emergency nitrate removal!?

Question

i just got back from a 5 week vacation, my familiy was caring for my fish while i was gone... ...... its been about 8 weeks since a water change, all kinds of alge are growing, one of the fish has a funky fungal infection, some fish are missing, and i CANT change the water until monday. what can i buy from petco, petsmart, or walmart that can bring my aqarium down to better conditions for the next couple of days? i need a temporary solution to my problem! ......... please? any help? i CANNOT change the water until monday.

Answer 1

I would suggest you not use anything that will destablize your tank. Any of these various products will most likely do that. As soon as possible, do a small (10-15%) water change, wait a few days and do another, then another and make a total of 3 in a week or so. This will allow the fish to slowly adjust to the improved water conditions. A large single water change will shock them as much as a sudden drop in water quality would. Now, as far as the fungal infection, I would suggest you treat with Maroxy, that's available in most of the large chain stores. You can start that treatment before you change the water.

Remember, your tank didn't get there over night so they have been in that for quite a while, another 48 hours will not make a huge difference, but rapid changes certainly will. Take it slow and easy and the fish will be fine. Do something rash and sudden and you risk them all.

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Answer 2

Really the best thing is a water change, even if that means waiting until Monday.

Another 24-36 hours won't hurt your tank any more than it already is.

Anything else that you would use is likely to cause you more problems than they will solve.

My recommendations will be to do 10% water changes every other day next week rather than doing one large water change. Even though your nitrates may be very high, it's actually more harmful to your fish to do a big water change and rapidly drop the nitrates. Fish can tolerate smaller changes over several days, and within a week you should have your water quality back where it should be.