Unusual methods of cycling – Wonder In Nature

The cycling process can seem tedious, but it really is necessary to do it correctly, especially if you have an axolotl. They are far more sensitive than other aquatic creatures and can easily get ammonia burns.

This axolotl has had its floofs burnt off with high ammonia levels. This will result in difficulty breathing.

I recently came across a post where someone had a crashed cycle, and was asking for advice. A commenter told the poster to short cut the cycling process and described the method they had used. This process included adding the contents of filter from an existing tank to a ¼ full tank outside in their patio, then adding fish food to feed the bacteria. Then vacuuming out all the sediment from the old filter, moved the tank inside and topped it up. They say the tank was cycled in less than a week.

This is probably the strangest way I’ve come across of cycling a tank and has so many issues that I want to unpack it all.

Beneficial bacteria

You can absolutely add beneficial bacteria from another tank filter to your new tank, however, the amount of bacteria may not be sufficient to handle the bio load of an axolotl. If I were to use the contents of one of my Betta tanks filters for example, it wouldn’t cover anywhere near what I need. Yes, it would start the process, but not handle it any time soon.  

If I were to add the contents of my 300L community tank filter, it’s much more likely to kickstart the cycle, but it will still not cycle in a week as this poster suggested.

My suggestion it to add beneficial bacteria from an existing tank if you have it, but don’t just expect this will work instantly and you’ll be fine.

Ammonia source

While fish food is a method that a lot of people do use for fish, it is a lot less reliable. Using a product like Dr Timms allows you to add the correct amount of ammonia to replicate the amount of ammonia your axolotl will produce in order to mimic the load the bacteria will need to counter. Adding fish food instead means you have no control or idea how much is needed to mimic this amount.

Personally, I have actually poured the water from my axolotl tub, after moving it, straight into the tank that is cycling to put in the exact ammonia that the axolotl will produce in the day. I feel that this is a good way of replicating the ammonia levels as it’s literally the exact ammonia levels the filter needs to sustain each day.

Moving the tank for a heat source

This commenter said they put their tank in the patio to give it a heat source as this helps bacteria grow faster. While the temperature part is true, putting a tank outside makes it far more vulnerable to parasites and other creatures entering the water. Moving a tank containing water is also just so much work and so risky.

The best thing to do it to put your tank where you intend to keep it and add a heater while you cycle, if you want to add a heat source, but its not necessary.

The amount of water needed to cycle

If you’ve read my post about water changes, you’ll remember that I said never change out more than 50% of your water at once as it will crash your cycle.

When you are creating the nitrogen cycle, the best method is to fill it all the way to the top so that you are cycling the full amount of water that will be used when the cycle is running so that you can 1. Change out water if you need to during the cycling process and 2. So you can confirm your cycle is running correctly with the correct amount of water.

Confirming your cycle is running correctly

Before you add an axolotl to your tank, its really important that you confirm the tank will handle its bio load. The best way to do this is with the 3 day test.

For the three day test, you will need to add ammonia to your tank to create a reading of 4.0ppm ammonia. After 24hrs, the ammonia reading should be 0.0ppm, nitrites 0.0ppm and nitrates 5.00ppm or 10.00ppm. When you can do this for 3 days in a row, you know your tank is ready and to add your axolotl.

No shortcuts

Just remember, that while a shortcut method seems attractive, its crucial for your axolotl to have the cycle ready and stable before you add them to their tank.

Speeding up the process by adding bacteria from other tanks does help, but it does not instantly cycle a tank.

Axolotls are so much more sensitive than other aquatic creatures. If you put them in too soon and their slime coat is burnt off, it’s not only painful for them, but its also the part of their body that takes the longest to regenerate. You will be spending so much more time treating them and trying to get them healthy again, its just not worth trying to shortcut the process.

Bubbles (left) and Toothless (right) have really healthy fluffs and slime coats. Both had fully cycled tanks and well maintained levels.