Tank Cleaning...

B

brett

Guest
Hi everyone i am a new user as you can tell...
I have 2 axies in a 60cm x 60cm x 40cm tank with a hang on the back filter and 2 airstones with sand as the substrate...

I was just wondering how often i should clean the tank and whats the best way to do this....?

Thanks everyone in advance..
Thanks, Brett..
 
i only clean my tank once or twice a year. have you cycled your tank yet?. if not then visit this->http://www.caudata.org/cc/articles/cyclingEDK.shtml. its a very good article on how to cycle and the purposes of doing so. the only things i clean regulary is poo of the sand with a siphon and clean out the filter media once every month or so. 20-30% water changes done weekly will help heaps to keep your tank clean. good luck with your axolotls and welcome to the forum!.
happy.gif
 
Hmm I still don't get the cycling process....?
Could someone help me out please...?
 
Cycling is about getting the right sort of bacteria to grow in your tank. They break down waste products from the inhabitants.
If your tank is not cycled you'll need to do more water changes. This means taking water out that contains waste products (not all of which can be seen) and putting fresh dechlorinated water in. I'm not completely sure how often it'll be necessary but twice a week 20% water change should be a good start.
You can usually get water tested at a pet store to see if it's healthy. Get Ammonium, Nitrite and Nitrate tested. The first two are the invisible toxins and should be close to 0 in a cycled setup.
 
Thanks for the info, is it bad for the axolotls if it isn't cycled...?
 
water changes should be done daily to keep ammonia levels down to a minimum. about 20-30% water change daily. make sure the water is dechlorinated. i advise you don't clean anything in the tank while cycling because that will kill beneficial bacteria that help with the cycling. as ester said a test kit will be really helpful on keeping an eye on ammonia and nitrites and nitrates. most importantly ammonia. i don't really worry much about ph but if your tap water has a unusually high or low ph level then it might be nessacary.

yes it is bad for the axolotls if your tank isnt cycled. during the cycling process ammonia levels will increase then decrease. ammonia is toxic to axolotls and other aquatic creatures. to keep the ammonia down do daily water changes.

(Message edited by alex_axolotl on July 29, 2006)
 
I was planning on adding live plants..?
But because it isn't cycled is this a good or bad idea...?
 
adding live plants is a good idea. plants consume nitrates i think or it might be nitrites. its one of the two. and they will also house beneficial bacteria.
 
What plants would you recommend i was thinking about getting swords...?
 
plants consume nitrates
happy.gif
plants dont really care about cycling tanks, its only live animals that do hehe.

swords need a fair amount of lighting, most do anyway. java fern, anubias, most crypts and java moss are all good low light plants but not the most exciting. if your willing to put a few fluros on your tank you could get some pretty good plants, i love stargrass personally as a filler plant and vallis makes some nice tall walls and they grow fairly easily.
 
Ill have to have a look ext time im at the petshop i should have my lights set up soon tho
happy.gif
well hopefully lol...
 
If your tank isn't cycled, I would not add live plants yet. Plants will gladly sequester ammonia over nitrites or nitrates as a food source. This will slow down your cycle.

You can also move your animals to a temporary tub while your tank cycles. A large rubbermaid tub (mine's about 30 gallons) with 2 axies needs water changes of about 10-20% twice a week. It's easier to determine if you need a water change if you buy ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits.

Then you can easily collect their poo with a turkey baster, and add it to your cycling tank to provide food for the bacteria. If you try to cycle your tank with your animals in the tank, it will take a long time (between 1 and 4 months).

The sand should be siphoned weekly, or every other week. I usually do it every other week, with a minor (10%) water change in the between week.
 
On the other hand, live plants could speed up the cycling process by bringing in some of the right kinds of bacteria. While they would consume some of the ammonia, I doubt they could sequester it all, and it might make the process safer, since he's cycling the tank with the animals in it. My opinion is go ahead and get the plants, just be sure they can tolerate cool temperature and the amount of light you have. I recommend java moss and java fern as hardy easy ones.
 
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