Tank care for road warrior

[Sshielam]

I travel very extensively for my work. I have a 55 gal tank...I read the larger the tank the more stable it is. What advice can you give that will assist me in keeping a healthy tank. Currently I have 3 Angels, 5 neons, 5 tiger barbs, 2 dwarf frogs, 1Dinosaur Bichir and 1Dalmation Molly. The tank has been setup for over a year now and the Dalmation Molly is the first fish I put in it right at a year ago. The main issue I. Having is keeping the nitrate level down. Any suggestions?

I would like to add a few more fish but don't want to overload the tank since I am only able to tend to it on the weekends.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[AaronW]

How long are you on the road for at a time? I also am on the road alot. I have a similar sized tank. Honestly as long as your filtration is strong enough. You can get away with longer periods between water changes.

What kind of filter?

 

[aquandrew]

you say only weekends? that is perfectly fine to do your water changes on weekends only. what is your nitrate level? what % are you changing per week? if its anything like 10-25%, as the suggested level, its probably not enough. if you are doing 50% or more once a week and your nitrates still won't go away, there is another issue behind them. do you have gravel substrate? and if so do you thoroughly vacuum it weekly? have you tested your tap water? best advice i can give is figure out your nitrate problems, then find someone to feed your fish a few times a week or get an auto feeder(not a cheap one that is known for malfunctioning) and set it to feed once a day or once every other

 

[Sshielam]

And i forgot, i have 2 pleco's and 2red tail sharks! I am home almost every weekend. Occasionally, I will be out 2 weeks back-to-back. I did purchase an auto feeder and it seems to be working well, so far. Relying on someone to come by on a consistent basis is out of the question. I live very rural. I have gravel substrate, a moss ball, 2 bubble curtains and several plants of which I have no clue what they are. Don't remember the brand of filter. It is the standard size recommended for my tank.

 

[rmiller]

Your biggest contributor to nitrate problem are the plecos. They are notorious poopers and can easily foul a tank if no one is there to monitor it. I would make sure to do at least a 50% water change each weekend that you are home. If you know you will be gone for 2 weeks at a time, see if someone can come over at least once while you are away. Basically to do a head count and make sure no obvious signs of illness have arisen.

If you can rehome the plecos you should have room in the tank to add some new fish. That said, I would not add anything new unless you know you will be home for at least 2 weeks, preferably a month, to make sure new additions don't bring any diseases. I once made the mistake of adding a new fish right before going on a week long vacation. I came home to a tank full of dead fish.