Question: Crashed cycle or something else?

[tammyaxie]

So I put new sand in my aquarium last week that stated it was free of everything!!! I usaully by playsand from home depot and rinse 10 times. I just moved and have nowhere to store a whole bag. Anyway, long story short, I settled for this sand. I also rinsed my filter bag a little because it was spewing debri in the tank. Ive done this before and my cycle never crashed. I rinsed the debri off the two pieces of driftwood. I have Everything went downhill soon after. My tank crashed or Im not sure but, the shrimp died first and when I noticed my axies gills shrinking and flicking I took her out of the tank. She is now in a tub and Im foing daily or twice daily water changes. Im also doing 20% or more water changes in the tank daily. I have a plantes tank and my moss balls and anacharis are turning brown. My readings are as follows:

Temp - 20°C
My Ph is a dull yellow that makes me think it is too low (below 6) or it could be 6.4. See pic and let me know if my eyes are bad
Nitrite - 0
Amonia - 0.50 ppm
Nitrate - 5.0 ppm

Axie is doing better but I need to get this under control fast before plants die and before my daughter realizes that Astrid is within reach on the counter. (She is special needs and likes to touch....and grab ?)
I purchased ammo lock but I'm reluctant to use it. Never used anything other than prime in water changes and marineland total care aquarium bacteria - which I added last night. The result was more dead shrimp this morning. Please help! Im on borrowed time. Axie ate and pooped. But seems depressed in tub.

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[tammyaxie]

Also, if my ph is too low, how can I raise it? Could this be the issue? That shade of yellow (first tube) is not even on the API color chart.

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[tammyaxie]

Just checked the ph of my tap water both low and high API test.....

Off the charts.... so something in my tank threw off the ph.... off to home depot I go..... smh??. I used Caribsea super naturals aquarium sand. If anyone has any idea of what it might be. Please let me know.....

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[tammyaxie]

Help me please???

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[Hayleyy]

Okay so you want to bring down the ammonia, you'll need to do water changes. Start with maybe a 60-70% change then wait a few days and do 30-40%. Keep testing the water before and after each change, you may need to do more changes.
I've never used ammo lock so have no idea if it works/is okay with an axie.
Keep your axolotl out of the tank until it is under control, it will be happier. You'll just need to change the water every day in the container it's in. Keep it in a cool dark place so it can recover.
Is your tank usually at 20 degrees? If it is you'll need to lower it for your axie, using maybe a fan or even a chiller.

 

[tammyaxie]

Thanks so much for the reply. Yes, the tank has forever been between 18° and 21°. I am doing water changes and still nothung is moving. Astrid is not eating. She has never been out if the tank except for the day I moved (4 hours out, then right back in) she has her back legs up like she needs to poop. Anyway. All my plants are dying. And the shrimp are all gone. Is ut just the amonia spike?

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[tammyaxie]

Okay so you want to bring down the ammonia, you'll need to do water changes. Start with maybe a 60-70% change then wait a few days and do 30-40%. Keep testing the water before and after each change, you may need to do more changes.
I've never used ammo lock so have no idea if it works/is okay with an axie.
Keep your axolotl out of the tank until it is under control, it will be happier. You'll just need to change the water every day in the container it's in. Keep it in a cool dark place so it can recover.
Is your tank usually at 20 degrees? If it is you'll need to lower it for your axie, using maybe a fan or even a chiller.

Thanks. Do you think the sand could have caused this or did the cycle crash?

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[Hayleyy]

When you cleaned the decorations and filter media did you do so in tap water or tank water? Tap water can remove all the bacteria so could have caused the crash.
You said you usually get playsand but settled for another sand, what was this sand?
If her back legs are up she may need to poop. If she isn't passing anything you may want to fridge her for a bit to help her along. Keep her out of the tank, in cool clean water, around 16 degrees. She should start healing in good water conditions. I haven't been able to open the pics, is her skin peeling at all? Or are the gills the only obvious issue?
Maybe try an 80% water change if you haven't already.

 

[tammyaxie]

When you cleaned the decorations and filter media did you do so in tap water or tank water? Tap water can remove all the bacteria so could have caused the crash.
You said you usually get playsand but settled for another sand, what was this sand?
If her back legs are up she may need to poop. If she isn't passing anything you may want to fridge her for a bit to help her along. Keep her out of the tank, in cool clean water, around 16 degrees. She should start healing in good water conditions. I haven't been able to open the pics, is her skin peeling at all? Or are the gills the only obvious issue?
Maybe try an 80% water change if you haven't already.

Hey. I used Caribsea super naturals aquarium sand. I washed druftwood with tank water out of the tank but I used dechlorinated water to rinse the filter.??? She is completely fine aside from poopy legs. Her gills shrunk a little like they did when I first got her and when she was out of the tank for a few hours before. The pics are just the api test tubes and one of the dying plants. I took out my moss balls to try and recover them. I did s 70-80% water change last night. I tested the water before and ammonia was 1 ppm, nitrite was .25 ppm abd nitrate, 10 ppm. I will fridge Astrid today to see if she needs to go. She has pooped twice since Tuesday when I took her out but she's only eaten 1 worm in 5 days....
LFS said use ph up and ammo lock. I can never trust them to help me with caudate issues. If Astrid is out for now, how long after use are these chemicals dangerous in the water. Thanks for all your help do far

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[Hayleyy]

It looks like your tank is cycling again anyways, keep her out until ammonia and nitrites are 0. Treat it like you would a new cycle, so do what you did when you set it up initially.
I don't know about the chemicals but you will probably do a couple of small water changes before putting her back in so that should get rid of most of it.
Keep your moss balls like your axie, in a container with water changes (might not need to do it as often as you do with Astrid).

 

[tammyaxie]

Astrid is the absolute best at recovery. She is the only one who outlived the heatwave after the storm. She's a trooper. I love her!????? My silly Astrid.

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