Another cycling question

[NexSocius]

I'm sorry to ask yet another cycling question, I couldn't find any similar ones around the forums (I'm a bit of a noob on here).
I got my axy just yesturday, and my tank is not yet cycled. There was a delay in getting an API master kit, and that won't be here for another 4 days.

So at the moment, my little pooper is in the tank. I have no way to measure ammonia etc for a few more days, and I'm worried that I could make him sick.

Should I be doing a daily water change? If so, what percentage?

Or, should I take him out and keep him in a separate tub and change him each day until after I get the kit and get the tank cycled? I understand that in doing this, I should age the water 24-48 hours in advance, and this won't be a problem.

Also, during the 6-8 weeks to get the tank cycled, am I supposed to do water changes or just leave the same water the whole time? Bit confused on this part.

Thanks in advance :happy:

 

[PatchworkClocks]

You can keep him in the tank, but it's not entirely recommended and you would need to be doing 30% water changes daily. However, if you kept him in, you would have an ammonia source, but if you took him out, you would need to add ammonia yourself.

YES, definitely change the water regularly during cycling! Keeping the same water in just causes the levels to spike wildly and would defeat the whole purpose of cycling.

Here are a couple of tutorials on how to do cycles with and without animals in the tank:
How to Do a Fishless Cycle: 9 Steps - wikiHow
Tips and Tricks For Your Fastest Fishless Cycle! - Aquarium Advice

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side. - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community
The Fish-In Cycle | Adventures in Aquaria

 

[NexSocius]

Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou!
This has helped so much

 

[Kaysie]

How big is your tank? By the looks of your pic, you've got a regular aquarium.

As for how much water to change, that's something you'll have to measure. If you're going to cycle the tank with your axolotl in it (which is fine, don't let anyone freak you out about it), you'll have to walk a tight line between having enough ammonia to feed the bacteria while not having so much as to harm your axolotl. This could be as little as 10% every 2 days, or as much as 30% a day. The only way to determine is to test your water.

 

[snuggly time]

I cycled my tank with my axie in. I changed about 30 - 50% water each day, however there's a trace of 0.25 ammonia in my tap water anyway so I took quite a bit so it didn't reach over 0.5.

If it was me, I would change around 20-30% each day until the test kit arrived, just to be on the safe side. Mine took almost 3 months before it was cycled, so don't worry if it happens to take longer than you'd have thought or hoped!

Also, some pet shops sometimes test water for free. If you're worried you could call around and try get them to test for you.

 

[NexSocius]

I got my test kit yesty, and first test ammonia was 2ppm (others 0 ph 7.2).
I changed 30% this morning and tonight. Before the evening change, ammonia was 2pmm. After the change, it was 1ppm.
I figured I'll keep doing morning and evening changes until ammonia drops.

Is 2ppm a deadly dose or is this ok?

Also, tank is approx 20lt, not sure what that is in gallons. It's not the biggest in the world but it's all I have room for atm. Chernobyl seems happy and cheeky in there

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.

 

[snuggly time]

2ppm is quite toxic. Keep doing water changes until it's lower. Ideally 0.25, as that's not so toxic, but definitely not over 0.5.

 

[NexSocius]

I just tested the tap water for ammonia, 1ppm before being added to the tank! It has dechlorinator in it, but still.....that water goes in my food and drink -,-
Plan for today is to buy some water from the store and test that, if it's better I'll go that way. I hate to think my little boy is in danger

Edit:
"Chloramines are used by Central Highlands Water to protect our consumers from water borne diseases – its part of the disinfection process.
While safe to drink, chloramines are harmful when they pass through the gills of fish. As a result, chloramines must be removed from water to fill fish tanks and ponds.
The removal of chloramines is not difficult - aquarium suppliers will generally stock specialist equipment to safeguard fish."

 

[snuggly time]

Bottled water isn't always good for axolotls. It may not contain the minerals they need. Have a read of this article.

Caudata Culture Articles - Bottled Water for Amphibians

Once your cycle is established the ammonia you add from your tap water will go down to 0.

My tap water is .25, but in the tank it's at 0 as the bacteria convert it.

Have you got any friends or family with an established fish tank? You can always bump start the cycle by stealing some of their filter media.

 

[NexSocius]

Just thought I'd post an update on my progress.

I managed to steal a rock from the established tank at work (2 pet goldfish) - it's all I could take.
Tap water being so high in ammonia wasn't lowering the ammonia no matter how many changes.
I bought some bottled spring water that has what looks like a decent level of minerals in it - 'evian', and put 1/3 bottled, 2/3 tank. Not sure if it helped, the ammonia still seems to be 1ppm.
Tonight, I noticed the nitrate was a slightly darker shade of yellow than it's ever been. The next jump on the colour chart is 5ppm and orange. So I'm guessing nitrate has gone up a tad. Nitrites are still zero.

Tomorrow I'm going to my parents house, they have large rainwater tanks for drinking water. This is the only other thing i can think of to get the ammonia levels down. I'm hoping there's enough minerals and nutrients in there - if not I'm stuck for ideas :/

Once again, thanks for all the helpful posts :happy:

 

[NexSocius]

Just read on here that rain waters no good because it lacks essential minerals.
Sigh.

 

[NexSocius]

Can't figure out how to edit my previous posts, so I'll just have to post another

After some frustrated searching on here, I read about Seachem Prime, and purchased some today. I did a 50% water change and voila - ammonia is down to 0.5ppm. Tomorrows change should bring it down more. I'm finally on the right track - thanks so much everyone

Now to sit here and trim all the pointy sharp bits off Chernobyl's new plastic plant