

TUBBING REQUIRES DAILY WATER CHANGES NORMALLY.

 

[MrEnder1103]

The pH is 6.8, the temp is around 64, the gH is 3, the kH is 3, and I don’t know how to test salinity. (He is in a 2 gallon tub)

Given that he was been tolerating the high ammonia levels do you think I’d be okay moving him to the tank?

 

[MrEnder1103]

TUBBING REQUIRES DAILY WATER CHANGES NORMALLY.

Yes, I am changing his water every day - that’s why I was so surprised to see that the ammonia was so high.

 

[Autistic Catholic]

Yes, I am changing his water every day - that’s why I was so surprised to see that the ammonia was so high.

OH...OKAY. I'D RECOMMEND YOU DO WHAT WOLFEN SAYS.

 

[wolfen]

because of your low ph even at 4ppm the level is actually still safe.
when ammonia is tested it is TAN (total ammonia nitrogen) which is NH4+ NH3 (ammonium and free-ammonia)
ammonium is the main compound which is non-toxic but is difficult for bacteria to consume/convert, ammonium breaks down into free-ammonia which is toxic but is also the part that the bacteria consume/convert, when chemicals like prime or amquel+ are used to make ammonia safe it locks free-ammonia into ammonium.
ph temperature and salinity effect how fast the ammonium breaks down and therefore how harmful TAN is.
the calculator I direct to on previous post will calculate how much free-ammonia there is (and therefore how toxic the TAN is)
in your tank which should have good ph (7.4-7.6) to make it easy for bacteria to break down ammonia the free-ammonia level at 4ppm TAN would be 0.0328ppm - 0.0518ppm which would be harmful to deadly (this is worked out with the same temperature as the tub 64°f), for your tank to be as safe as tubbing the ammonia (TAN) would have to be 1ppm or less.
to work out salinity 1 litre of water is 1 kilogram so if 1 gram of salt is added that is 1 part per thousand or 1 gram per kilogram.
the short answer to your question is the tank isn't ready or safe for your axolotl yet keep tubbing and if you are concerned about the ammonia (TAN) levels change the water more frequently.