Skip water change?

[Trop65]

I usually do a 50% water change on a weekly basis. Lightly stocked,no live plants, 65 gallon tank.
I am having hernia repair surgery next week and they say 2 weeks before normal activities.
Do you think my tank will be alright waiting 2 weeks for the next change?
Thank you!

 

[Slaphppy7]

How long has the tank been established/cycled?

 

[Byron]

One of the benefits of your past regular water change schedule is the stability of the biological system which means it is able to compensate to some extent if you miss one (or more) water changes. Cut back on feeding though...the fish can go a week or two weeks without any food if needed. You should have no issues, provided the tank is not stocked at or beyond its capacity.

I went through this same issue last year for six months, following surgery and during chemo treatments. I did what water changes I could but there were gaps of 3-4 weeks more than once. The live plants did help a lot, and my tanks are not heavily stocked, so that helps.

 

[Trop65]

How long has the tank been established/cycled?

For many years.

 

[Slaphppy7]

For many years.

Should be just fine, two weeks won't cause any harm

 

[Colin_T]

the fish will be fine

good luck with the surgery and here's hoping it all goes well and you are back water changing very soon

 

[AbbeysDad]

One of the benefits of your past regular water change schedule is the stability of the biological system which means it is able to compensate to some extent if you miss one (or more) water changes.

Of course, Byron is correct.
I'm a bit of a 'freak' about routine water changes and if you've seen any of my posts, you'd often see me quote "Typically there's no such thing as too much clean, fresh water".

HOWEVER, there are exceptions to every rule....and admittedly there are reports of successful hobbyists that seemingly do little (or no?) partial water changes. I simply can't argue that some systems seem to handle that okay. Tank size, bio-load, feeding amount/frequency, plants.... all come into play when it comes to water quality. Now I'm convinced that in general, the addition of more fresh water is better than little or none, but missing a partial water change or two is not the end of the [fish] world.

Now I might do a couple of 50% water changes over a couple days before the surgery, then as Byron pointed out, feed very sparingly like lightly twice a week while yer on the mend. You should be fine.

 

[Trop65]

the fish will be fine

good luck with the surgery and here's hoping it all goes well and you are back water changing very soon

Thank you for your kind words and encouragement!