Cycling Help - Nitrite

[ryanwx]

I have a juvenile axie in a 20 gal aquarium with two filters (Seachem Tidal 55 [flow turned to minimum] and a sponge filter [established filter purchased from Angels Plus]). When I added the sponge filter to the aquarium last Saturday, my levels were ammonia - 0.5 ppm, nitrite - 0, nitrate - 0. After 3 or 4 days it was ammonia - between 0 and 0.25 ppm, nitrite - 0, nitrate - 5 ppm, so I thought the tank was on it's way to being cycled and everything was good. When I tested the water this morning, ammonia looked the same (0 - 0.25 ppm) but now nitrite is 0.25 ppm and nitrate is 0. I haven't done any water changes, only added a little bit (treated with prime) due to evaporation. I don't understand what happened, has my cycle crashed? I know the number #1 recommendation for nitrite spikes is to add some established filter media, but I already have established media in the tank. Is a partial water change (50%) and maybe adding some salt the course of action?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[ryanwx]

Forgot to mention pH is 7.6 and has been every time I've tested.

 

[wolfen]

increase oxygen levels with air stones.
what is in the tank ie.. ornaments, substrate, plants etc..
is the water heated whilst cycling?
how are you cycling ie.. ammonium chloride at 4ppm etc..
whilst cycling if water has to be added dechloinate the water due to be added, leave to stand for an hour then add, prime dechlorinates and locks ammonia so it is best to let the water stand/vent for a while so it doesn't effect the ammonia in the tank or the cycling.

 

[ryanwx]

increase oxygen levels with air stones.
what is in the tank ie.. ornaments, substrate, plants etc..
is the water heated whilst cycling?
how are you cycling ie.. ammonium chloride at 4ppm etc..
whilst cycling if water has to be added dechloinate the water due to be added, leave to stand for an hour then add, prime dechlorinates and locks ammonia so it is best to let the water stand/vent for a while so it doesn't effect the ammonia in the tank or the cycling.

There is one air stone currently in the tank (in the sponge filter). The tank doesn’t have any substrate and has a plastic hide and some plastic plants. The water has been 61 - 68 F the entire time. I treated the water with prime before adding, but did not let it stand as I temperature matched it from the faucet to avoid causing dramatic temp changes in the aquarium. The cycling has been with natural ammonia from waste/food (my research led me to believe issuing an established filter would “instantly” cycle and Angels Plus advises against using bottle ammonia with their activated filters).

 

[wolfen]

angels plus is for the retail of fish supplies, this means that the filters are bio-matched for a standard aquarium (normally tropical), a tropical aquarium consists of an inch or so of substrate and a low too average fish stock, this means that the filters main job is to remove waste whilst the majority of bacteria resides in the substrate, the amount of waste that the filters and substrate have to deal with is quite low (some fish flakes, the odd pellet and the occasional block of frozen food) this means that the amount of ammonia etc.. is also quite low,
an axolotl tank is quite different, the main difference is how it is filtered, because there is little to no substrate all the filtration including biological has to be done with the filter, also because an axolotl can produce as an adult more waste than an over stocked aquarium the filter needs to be able to cope with the demands placed on it, (as an example.. the waste equivalent of 3 1/2 packs of frozen fish food per month per axolotl).
this is why cycling an axolotl tank properly is so important, this means the amount of ammonia it is cycled at is 4ppm (easiest using ammonium chloride as at high levels food waste will foul the water), whilst cycling the tidal flow can be turned to full as there should be no axolotl in the tank whilst cycling, also whilst cycling use a heater as bacteria will grow faster in warm water, use more than the air stone in the filter (oxygen is very important in an axolotl tank as it is used by filter bacteria and also to keep axolotls healthy).
because of the nitrate levels it look like you are at the beginning of cycling (even with active filter media)

 

[ryanwx]

Just wanted to post a quick update. I did ~60% water change on 2/19 and cleaned both filters (in tank water), as they were starting to exhibit restricted flow/filtration. Since then, I have been testing water daily and have consistently had pH - 7.6, and 0 for everything else. We had a "heat wave" here last week (temps got into the mid 80's, temp around 74 inside), so I didn't want to tub my axie as I was afraid it'd be too warm unless I put the tub in the fridge. I changed/refilled another ~20% on 1/23. I don't understand how after a week I'm not seeing any ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate.

 

[wolfen]

are you still using food waste rather than ammonium chloride as the source of ammonia?
measure the tanks ammonia level when ammonia is added.
under normal circumstances a filter clean and water change isn't necessary during cycling and can disrupt it, unless the nitrates are 110ppm or higher or the cycling has finished do not do a water change.
it sounds like the ammonia level that is introduced is too low, having zero ammonia and nitrites are good, having zero nitrates means there is an issue.

 

[ryanwx]

Yes, I am using food and not adding ammonia as my axolotl is in the tank (for the reason stated in my last post).

 

[wolfen]

whilst your axolotl is small the amount of ammonia produced by the waste will also be small, this also means that the amount of nitrates produced will also be small and with regular water changes hardly noticeable, once your axolotl has become an adult this will change and the amount of waste produced will be large and even with adequate filtration will require weekly water changes to control the nitrates.

 

[ryanwx]

whilst your axolotl is small the amount of ammonia produced by the waste will also be small, this also means that the amount of nitrates produced will also be small and with regular water changes hardly noticeable, once your axolotl has become an adult this will change and the amount of waste produced will be large and even with adequate filtration will require weekly water changes to control the nitrates.

This was my thought when I got the "cycled" sponge filter from Angels Plus (had 0.5ppm ammonia which converted to 5ppm nitrate so seemed like it was handling the bio load in the tank), but then I had the nitrite spike and nitrate was testing at 0. I fear the water change/maintenance messed everything up, but I didn't know what else to do. To make matters worse, I noticed fungus on my axie's gills this morning which I'm pretty sure is from the unstable water parameters.

 

[wolfen]

add 3.5g/l salt to the water for the fungus.