Can Ick Med make NITRATE higher?

[cali]

I have a 55g FO tank with 50p of LR. So if I were to do a water change would 10g be about right? Also the guy at the LFS told me if i vac the gravel to only do half the tank then do the other half the next day.Is that right?? Or should I just do it all at once???
and about the ick med can that make my nitrates higher????
Help Please.......

 

[beth]

I don't know what kind of ick med you are talking about, but, really, you shouldn't put meds in a tank with LR. It will kill the LR.
Also, if you have "gravel" or crushed coral as a substrate, and are having nitrate problems, then the substrate is the problem. Gravel and crushed coral are too large in grain size resulting in the accumulation and entrapment of detrisis, resuling in nitrates.
You can lightly vacuum your substrate or you can do half and half. However, if you had a sandbed instead of gravel you could add creatures to your substrate that would do the vacuuming for you.

 

[cali]

Thanks for the info...
But can Ick med have anything to do with Nitrates being to high???