Question: New Axolotl owner, read plenty (now: diary of Fred's new owner)

[ted22]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

I have no idea about aquarium chillers but i know they work like beer chillers and those things are NOISY! ur best bet is air pump n airstone/bubble wall and fans im havin huge success keeping my tank cool and its exactly the same as urs it hasnt got over 17degrees for over a week now even tho my rooms been pretty warm! you should be able to keep it cool without spending a fortune those aquarium fans might do the trick!

 

[tomkeogh]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

No it is now problem, I just assumed you meant when he was climbing log he was going up surface for the bloodworm, but no problem some axolotl will not come up for food that is all, just checking you are thawing.

my guys are slightly longer and they are pertty good at not over feeding, I would chuck a few cubes in so you can gauge how much he wants and then change accordingly if he gains waight.

But yeah at that size a air stone will help a lot, you may want to upgrade the tank if you can, that size tank is fine but it is what we would say is the minmum

You can get earth worms from wormsdirectuk.co.uk/

 

[dazkeirle]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

ok I'll try an airstone, I'll pick one up tomorrow, with the fan should work well to keep temps low.

Regarding food, he ate up a whole bag, which seems about the same as say 6 cubes, but i think that was a bit of a feast really and took him all afternoon to eat so I'm giving him 1 cube each day and he seems ok on that.

I don't want to over feed, but at the same time I don't want to starve him.

maybe 1 cube a day or two every other? There doesn't seem to be any set recommended feeding schedule on the net tbh.

 

[ted22]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Agree with the tank size thing as i said mine is the same as yours and i already feel gomez has outgrown it ive only had him for 3months! i have just found some bargains tho!

Top»Catalog - Southdown Aquatics

Im probably gonna get one in a couple of weeks £30 odd quid for a new 3ft tank is a steal! im gonna see if i can find the space and stretch for a 4ft one gomez will be in axolotl paradise!

 

[dazkeirle]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

thanks for the link

They certainly are reasonable.

TBH Fred doesn't appear super cramped and is just beginning to enjoy his surrounding, changing now would be crazy.

Plus I think I better wait more than a week before buying a new tank at the risk of the girlfriend killing me.

I've already blown £200 this month on Fred stuff lol

 

[tomkeogh]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

It is ok the tank is not an issue

 

[ted22]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Haha yeah your axie will be fine in what hes got for the moment you'll know when its time to upgrade, i just feel so bad when gomez just gets a bit of speed up and his journey is prematurely ended by a piece of glass in the face an extra foot will be just what he needs to burn off his excess chub as hes really active he's just got no space to really let go! would definately not say he is cramped tho this little fella is living in luxury its more that I would feel happier with him in a bigger tank!

 

[Mac Myers]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Ed,

I've got a 4 foot tank and mine do that sometimes anyway. PLUS I have that self stick cork stuff on the sides of the tank to insulate it a bit and give them a bit of a block from the general passing by.

 

[ted22]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Yo i dunno if i read somewhere or someone else may have mentioned that you can turn a mini fridge into a chiller? I could be wrong but If it is the case i saw a small fridge probably fit 12-16 beer cans in robert dyas for £25 (bit of a bargain) might be able to convert it into some sort of axie chilling device! might be worth looking into if it is possible to do, if not then this may just be a waste of a perfectly good comment box!

 

[dazkeirle]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Ed what size or style of Air stone do you have, and what pump?

I figure if you have the same tank and you're in uk I can't go far wrong but mimick your setup.

P.S levels are rising so just did a 30% water change.

Also cleared up what looked like a stockpile of poop. Looks like all those worms made their way out, at the same time.

Jesus Fred can poop, all the gravel and stress must have blocked him up for his first week.

 

[ted22]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Airpump = Airtech 2k4 has two outlets I have 1 going to about a 2.5cm airstone and the other going to about 12cm of bubble curtain stuff (porous tubey thing) but that can be cut to what ever size just like all the other air tubes. These are controlled by little plastic twisty valve things that control the air flow i think they came with the pump but check first as u may need them!

By no means would I recommend the pump if you are after something whisper quiet but its cheap and gets the job done! the noise isnt necessarily from the pump it just vibrates so much that everything around starts vibrating and making noise, depends where you put it I guess!

The pump and everything was bought from petscorner I cant remember how much think it was less than £20 for the lot with extra tubes.

Heres a link so u can see what it looks like
Penn Plax Air-tech 2k4 Pump 55 Gallon 2 Outlets-Aquarium Air Pump Supplies

and not realising it I have a pump suitible for a 55gal tank no wonder its like jacuzzi if i have it up high haha! You might find that the smaller models are more than capable and maybe abit quiter as you wont need the valves turned down quite so much to restrict the airflow!

Airstone is like this one but was a different make all much of a muchness really
Hagen Aqua Fizzzz Air Stone 1 Inch-Aquarium Air Pump Supplies

and bubble wall is something like this!
Bubble Wall

that combination a small fan about 12cm diameter blowing across water surface and a small fold up laptop cooler sucking air out (I still keep the hood on just removed the lid/hatch thing!) and ive been at a steady 16deg (was previously 21-22) (bubbles and fans get turned off at night)!

 

[tomkeogh]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

You don't want to change too much water darren you need to give the tank a little chance. what were the levels before you changed? as long as they are not through the roof just try to change maximum 20% than check levels if it is still too high change more.30% is like 20litres if you think about it over 3 days you have changed 100%

 

[Mac Myers]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Yo i dunno if i read somewhere or someone else may have mentioned that you can turn a mini fridge into a chiller? I could be wrong but If it is the case i saw a small fridge probably fit 12-16 beer cans in robert dyas for £25 (bit of a bargain) might be able to convert it into some sort of axie chilling device! might be worth looking into if it is possible to do, if not then this may just be a waste of a perfectly good comment box!

Ted... I played with one of these that belonged to a friend of mine. It used some sort of Peltier cooling sink but wasn't cold enough to work as a chiller. If you put a cold six pack in it it could keep it cool... but if it was warm it took it 2 days to cool down the 6 pack.... and you were supposed to turn it off for a couple of hours a day.

 

[ted22]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Ha there ya go! It was just a waste of a comment box after all! Thanks for the info was thinkin of gettin one to chill a few cans but you have persuaded me to save my money, was just liking the thought of lying in bed and reaching over for a cold beer, mmmm lazy beer! I guess the kitchen is just next door n i know that fridge works and i dont need to spend £25, come to think of it, it was a stupid idea in the first place, another waste of a perfectly good comment box!

 

[Mac Myers]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Heh... as long as the beer is cold when it goes in it's not a waste!
And It'll be gone in a hour anyway!

 

[dazkeirle]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

not a waste at all.

I was actually investigating and toying with the idea of building a peltier based system.

Regarding the water change, it wasn't willy nilly, I checked levers, between 0.25 and 0.5 on ammonia and so i did 30% change. Tested afterwards and levels were about the same so left it be for now.

Regarding aeration, just been out looking what can be picked up in the shops and found this elite system.

I have an elite tank and the value aeration pack does seam very good value especially when i priced it up against other single purchases of pump, tubing, valves and the stones.

Complete Aeration Set by Elite | Pets at Home

I haven't bought it but am interested, it has a 12" air stone (which i assume works the same way as your curtain) and a bubble disk.

Would this be too much for little fred or would he enjoy it?

Would i lay the long straight one across the back of the tank to create a curtain like effect?

They also had some funky bubble lamps with built in LEDs but were expensive for what they were and the same result could be achieved with other aeration products.

Regarding temperatures, I'm fed up with guessing all the time what the real temp is in there from those silly strips so have paid out for a Marina Aqua-minder which has a proper digital readout and alarms for high and low temps and also water and filter changes etc.

Will do the trick until i get a thermstat to power all these cool cooling devices i seem to be obsessing over.

Got it half price off ebay too

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110535265451

 

[tomkeogh]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Buy a two way valve, all pet shops sell them will be about 50p. this way you can control the air flow

 

[dazkeirle]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

well yeah sure, was looking for feedback on whether the kit i posted would have too much aeration given that it's a curtain and a disc but i suppose if you control the airflow right down it's not an issue regardless of the bandwidth of output.

Going back to what you or Ed said earlier about noise, it's not that i care really, quite the opposite as I'm lucky enough not to have him in my bedroom, hes in the lounge, and in the heat of the day we're at work so he can have as many pumps and filter son as he likes, the same goes for night times.

Any aeration devices and coolers could be switched off in the cooler evening while we site there and watch tv.

It's just that I'm a buy-once kind of guy. I'd prefer to do things properly to begin with and not have to purchase similar but slightly improved items again (ironic I know with my poor cycle preperation). If i can get quiet stuff, it's more likely to be used.

wowsers, 25 posts, did not expect to be this active here

 

[tomkeogh]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Well if you ask me I would say just go the cheap option, and if you get that valve nothing to worry about. I used to use an air stone I found my albino loved to give her tail a jacuzzi on the bubbles but my leucistic hated it so I removed it

 

[ted22]

Re: New Axolotl owner, read plenty, just want to confirm a few things.

Hey nice find! the only thing id say is a 12inch bubble stone may be a bit big for the tank as its half the length of it but the bubble disk sounds cool you could always buy extra air diffusing things they are all very cheep and attach to the tubing in the same way. the bubble curtain thing (strange porous tube) seemed good coz you can just cut it to length ive only got it at bout 12cm (it was 45cm originaly), but thats just a couple of quid purchase.

One thing about airstones! they are more fragile than you think be careful about knocking them in the tank as they seem to shatter easily. I spent all last weekend picking bits of blue airstone sand out of my tank, gomez enjoyed the company tho!

Actually looking at that set again a 7.5cm bubble disc might also be abit big for the tank as it will take up a large chunk of that valuable floor space! [Gets ruler out] (im just thinking it might be abit big for my tank and seeing as ours are the same..) also thinking about it everything i got was under £20 and i just got that from a pet shop so you may be able to find something abit cheaper!

Wondering if there's the next size down set available?

I wouldnt dismiss it tho as you may be thinking of upgrading your tank sooner than you excpect and the larger size bits and bobs will all come in handy! as i said the bubble diffuser attachment bits are all very cheap so you'll be able to experiment!