Nitrates.

[Shadownova]

I am going on vacation for ten days and I am wondering if my nitrates will be ok.

 

[Bbarb27]

How often do you do partial water changes, and what are your nitrate readings before you do the PWC?

Do you have any plants in the tank?

 

[Shadownova]

I do one about every six days I have three plants and my readings are about 45 ppm before my pwc.

 

[Bbarb27]

Hopefully others that know more than I do will chime in, but can you do a PWC each day for 2-3 days before you leave, to drop the nitrates down to a very low level before you go? That might let you extend the time between changes to 10 days without your nitrates going too high.

Make sure your fish aren't over fed while you are gone, as that will also contribute to high nitrate levels.

 

[smomus]

Hopefully others that know more than I do will chime in, but can you do a PWC each day for 2-3 days before you leave, to drop the nitrates down to a very low level before you go? That might let you extend the time between changes to 10 days without your nitrates going too high.

Make sure your fish aren't over fed while you are gone, as that will also contribute to high nitrate levels.

I second this. Get them as low as possible before leaving. Why do they get so high? Are you over stocked?

 

[Shadownova]

Yes I got a Pleco as a gift and have nowhere else to put it.