Hello all!

Im hoping you guys can help me out. I was gifted a pair of juvinile alpine newts. From what i can tell they are. a. apuanus. I want to take the best care of them that I can and keep them happy and healthy!

I have a half terrestrial and half aquatic 20gal set up which is 30 in in length. The aquatic side is maybe around 7 gallons. A couple of plants (one in the water and one on land), a built in filter in the viquarium and some larger smooth riverbed rocks for substrate. I added some top fin bacterial starter and dechlorinater and monitored the temps being 67-71F. I plan on getting a cooler or using dechlorinated ice cubes soon to lower the temps more.

The tank has been cycling for about a week and after the first water change (15%), the water got extremely murky. I was reading using spring water is best and can reduce the cloudiness of the tank due to the bacteria eating whats in the tap water? Did I do something wrong? It also has some minor bubbling in the water since the bloom began. Im afraid to do another water change and risk it getting even worse. I have never owned a fish tank before so cycling new tanks is very new and scary!

Also, is this type of newt more aquatic? Should I be investing in a larger aquarium style as the juvies get bigger?

I've got some blood worms, pellets and chopped night crawlers ready for their arrival. Is it good to keep their diet varied or should I just feed them what theyll eat?

Any help for a newbie newt mom would be appreciated!