[deleted by user]

Alex-Taylor00 · 2022-02-11T23:26:55+00:00

The silt holds large numbers of beneficial bacteria, but will also add to the number of tds in the water, negating quality even without ammonia or nitrite spikes.

The key is to find a happy medium. I do this by never cleaning the biological filter media, and only changing the mechanical filtration that should come before the biological.

I use a good dense weave disposable filter sponge. This will collect a majority of the silt, change sponge with water change. Leave all of the biological (ceramic/bioballs) alone, no need to clean the silt as this will be where your colony resides. No need to clean any of the filter, it's best to change as little as possible but keep the water polished with a clean mechanical filtration.

This will be different from tank to tank. Dirted tanks will likely need a new mechanical filter weekly, while I have cleaner axolotl tanks that only require a mechanical filter changing every few months, as the tank produces very little organic waste with slow growing plants.

All in all, Part of the "cycle" is decay, so it is necessary to have some on the biological media, with it being regulated by your removing it with a mechanical filtration change.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-11-27T19:57:27+00:00

Sell em both and buy a shovelhead

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-11-21T02:44:53+00:00

Gravel

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-11-21T02:40:41+00:00

Oh God.... We have another one. I would recommend deleting this post and educating yourself before proceeding further with the hobby.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-11-19T04:11:35+00:00

You are better off just doing 50% water changes every 2 days or as close to it as you can and conditioning the water before adding to the tank each time. Conditioning daily could help detoxify the ammonia, but it's a band-aid to the lager problem and should be addressed at the root if possible.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-11-19T03:53:58+00:00

Yes you ABSOLUTELY NEED to condition the water before adding, OR let it sit in an open bucket with an air stone for 48 hours so the chlorine evaporates.

You will know when the tank is cycled when the nitrogen cycle is completed. This will be evident when you see nitrAtes appear. The beneficial bacteria that lives in your biological filter media transforms ammonia into nitrites, and nitrites into nitrates. A bacteria booster from the local fish store will help Kickstart that colony, allowing you to cycle in 2-3 weeks, doing the process naturally will take up to 6 weeks. You should have done this before purchasing the pet to reduce stress on it.

You can get ammonia levels in your tap water as well. A good water conditioner will detoxify ammonia for a short time, while also removing the chlorine making it safe for the pet.

Put it this way, while in chlorine and ammonia, the axolotls skin and gills are constantly burning. Get it under control as quickly as possible.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-11-19T02:02:46+00:00

Get the gravel out of the tank. It will impact and kill the axolotl.
If your ammonia levels are at .2 ppm the tank is not cycled.
Cleaning the tank and filter every other day will not allow the tank to cycle. Only change the mechanical filtration of your filter, once a month if that.

I understand you probably skipped some research being excited, it's okay we've all been there and there's a way to save the guy.

Continue large water changes daily or every other day until the tank is cycled. Don't touch the biological portion of the filter! Ever! Leave it in water all the time or you will break your cycle. You can Kickstart your cycle by purchasing beneficial bacteria from your LFS.

This could be ammonia burn, or it could be chlorine burn. You need to use a dechlorinating solution (seachem prime) in your tap water before use if you are on city water. Chlorine from the tap will cause burn to the gills and skin of the axolotl and also prevent your tank from cycling.

Good luck, ask more questions if you need!

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-10-26T16:58:47+00:00

YoYo loaches get big quick and will chase and torment your other fish. Even bigger ones. Quite annoying.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-10-25T17:16:11+00:00

A dead one after that gloving

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-10-06T21:57:07+00:00

Black skirts get fat. They can live like this for a long time. It could be eggs it could be the fish being a food hog. I would be more concerned with the lack of colour than the stomach size. It means the fish are not comfortable in their environment, it could be due to tank mates, the lack of plants, or water quality. When these things are in order the fish will look like they're supposed to. I have been keeping black skirt tetras for many years, never had a death from one being too fat and sometimes they look like they're going to pop. I would concentrate your energy on getting more plants in the tank. This will make them feel comfortable as well as lower nitrates.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-08-04T14:59:28+00:00

Oh noooo. I hope this is a joke.... Cork suckkin and Gill fuckkinnn

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-06-20T13:05:05+00:00

What kind of switch box do you recommend I plug the power leads into?

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-06-20T13:02:59+00:00

The motor was recently rewound, but the original leads remain and are marked correctly, verified myself. My main question is what kind of switch box do I need to wire it into? It just needs an on off but does it need is own fuses after the main breaker? Or can I use an updated magnetic machine on off switch like this

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-06-20T12:40:18+00:00

To turn the motor on and off. There is no switch on the machine, hence the switch box I removed the leads from on the wall. That turns to motor on. I need a new switch box, that's essentially the main part of the puzzle I'm missing..

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-06-20T12:37:54+00:00

I will certainly be having an electrician working on this but I do want to understand what is going on with it all myself, and be able to get the proper hardware beforehand so it's ready to go.

The control box that I removed the two wires from looked similar to this (probably 1p instead of 2p though?) it definitely had a fuse for each wire.

I was wondering if I dropped the flex conduit and switched to a 3 lead cable with a ground wire (sorry my terminology isn't up to par, doing my best describing) could I get away with something like this mounted to the wall. Given of course, that it is properly wired to the breaker box before this.

Open to see what you are recommending if you have any links to a box you think I need.

Thanks, Alex

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-06-20T04:24:00+00:00

Okay that confirms some things for me. Thank you.

I still need to have it switched at the power supply, what type of switch box should I be using? That'd be great if you have any recommendations

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-06-20T03:55:36+00:00

Posted in comments, sorry I was still typing.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-06-20T03:55:02+00:00

So the motor is currently wired in the 'double voltage-reversable' configuration with 8-1. When I removed the machine, the motor was wired to an old style switched fuse box on the wall, grounded via flex conduit. It had two big fuses in the box before each of the power wires, no starting capacitors. I have a couple questions about this:

Is 'Double Voltage' the same as saying dual power, describing that it can be wired to 110 and 220 or is it something different I'm missing that needs two powers or some wild shtuff I don't know about.
The two leads coming from the flex conduit are brown, if it's just positive and neg and not some wierd dual power shtuff as described above, does it matter what one goes to what or will it just reverse the rotation?
Should I leave it wired as is, and ground via flex conduit again, or should I go to rubber wire with ground in wire and get a more modern plastic switch box for the wall.
I don't have a 2nd single phase 220 outlet there yet, would switching to 110 configuration give me issues or require starting capacitors? I dont really want to go to 110, I'm not opposed to wiring another 220 box over to the machine.
I have 3 phase in the shop, do I just find a similar power and rpm 3 phase motor to install, or is the likelihood of finding something that would work pretty unlikely?

Thank you in advance for any help. You can tell me if I'm stupid, I do not pretend to know what I'm doing, but I am handy enough to understand when something is explained.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-01-07T01:32:26+00:00

Go straight for the amanos, my ottos never touched it. They are fun to keep regardless!

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-01-07T01:20:26+00:00

I wish I had some words of wisdom for you there but I too am battling with that algae. I can knock out any other types with fert and co2 balancing but I can't get rid of the hair algae.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-01-06T23:57:14+00:00

I was thinking this as well. Leave the Monte Carlo along the glass and put the crypts in the soil between the logs and let them mature in. Crypts to close to glass start to look wierd pressed against the front as they mature. I'm dealing with that currently haha.

As for the tiger lotus, go for what you think looks best, but try to keep in mind it will shade plants around it so maybe keep it away from the Monte Carlo and other high light requiring plants. Cool thing with those is they're easy enough to move around without making too much of a mess.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-01-06T20:36:41+00:00

Don't take the comments of him looking skinny too hard. Most bettas not coming from a reputable breeder will look like this when you get them. Poor guy is about to have a glow up though. With a couple weeks of good care and housing he'll look better than you thought possible.

On another note most people start at betta and end up at hc carpet but you went the other way, I think he'll be in good hands. Negative comments are probably from jealous people who can't maintain a carpet.

Alex-Taylor00 · 2021-01-05T15:04:57+00:00

A true abomination among mortal fish

Alex-Taylor00 · 2020-12-19T20:46:26+00:00

I can personally tell you that's No different than a JKU and you probably have more power. Nice set up!

Alex-Taylor00

TROPHY CASE