Dangerous ammonia spike? Help!

[Sylerwin]

This may be long, and I apologize.

When I first got my axolotl, my tank wasn't quite finished cycling, and ammonia was a tad high, but not at dangerous levels.
After about a week, the water cleared up and my readings on test kits were normal. (I used water conditioner and a bacteria supplement)
It's been over a month now.
It's a 10 gallon tank, though I only have it filled up around 2/3 (7 gallons worth about) of the way, my little guy isn't much of a swimmer, he prefers to crawl around the bottom.
I do regular water changes about once a week I take out 2 gallons worth and replace it with tap water with some water conditioner, and I occasionally drop in a few crystals of aquarium salt. I'm really good with removing waste, and he always appears to eat all of his food.
I have a standard 10 gallon HOB filter (not a bio one), and an air stone in there to keep a little water movement.
Around 2 weeks ago, I realized that my little guy wasn't very active and his appetite had lessened. Following a simple pH test, I realized that my pH was high. I couldn't fathom why, but I simply put in some pH down. After about a day, he was back to normal.
A few days ago, I realized his water was a tad cloudy. At first I assumed that he was playing and kicked up some sand (it's really fine so takes a while to settle), but once the cloudiness didn't go away I did an ammonia reading. IT WAS CRAZY HIGH. Around 8ppm! It was so high I literally looked at my little guy and asked him how he wasn't dead yet! Freaking out, I immediately put in some more water conditioner and a few crystals of aquarium salt.
I then went to test our untreated tap water. The ammonia was high, around 2ppm, but not AS high as in my tank. I then set two buckets of tap water to the side, treated them with water conditioner, and let them sit overnight. I tested the ammonia in the buckets the next morning, and it barely budged! I went to my local pet store with a water sample for a free test to see if anything else was out of wack. She said my nitrates (or nitrites, one or the other, she didn't seem too sure of herself) were a tad high, but not at dangerous levels. At the pet store they basically told me to do everything that I've already been doing... But that's obviously not working.

Currently I'm doing daily water changes of about 2 gallons, and treating my water with water conditioner, and a little extra bacteria supplement.
...Did my cycle crash? Am I doing something wrong? Ideas as to why this happened?
I have no live plants in there because I hope to move him to a bigger tank soon, and don't want plants to root themselves and have to be torn out. I was hoping I could achieve the same thing by just adding the bacteria supplement.

The thing that confuses me most, is that my axolotl seems perfectly fine. I never would assume something was wrong with him by the way he looks or acts. I know with fish you can tell easily that water levels are off because of their behavior. Everyone is telling me to calm down, that axolotls are hardy and he'll be fine, but I can't help but be afraid that I'll lose him. Am I freaking out too much?

Again, sorry it was so long, I just want to be sure that all detail is there. Any ideas or tips will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[snuggly time]

Your tap water is quite high in ammonia, I was worried about mine at 0.25. At the moment you need to keep up with the water changes. Is there any old food or waste that's hidden somewhere in the tank which can be adding to the ammonia? Have you cleaned around everything with a siphon?

Also I'm no axolotl expert but I'm guessing putting salt in with an axolotl is bad for them? Salt baths can be used for killing fungus, but they can't be kept in there for long.

 

[Sylerwin]

I always try and move stuff around to get any waste that may be hiding... And yes, my water is high in ammonia but I've always been able to get it down to about .25. Not ideal, I know, but livable. Now I can't even do that. :dizzy:

 

[maghan6]

How deep is your sand bed? Have you checked for gas pockets? Also are you testing your water with a strip or liquid test? Strip tests are not very accurate... I'd also check the use by date on the test as well...

 

[Sylerwin]

My sand is about 3/4 inch deep. I use API's liquid test kit, and yes, I already checked if it's expired. Not until 2017 :/
Gas pocket? How would I check for that? How would I fix that?

 

[maghan6]

Sand should be stirred every couple of weeks or so to prevent anaerobic gas pockets. Also there could be food decaying in the sand and causing the ammonia spike. The sand may look gray or you may notice a foul smell when you disturb it. I can't find it right now but if I remember correctly jennewt has a page on maintaining sand as a substrate on her profile... Hope this helps...

 

[Umber]

What is your pH currently? Give actual reading please. If the pH is too low, under 6.5 it actually causes the ammonia to turn into ammonium which is less harmful but if the pH returns to 7 it can cause the ammonium to turn back into ammonia which is very deadly.

What are the exact readings from your tap? pH, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, Alkalinity or Carbonate Hardness? If you can, find out if you are on town water or on a well.

Do you have any decorations that could be breaking down in your tank which could have been the cause for the initial elevated pH(again what was considered high to you?) such as real coral pieces or limestone? What type of sand did you use?

 

[Kaysie]

Adding too much 'stuff' to your water will increase your ammonia. Adding bottled bacteria will definitely increase your ammonia, as generally, these bottled bacteria are all dead, and you're basically just dumping their waste products into your tank.

What kind of dechlorinator are you using? Some can actually prevent your tank from cycling. You shouldn't add any more than recommended. In this case, more is not better.