New here, need a water parameter RECOVERY Plan!

[OtterwithaTopHat]

Hey all! New poster here, looking for all the help I can get! Short version, I didn't do the necessary homework or planning, and purchased my young son an Axolotl set up for Christmas. Followed the instructions from the pet store owner (clearly inexperienced with Axolotls as well) and quickly realized I needed to get up to speed quick. This axolotl is the most important thing in the world to my 10yo so pressure is high to get things settled. Water has gone off the rails and I need to get it back.

Probably obvious, but I did NOT cycle the water like I should have. I brought her home and tried to set up a 20gal tank, in the same day (big mistake). Realizing i screwed up, tried to quickly set up a new 40gal and let it cycle for 5 days. Moved her from the smaller to the larger because the water in the original 20 was getting away form me.

Fast forward. Current setup:
-40gal breeder (assume 30gal in the tank)
-fluval 107 canister filter (may be a bit undersized)[recently purchased a 207, still in box)
-typical airstone
-single axolotl, 8" long

Water parameters:
-PH 7.2
-Ammonia 1.5ppm
-Nitrite 1.5ppm
-Nitrate 50ppm
-Temp 69-70f

The latest:
-I believe my levels went wrong when I added live plants to the mix (amazon sword & hornwart). I didn't have a tank light (relying on ambient for sake of axolotl) and thinking the wasn't enough to promote plant growth and they started turning brown. Perhaps the plants dying led to spikes? I've removed the sword and left the hornwart (tough to tell if the horwart is ok, seems to be holding color, but not growing)
-I added "Fluval Bio Booster" with every water change (every other day, 5-10gals) to try and get that starter bacteria up.
-Axolotl looks ok, but definitely seeing gills curling forward, every so often. She's not pooping much which may be the result of swallowing a bunch of sand. Found a large ball of poop and sand, earlier this morning. Glad she passed it, but its something I will keep an eye on.
-I've set up a "triage" 20gal tank (water has NOT cycled yet), in case the main tank gets away from me and i have to put her in the fresh tank, temporarily.

First question, should i keep her in the main tank while I try to let the water changes do its thing? If so, what would make you change your mind and move her? My only other choice is putting her in the clean tank but its water has only been in there for 24hrs.

Attached is a pic of our beautiful Axy for reference.

 

[axolotl nerd]

Hey all! New poster here, looking for all the help I can get! Short version, I didn't do the necessary homework or planning, and purchased my young son an Axolotl set up for Christmas. Followed the instructions from the pet store owner (clearly inexperienced with Axolotls as well) and quickly realized I needed to get up to speed quick. This axolotl is the most important thing in the world to my 10yo so pressure is high to get things settled. Water has gone off the rails and I need to get it back.

Probably obvious, but I did NOT cycle the water like I should have. I brought her home and tried to set up a 20gal tank, in the same day (big mistake). Realizing i screwed up, tried to quickly set up a new 40gal and let it cycle for 5 days. Moved her from the smaller to the larger because the water in the original 20 was getting away form me.

Fast forward. Current setup:
-40gal breeder (assume 30gal in the tank)
-fluval 107 canister filter (may be a bit undersized)[recently purchased a 207, still in box)
-typical airstone
-single axolotl, 8" long

Water parameters:
-PH 7.2
-Ammonia 1.5ppm
-Nitrite 1.5ppm
-Nitrate 50ppm
-Temp 69-70f

The latest:
-I believe my levels went wrong when I added live plants to the mix (amazon sword & hornwart). I didn't have a tank light (relying on ambient for sake of axolotl) and thinking the wasn't enough to promote plant growth and they started turning brown. Perhaps the plants dying led to spikes? I've removed the sword and left the hornwart (tough to tell if the horwart is ok, seems to be holding color, but not growing)
-I added "Fluval Bio Booster" with every water change (every other day, 5-10gals) to try and get that starter bacteria up.
-Axolotl looks ok, but definitely seeing gills curling forward, every so often. She's not pooping much which may be the result of swallowing a bunch of sand. Found a large ball of poop and sand, earlier this morning. Glad she passed it, but its something I will keep an eye on.
-I've set up a "triage" 20gal tank (water has NOT cycled yet), in case the main tank gets away from me and i have to put her in the fresh tank, temporarily.

First question, should i keep her in the main tank while I try to let the water changes do its thing? If so, what would make you change your mind and move her? My only other choice is putting her in the clean tank but its water has only been in there for 24hrs.

Attached is a pic of our beautiful Axy for reference.

just skimmed through this because from what i can see you need advice quickly

- ditch using the 20 gallon as a hospital tank. if it's uncyled, its the same level of danger. i recommend tubbing with a container about the size of a shoebox, and doing 100% water changes every day.
- best advice is to ask a local fish store for seeded filter media. this is a good way to quickstart a tank, as "bacteria in a bottle" solutions almost never work.

again, just skimmed through here, and very short on time- so please continue asking questions and posting follow ups! when i have time i can give more in-depth advice

 

[OtterwithaTopHat]

just skimmed through this because from what i can see you need advice quickly

- ditch using the 20 gallon as a hospital tank. if it's uncyled, its the same level of danger. i recommend tubbing with a container about the size of a shoebox, and doing 100% water changes every day.
- best advice is to ask a local fish store for seeded filter media. this is a good way to quickstart a tank, as "bacteria in a bottle" solutions almost never work.

again, just skimmed through here, and very short on time- so please continue asking questions and posting follow ups! when i have time i can give more in-depth advice

Thanks for the reply. Forgive the stupid question but wouldn't changing 100% of the water, daily, be starting from scratch every day? Or maybe i didn't understand what you meant by "tubbing". I took to mean, put her in a small container (outside of the tank) while i remove and replace almost all of the water in the tank.

 

[OtterwithaTopHat]

1. Would there be any benefit to running the second filter (new-larger, that i recently purchased [fluval 207]), at the same time as the original fluval 107 (that im currently running)?
2. Should i remove the hornwart at this point? Maybe better to concentrate on plants later.

 

[axolotl nerd]

Thanks for the reply. Forgive the stupid question but wouldn't changing 100% of the water, daily, be starting from scratch every day? Or maybe i didn't understand what you meant by "tubbing". I took to mean, put her in a small container (outside of the tank) while i remove and replace almost all of the water in the tank.

tubbing is putting her in a small container temporarily. you don't need a filter, but a hide would be useful. because it's just a temporary holding tub, you need to do 100% changes daily with dechlorinator. your axolotl needs clean and fresh water, and tanks are cycled to help manage toxicity levels caused by unseen waste. this isn't a problem with tubbing and 100% changes, because there's no chance for toxins to build up. it's the safest way to keep them until your permanent tank is ready.

1. Would there be any benefit to running the second filter (new-larger, that i recently purchased [fluval 207]), at the same time as the original fluval 107 (that im currently running)?
2. Should i remove the hornwart at this point? Maybe better to concentrate on plants later.

more filter media = more space for bacteria to grow. the majority of the bacteria will live in your filter media. i highly recommend sponge filters for this, i've been using them for years with great sucess.
if the plants are dying, then yes. if they're alive, you can put them in the tub with the axolotl until things are stable enough for them to live in the tank. i also strongly suggest getting elodea (anachris) for your tank. its great for oxygenation and mine has exploded in growth, it also can do fine in low light conditions.

 

[OtterwithaTopHat]

tubbing is putting her in a small container temporarily. you don't need a filter, but a hide would be useful. because it's just a temporary holding tub, you need to do 100% changes daily with dechlorinator. your axolotl needs clean and fresh water, and tanks are cycled to help manage toxicity levels caused by unseen waste. this isn't a problem with tubbing and 100% changes, because there's no chance for toxins to build up. it's the safest way to keep them until your permanent tank is ready.

more filter media = more space for bacteria to grow. the majority of the bacteria will live in your filter media. i highly recommend sponge filters for this, i've been using them for years with great sucess.
if the plants are dying, then yes. if they're alive, you can put them in the tub with the axolotl until things are stable enough for them to live in the tank. i also strongly suggest getting elodea (anachris) for your tank. its great for oxygenation and mine has exploded in growth, it also can do fine in low light conditions.

Glad i asked the dumb question. I thought you meant empty the 40gal main tank every day Thank you! Shes now out of the main tank and hopefully on my way to full cycling. 1/3 Water changes every other, on the main tank?