+Mlaw Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Someone posted a comment about going on vacation on another thread and it got me thinking. How do other people leave their tanks for a week? What do you do when it is time go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Someone posted a comment about going on vacation on another thread and it got me thinking. How do other people leave their tanks for a week? What do you do when it is time go? I have a buddy or a family member follow very explicit instructions (I made a video), and I monitor my tank via my controller and via webcam if I am obsessing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 I was away for 17 days last year and I put my trust in my Apex controller and Eheim fish feeder. Came back and everything was fine, other than a thick build-up of algae on the glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Biggest issue for me it topoff water. I have had no issue leaving the fish for up to about 10 days without food (prefer to keep it under 7 without food though), but running out of top-off could be bad. If I'm going to be gone for more than a week, I have someone come every few days and drop some spectrum pellets in and refill the topoff water. I've lost an entire tank and almost a second to auto-feeders and will no longer use them at all. Both were quality feeders as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClarkiiCircus Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 It honestly depends how long you're going to be away. If its just a week, you might be fine just leaving it...BUT you need to know: 1) Your evaporation rates: will you need to top off if you're gone for a week? If so, have someone trusted come and do it, with CLEARLY marked RO water jugs. 2) If you have any fish that NEED to be fed: anthias? seahorses? They will HAVE to be fed. Most fish should be ok without eating for a week, especially if you make sure they are fat and happy before you leave. For tangs and such, leave a nori strip or two before you go, have a neighbor replace it if you're worried. IF you decide to leave an auto feeder, DON'T let leaving be your first time to use it. In the preceding weeks, test it with an extra tank/QT to ensure that it doesn't dump a kabillion pellets or flakes in on accident. Use the autofeeder only after you know what settings to use on it to adequately feed your tank. 3) Nutrient levels. Haven't done a water change in years? Now might be a good time. Just to be safe. If you have to leave, and have to have someone take care of your beloved tank, have them come over to watch your routine BEFORE you leave. Or, in today's day and age, film your routine and email it to them, with VERY explicit instructions (especially if they're not reef people)! Or, find someone on here who lives close and have them pop in! +1 to being able to monitor it online as well! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 when i was gone for almost 2 weeks, i used eheim autofeeder + tanksitter once to come by and swap out the ATO jug. i monitored via apex and ipcam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 If you're going to monitor it, make sure you have a contingency plan and disaster recovery person to take action if something goes wrong. Knowing your tank is going to crap and not being able to do anything about it is worse than not knowing at all IMO. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad and Belinda Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 We used an ATO. Had the neighbor come daily to make sure our living room wasn't underwater and to top off the ATO and feed the critters. Then we had an ARC buddy come by every few days to make sure the neighbor didn't screw things up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard L Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Kari and Dustin with North Austin Pet Sitting (you can find them under ARC Professional Members) look after my 225g saltwater tank, 50g freshwater tank and 5500 koi pond every day when I'm out of town. They have a very thorough and thoughtful way of handling everything. The best part was Kari would text me an update most days that included really nice pics which really puts your mind at ease that everything is being well cared for. I definitely recommend them. I also am comforted that my Apex controller will text me if there is an abnormal change in temperature, pH, or salinity. I can monitor the situation on my cell phone and if needed I can call Kari and ask her to run by and check it out. In the event it detects water on the floor it will text me and shut down non-essential equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 There are a few things I do: Don't make any major changes to the tank in the few days before I leave. Doing a water change, etc. can make you turn off a pump or some other piece of equipment that you forget to turn back on. Better to leave things as they're running and do it when you get back. Replace your normal top-off container with a much larger one to cover evaporation during the time you're gone. I normally use a 5g water jug as my container, but for trips I move a 15g mini-barrel next to the tank and have my ATO pull from it. I bought some cheap ice trays and put the right amount of food in each cube for a single day's feeding, then add existing tank water to the tray and freeze it. If I have someone coming over to feed the fish it's much easier to direct them to place one cube in the tank rather than having them measure out food and possibly overfeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+SChrisEV Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 I like the idea of the ice cubes, easy to do, hard for some one to mess up! I'll have to remember that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+brian.srock Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 I had my coworker/neighbor come over halfway through my vacation and refill my ATO and feed my fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mlaw Posted November 15, 2012 Author Share Posted November 15, 2012 with regard to the ice cube idea is the fact that the food is frozen when it goes into the tank a problem? I assume it eventually thaws and no way it effects your temp enough to be an issue but does it bother the fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Like what others have said, I bought an Apex and set up an ATO system got a 44g Rubbermaid Brute bucket and mixed up my kalkwasser in it for my ATO (normally I have a 5g bucket) bought my wife a smart phone (mine's still dumb) set the Apex to email her emergency notifications figured out how to interact with the Apex on her smartphone or any web browser set up IP cameras on the DT and living room (for the dogs) and installed the camera app on the smart phone used NAPS (mentioned above) to feed my dogs and check on the DT Even with all that I had a near disaster. I was awakened at 6 AM by NAPS, becuase my house had a power glitch that caused the UPS to trip off. So my return pump and other stuff was off. Thankfully NAPS noticed, called me and was able to restore it with me panicking on the phone. The suggestion of having an emergency contact who has a key and can call you is a great call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClarkiiCircus Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 with regard to the ice cube idea is the fact that the food is frozen when it goes into the tank a problem? I assume it eventually thaws and no way it effects your temp enough to be an issue but does it bother the fish? No, usually it starts to melt apart quickly, and the fish are too busy feasting to notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mlaw Posted November 15, 2012 Author Share Posted November 15, 2012 with regard to the ice cube idea is the fact that the food is frozen when it goes into the tank a problem? I assume it eventually thaws and no way it effects your temp enough to be an issue but does it bother the fish? No, usually it starts to melt apart quickly, and the fish are too busy feasting to notice. This is pure awesomeness. I noticed ice cube trays at the dollar store the other day that came in a variety of sizes. Perfect for making frozen dinners for my fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Just train your fish not to expect to be fed that often (like mine), and going away for a week is a breeze Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Just train your fish not to expect to be fed that often (like mine), and going away for a week is a breeze James also believes that you should train your fish to only expect water changes twice a year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Just train your fish not to expect to be fed that often (like mine), and going away for a week is a breeze James also believes that you should train your fish to only expect water changes twice a year. Hey, what works, works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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