5 Weeks Without Water Changes

[jarmado]

we are going away on holiday for 5 weeks and no one is available to do the usual weekly water changes.
do you think my 180L will be fine for that 5 weeks?
i have an auto-feeder so no problems with the feeding.
i am thinking of doing a 50% water change before i leave, will this be enough?
i have mollies, corries, loaches, and betta in the tank.

EDIT: spelling

 

[dgwebster]

we are going away on holiday for 5 weeks and no one is available to do the usual weekly water changes.
do you think my 180L will be fine for that 5 weeks?
i have an auto-feeder so no problems with the feeding.
i am thinking of doing a 50% water change before i leave, will this be enough?
i have mollies, corries, loaches, and betta in the tank.

EDIT: spelling

i sent mins through 4 weeks with out changes - the only problem i had was the fluval filter had reduced to a trickle... so if you have fluval, no, aything else, yes. IMO

edit: i recommend putting some nitrate treatment in the tank too

 

[Bloo]

Do you just have the standard Juwel filter ? If so, I'd probably add an extra small filter (like one you'd usually have for a hospital tank etc.)

I have often left mine for that length of time when going on long holiday - most recently in January - and returned to a surprisingly stunning tank. But I have an external Eheim which provides a lot more filtration than the standard Juwel. Keep feeding to a minimum - only every two days or so.

 

[jarmado]

i sent mins through 4 weeks with out changes - the only problem i had was the fluval filter had reduced to a trickle... so if you have fluval, no, aything else, yes. IMO

edit: i recommend putting some nitrate treatment in the tank too

a good idea on the nitrate treatment!

i will put some tetra easy balance or nitrate minus before i leave.
your fluval filter, is it external?

Do you just have the standard Juwel filter ? If so, I'd probably add an extra small filter (like one you'd usually have for a hospital tank etc.)

I have often left mine for that length of time when going on long holiday - most recently in January - and returned to a surprisingly stunning tank. But I have an external Eheim which provides a lot more filtration than the standard Juwel. Keep feeding to a minimum - only every two days or so.

reducing the feeding and adding an extra filter are good ideas!

 

[dgwebster]

internal. am replacing with eheim at end of the month though,

 

[pgtips]

I only change the water in my tanks once a month, i only take out 2 buckets from each....never had a problem. If you have live plants and your tanks is mature i think you'll be fine. Just make sure the pump/filter are running perfectly before you go.

can't you get a friend to check in on them?

 

[jarmado]

I only change the water in my tanks once a month, i only take out 2 buckets from each....never had a problem. If you have live plants and your tanks is mature i think you'll be fine. Just make sure the pump/filter are running perfectly before you go.

can't you get a friend to check in on them?

we just moved in the area and our friends are like 70 miles away..

EDIT: have to start making friends with the neighbours right away..

 

[Bloo]

Ps: also remember to actually give your autofeeder a "test run" before you go on holiday. So many of them notoriously clog up and then don't work. You might have to check what type of food it works best for. Flakes usually don't work too well as moistures makes it clump.

 

[pgtips]

PPS: oh and its better to slightly under feed if your going away

 

[jarmado]

thank you sooo much people!!
now, i can really enjoy my holiday.

 

[dgwebster]

for auto feeders, I found breaking up algae wafers, large pellets and mixing with small pellets and ground up flake food worked really well.

 

[jarmado]

for auto feeders, I found breaking up algae wafers, large pellets and mixing with small pellets and ground up flake food worked really well.

another idea!
thanks!

 

[jarmado]

thanks a lot people!

 

[Marcos]

If I was in your postion I think I'd make sure the tank was well over filtered to stop the chance of a filter becoming clogged to the point of it being useless.

 

[jarmado]

If I was in your postion I think I'd make sure the tank was well over filtered to stop the chance of a filter becoming clogged to the point of it being useless.

i got two filters already (internal & external) so it is already over-filtered but i'll add another small internal filter just to be very sure...