Question: What the heck is going on???

EEVEE84

EEVEE84

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Hi all!
I just got the API master drip kit. I've tested the water after a water change (bout 20% - my tank is 54L maby filled in 2/3 or bit more, one 1,5 month old axie). Before I was using tetra ammonia kit and it showed 0.25ppm of combined ammonia and nitrite or something (very pastel green on a chart). I'm in the process of establishing cycle. I've been doing water changes 20-30% every day for about 5 weeks now (with axie in it).

NOW!!! Did the API test and the results are as follows:
Ammonia within 0.25ppm going onto 0.50ppm (but not quite)
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 10/20ppm (couldn't decide between those two)

Now, is that normal? What do I do and what am I doing wrong, is it suppose to take so long?
Filter is aqua one 101 fully submersible, klaus is eating like a pig and seems happy and interacts well. Temp is 18 C.
What the heck is going on? Please don't tell me my tank is too small as I can't upgrade just yet, it's over a meter long I think, haven't measured. Few big rocks and plastic plants and hideout.

I've already been told I'm over feeding so is that my problem? Klaus is going on a diet t
From today and I'm saying that with a heavy heart as he now begs for food. I feed him only frozen bloodworms and using tweezers so nothing is wasting at the bottom so what the deuce is going on????please help
 
Have you tested your tap water (or whatever your source of tank water is) to establish a baseline?

If your water is chlorinated with chloramines, using a dechlorinating agent will cause trace amounts of ammonia in your tank (the 'amine' part of chloramine is ammonia).
 
Oh I forgot about that :sick: so if I test it and it'll show ammonia then what? Do I test it after treating it with aqua safe or straight from the tap? I always thought my tap water is rubbish anyway :mad:
 
nitrite needs to be as low as possible so zero is perfect

nitrate needs to be 10 - 20 maybe 25 at a push
 
so that means there is definitely a progress in my tank :) as far as nitrite and nitrate... so that would mean that ammonia is from the tap or me overfeeding? otherwise i'm stumped
 
so that means there is definitely a progress in my tank :) at least as far as nitrite and nitrate levels go. so that means the ammonia must be coming from the tap or me overfeeding? otherwise im stumped:bowl:
 
nitrate does not have to be at a high number to signify cycling, only present in the water. If your water had 0 nitrates in the beginning, then I would assume your definitely on your way. Just wait it out till ammonia drops to 0 and then your tank is cycled
 
Couple of things confusing me with your post, but i'll get to them.

In answer to yout questions -

Are your readings normal? Yes, i think so - you still have a little ammonia there, but you have 0 Nitrites and some nitrates present - You would not have nitrates if there was no cycle at all - it's probably just on the finishing stage i'd say.

I'd say 5-6 weeks is ok / normal for a cycle to establish, despite everyones urge to have it take ony one week.

I think you should keep doing what you are doing, daily changes and chacks until you get 0 amm, 0 nitrites, and <40 nitrates.

Re tank size, i'm confused - you say you have a 54 ltr tank, 2/3 full? Did i read that right? So that makes it about a 2 foot base? If so, i think that size is ok for one axie, but no more.

Why only 2/3 full? Less water will make it harder to keep parameters on track, more water is much more stable and less prone to spikes.

I think you cycle is right on track, just hurry up and wait.

Bren
 
Test the tap water after you use your decholrinator on it.

Not knowing what your API test results were before the water change(using the API and not a diffrent kit) , there is no way to tell if the ammonia and nitrate are just residual from a high % before the water change.

I don't understand why you are doing all these water changes? You're probably restarting the cycle over and over again with a daily water change of 20-30%
I do daily 90% water changes on my guys that I don't have filters on, or that are in the fridge. But my tanks I start up that have filters I only do weekly water changes of 20-40% depending on how dirty they are.
When you remove to much of the good bacteria with continual water changes, it will re-start your whole cycle process.
It takes 3-7days to cycle a tank depending on size of tank and if you have occupants in it. Which is why I think you are restarting yours with the constant water changes if it's already been 5 weeks.

54L is approx 14Gallons, which is more then enough for one little axie.

As far as feeding how much are you feeding? Decaying food can cause quite a bit of decompostion in the tank and raise your ammonia levels. I wouldn't go to the lenghts of feeding with tweezers, you can just use a net or turkey baster to scoop out any uneaten food.

The test results aren't way out of the norm, you just need to let your tank settle in and finish cycling.
 
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Bacteria is not in the water, it's on surfaces. Waterchanges alone will not restart the cycle at all.
She's doing waterchanges because the tank is cycling, and an uncycled tank will have ammonia present. Ammonia is harmful to axolotls.
It does not take 3-7 days to cycle a tank unless you have used filter media to seed the tank. It normally takes 6 weeks or more.
I agree with Bren, I'd say 14 gallons is not enough for more than 1 axolotl, especially if it's not filled all the way.
 
I said 14G is more then enough for one 1.5 month old axolotl which is what was stated was in the tank. slightly more then 2/3rds full would be approx 10gallons.

I was talking about beneficial bacteria present in the filter and substrate.
Which if the tank has been set up for 5 weeks it will be present.

I've never heard of a tank taking more then a week to fully cycle. Espeically not with an animal present in the tank to help the cycling process.

Excess water changes will restart your cycle, usually so will water changes over 60%

I've worked with the local Seattle Aquarium and worked in aquarium pet stores for over a decade. Maybe you guys do it diffrently over there. But I have literally never in my life heard of this method of cycling. Or it taking more then a month!?

The only time i've ever cycled anything more then a week was when I was setting up my saltwater tank for seahorses. And that only because they are so damn expensive lol and saltwater can be cantankerous. I cycled it with some cheap damsel fish I gave back to the pet store after 2 weeks.
 
I don't see the point in arguing that a 14 gallon tank would be appropriate at the moment. The axolotl is inevitably going to grow, so why not save money, and get the right size tank now? I wouldn't put 2 fully grown axolotls in 14 gallons of water, so in my opinion that tank is not large enough for 2 axolotls.

Almost all aquariums take far more than a week to fully cycle if they are not seeded with some form of bacteria. it would take longer with an animal in the tank, because waterchanges will be necessary to keep ammonia to an acceptable level. Fishless cycling will always be faster, because you can safetly keep ammonia at high levels. Seeding the tank with some bb would be a different story. (in this case if you are talking saltwater, live rock would be seeding the tank with bb)

I'm not sure how they do it over in Seattle aquariums, but cycling a tank without animals in it is by far the more humane method because it does not subject the animal to excess ammonia. i treat all my pets as if they were as sensitive as seahorses, and am wondering if you realize ammonia is toxic. Just because damsel's are more hardy than seahorses does not mean you should be subjecting them to the cycling process when avoidable, especially when you're talking saltwater.

Excess waterchanges will not restart your cycle. What they will do is take out ammonia, which could potentially starve bb, but seeing as the op has an axolotl in the tank they will have a constant source of ammonia. BB will be found in the filter, and will not be removed with waterchanges. Yes there will be some bb in the substrate, but any removed will not restart the cycle, only slow it down a little.

I have cycled with axolotls in the tank, and it took 9 weeks to cycle, I have no idea where you're getting this week long cycle idea but it is completely false. A quick google search will confirm my claims.
 
Wow that's quite a steer here!
Ok firstly,

Carson thanks that's what I'm happy to hear

Blackdog thanks also it's good news :) and to address your confusion yes my tank is 54L and filled more than 2/3 with water because I'm afraid Klaus might jump out if it's filled right to the top and I can't keep my lid on all the way as it heats up my water (know that from experience).

Katie you've got a point, I shall have to do a test before water change and after to compare and also have to do tap water test.

Like I've said I've only got ONE lotl in the tank and not planning on getting more or upgrading the tank at least till April when I'll inherit my friend's 100L tank.

I do daily water changes of 20%-25% to get rid of the ammonia and cycle my tank (thanks Carson) as I was adviced many times on here do I'm sticking to it as apparently it is working. I'd rather be on a safe side and take more time to cycle than to let the ammonia fester.
Like I said before my axie seems happy and healthy so it appears to be working for him and for me it's enough to know that my results are not horrible and there is definitely something on a right path with nitrite 0ppm and nitrate 10/20ppm.

Question is what do I do if I detect ammonia in my treated tap water before adding it to the tank?

Also planning on having sand put soon will that affect my cycling efforts do far?
Thanks everyone for your time :)
 
Question is what do I do if I detect ammonia in my treated tap water before adding it to the tank?

-There is nothing you can do about that. When I was in Pennsylvania, my tap water always detected ammonia. I kept track of that level and the level in my tank. If the level in my tank stayed the same as the tap between water changes, it didn't matter. The water was fine. If it went UP in that time between the changes, then I was over feeding or something else was going on that there was more ammonia. Just relax...if your axolotl is fine, then it's fine and your tank will cycle on its own at it's own pace. It's nature. Cycles are an important part of a tank but I think sometimes people get too stressed over them :p

Also planning on having sand put soon will that affect my cycling efforts do far?

-No it will not.
 
I wasn't arguing over the tank size, I was just clarifying that it's a 14g tank with one juvenile axie in it, which is appropriately sized.

It really is the opposite, it's faster to cycle with a hardy animal in the tank because that animal is contributing to the build up of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle.

Mine are quicker because I always use a cycle animal and eiether used media/water or a handfull of substrate from one of my established tanks which is the best way to cycle. There are also several products on the market for seeding a tank, i'm not sure if they work as well.

If water changes repeatedly work for you, then thats great. I was just pointing out i'd never heard of doing that excessive amount Or it working in a decent period of time.

I can understand diluting the ammonia and nitrite levels so they are not harmful if you have a non-hardy animal (aka axolotl prone to ammonia burns) all ready in a non-cycled tank.
I still personally wouldn't reccommend 20-30% water changes daily. Maybe like 10-15%. doing that high of a water change will extend the amount of time it takes to cycle. Not by months obviously, but if you're stressing about it, obviously you want it done quickly.
 
It'd be ineteresting to see a water change of 20-30% versus 10-15% as far as ammonia left in the tank after.
 
ZombieAxolotl said:
It really is the opposite, it's faster to cycle with a hardy animal in the tank because that animal is contributing to the build up of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle.
Click to expand...

You know what's faster than cycling a tank with a hardy animal? Cycling a tank with something that's not alive like a frozen shrimp or pure ammonia to keep the ammonia levels at the optimal level (4 ppm's). This way nothing suffers, and the tank is kept at the highest level of ammonia that will promote beneficial bacteria growth. I think it's a little cruel to use an animal for the sole purpose of cycling when there is no need to subject them to ammonia burns/poisoning.
ZombieAxolotl said:
Mine are quicker because I always use a cycle animal and eiether used media/water or a handfull of substrate from one of my established tanks which is the best way to cycle. There are also several products on the market for seeding a tank, i'm not sure if they work as well.
Click to expand...
This is using seeded bio media, which I agree cycles a tank instantly, that's not however how long it takes a regular tank to cycle from scratch.

ZombieAxolotl said:
If water changes repeatedly work for you, then thats great. I was just pointing out i'd never heard of doing that excessive amount Or it working in a decent period of time.
Click to expand...
That's why everyone advises cycling before adding an axolotl to the tank, otherwise you have to do tons of water changes while the axolotl is in the tank in order to be a responsible owner. Keeping an animal in large amounts of ammonia is just plain irresponsible in my opinion. I've always thought that since I'm in charge of the quality of life I stick in my tank, it's up to me to keep the water parameters as perfect as possible. It's not a hardy fish's fault that it can withstand poor water conditions, so why is it fair to throw it in a tank that would kill a regular fish? It's just cruel and unnecessary, and part of being a responsible pet owner is making sure the animal you're in charge of has proper conditions.
 
I think there is a fine line between responsible pet owner and being realistic.

I've never had any fish I use for cycling die, or show any adverse effects like ammonia burns or gasping, etc. Obviuosly yes they are exposed to higher levels of cycle waste but they are called a hardy species for a reason. I wouldn't use say my sewellia that would perish in an instant. The point of diffrent species is the diffrent parameters they are capable of being kept in and how they are useful.

I doubt i'll ever use something dead to cycle a tank, that seems a little over kill (pun inteded lol). And I wouldnt' want to add un-beneficial bacteria and fungus to a tank i'm trying to make acceptable for tank-mates.
 
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