water change while on holiday?

[kevfiz]

hi I will be away for three weeks, my parents will stay at the house and will look after the fish. I do my water change every week usually when I do it I see one maybe two spots of algae I usually wipe it with a sponge. if I leave the water change for three weeks could this one or two spots end up out of control after three weeks and should I get my father to do water change maybe? is there any benefit of not doing water changes for a few weeks once in a while?

 

[AbbeysDad]

should I get my father to do water change maybe? is there any benefit of not doing water changes for a few weeks once in a while?

There is no benefit in not doing routine partial water changes. The question is frequency and volume. Relative to your bio-load and feeding, your system is constantly creating pollution. "The solution to pollution is dilution" so we do routine partial water changes. 50% weekly seems to be an accepted average.
HOWEVER, if the bio-load is low, feeding is minimal, and you have fast growing plants, the volume/frequency of water changes could be reduced w/o harmful results. As to your father doing water changes, that's up to you and him. It's not hard and he may be okay with it....
Otherwise...assuming you're not over stocked...
> do a water change & filter maintenance just before you leave.
> have dad feed only high quality food in small amounts no more than once per day.
> invest in some fast growing floating plants? Water Sprite is great. Duckweed is very good but can be a pest. Anacharis and water wisteria also come to mind.

 

[Byron]

I agree with AbbeysDad, and would just add that if no water changes can be done, the fish should not be fed every day. Once a week feeding (and not excessive, a normal feeding) is sufficient. Small fry need more, but not otherwise. So you could leave out a measured amount of food in a small jar with a lid to keep it dry and fresher, one for the first week, one for the second, and ask him to feed this once during each week.

Also make sure the tank light is on a timer so it is consistent. It should be like this all the time anyway, but leaving the tank lighting on when you are away is sometimes done and this inevitably means a disaster. It highly stresses fish, and encourages algae.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Yes, if the light is on all day, it will encourage algae growth in the tank. If you are still concerned about your tank, just teach your Father to do the water changes, and also wipe away the algae.

P.S. Make sure you teach him to feed them! :lol

(. ^. I say that because once I left my betta to my friend to take care of, and when I got home, my betta was dead. “What’s the moral of this story? Make sure Father knows how to feed them!!!!!!)