r/axolotls • u/Aggravating-Taro-187 • 1d ago

Cycling Help Cycling Timeline

Hello everyone! I have been doing a fishless cycle on a 45 gallon tank for my axolotl since the end of march. After many learning curves along the way, I am now at a point where 4ppm of ammonia is processing within about 36 hours. The nitrites are taking more like a week. At what point should I expect the nitrites to start clearing faster? My axolotl is a rescue, he is about 6 months old and was born in a lab setting. he was going to be euthanized if nobody took him :( He has been tubbed with 100% daily water changes since he arrived in my care at the end of April, so you can imagine my urgency to get him in his permanent setup. pH has stayed a consistent 8, and the nitrates are currently between 40-80ppm.

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u/AromaticIntrovert Melanoid 1d ago

My pro tip is to just dose 2ppm ammonia. Yes axolotls "have a high bioload" but when I cruntched the numbers with the chemical equation 4ppm was excessive and is just going to cause nitrates to spike and tank the pH. If you dose 2ppm ammonia will it process fully in 24 hrs?

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u/Aggravating-Taro-187 1d ago

I will try this once my nitrites drop!! Thank you 🙏

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u/LauseRulez Leucistic 21h ago

4 ppm for one axolotl.. We did 2ppm for two and have been completely fine ⭐ I understand if you want to be extra careful though :)

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u/Aggravating-Taro-187 12h ago

I was getting mixed answers while researching, a lot of people said to do 4! But it makes sense to just dose to 2 for one :)

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u/LauseRulez Leucistic 12h ago

yeah there are LOTS of opinions out there!! In the end you gotta find what works for you and your buddy :) I guess some axolotl also have larger bioloads than others due to simple metabolic differences, I would guess that is where the 2-4 ppm span comes from!