Thinking of starting a Saltwater tank, but travel

[joemiller1191]

Hello all,

I am seriously considering getting a saltwater tank (anywhere from 10-30 gallons), but am concerned about my travel schedule. It's pretty unpredictable, but there could be times where I leave Monday morning and get back Thursday evening for continuous weeks on end. My gf can feed the fish, but that is about it. I am not planning on getting anything crazy in the tank, but am really interested in trying out a SW tank after having a few freshwater tanks. Is it a bad idea?

Thanks!

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

Welcome to the ARC! Just remember that a smaller tank (10-30); much can happen with the smaller water table. I read many threads here at ARC and from that and personal experience; do your homework. With a smaller tank, your fish selection will be minimized over a larger tank. If you plan on getting corals later on, your fish selection prior to getting the corals may consume the corals you purchase later.

Make sure your girlfriend doesn't overfeed the livestock while you are traveling. You could always ask around at your local reef store; some provide cleaning services where they come out to your residence.

Here is a link for smaller fish that can be placed in a smaller aquarium: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+2124">http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+2124</a>.

A chart is available here: [IMG]http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=21#marine">http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=21#marine</a> . As with fresh water, salt water is similar in the fact you have to be careful with setup of your neighborhood. It can get complex, some fish will attack other fish of the same color, your process of placing the fish in their new home may have to be in a certain order depending on your fish selection, etc.
It's best to do your homework.

Once you decide on what size aquarium you will go with; I would start a thread in the new member area to get some help with your fish selection. Post a thread "What is your favorite salt water fish? What set this specific species apart from other fish?" You'll be amazed and educated on fish that you may decide to select for your setup. I hope this helps.

Wannabee


P.S. One of my favorites is the Panther Grouper. They look amazing when they are small. I love the polka dots on their whitish frame. Some people have made the mistake of purchasing one to find out later that they ate the other fish or that they grow very, very, big and soon your tank will be too small for them. The panther grouper is also an aggressive, some would say "very aggressive". I've never had a panther grouper; had I not did my homework, I would have probably purchased one.

 

[project1004]

Welcome, It's never a bad idea to get in this hobby. Just know that it is going to take much more learning and lots of money down the drain in the process. Especially this being your first time. But there are many of us who can kinda help you get started. If I were you, I will do as much of research and collect all the necessary items to run it properly. I just started my tank and I too travel extensively. So I went fish less SW system and I am much happier than I was when I had to feed the fish and clean after them. And most likely, if you do stick around long enough, you will continue to try more advanced and harder projects in this hobby. It is rewarding and fun hobby non the less.

 

[wannabeeareefkeeper]

Bump please?

Wannabee

 

[firethorn77]

With a smaller tank I'd recommend an auto top off at the least if you go out of town.

 

[bobz]

Joe,
I've been on the road almost every week for the past 7 years. i have several tanks up and am gone most weeks mon to Thurs as well. my wife feeds the tanks while am out of town. the key thing is to try and automate as much as possible. absolutely should have an AUto top off, it is the best way to keep the tank stable. you will likely get a light that has a timer but if not; you will want that as well. i also have auto dosing setup for calc and all dosing. you can use a controller like apex to control a lot of the equipment which would also add a degree of insurance against issues that may crash your tank. net, you can definitely maintain a tank while traveling but it takes some prep work. i say go for it!

 

[bulkrate]

It's totally doable to have a saltwater tank smaller than a bathtub and still travel for work/vacations. I'm gonna go tongue-in-cheek here (a little)... you can go one of two routes:

1. Automate as much as possible. That way when you have a blip on your gfci or an ATO sensor gets stuck/knocked off the glass by a snail or whatnot you're guaranteed to get a notification of utter catastrophe while you're half a country away and can come home to a complete tank crash as the systems proceed to dump a weeks worth of fresh water, Kalkwasser or other doseable in all at once. Or it'll shut down all pumps, heaters and lighting... your pick.

2. Keep it as simple as possible. That way anyone who tells you it's too hard to drop a thimble full of food in & add 1/2 to 1 cup of buffered RODI/distilled a day can get the full measure of a well-deserved eye-roll.

In my case I went the latter route on my 9 gallon tank... it's been up and running for well over 4 years. No ATO. No controller. No dosers. Multi-day pillbox of mixed pellets to dump in the top. Bottle of top off water pre-mixed with carbonate & a shotglass next to the tank. Sticker on the side of said tank's water line with a post-it that says "fill to here". Several times a year I take trips & out-of-town vacations for 4+ days and have never come back to anything seriously out of whack. No way to make it simpler. In our pet sitter's own words - "if I get that wrong you shouldn't trust me to take care of the dog, either."

If you're frequently travelling I'd still go on the high side of your planned volume for a little added stability and the ability to stock a few more things of interest. Also, you may want look into an All-In-One system (JBJ/IM nuvo's got some really neat less expensive ones, just steer clear of the larger bent-glass tanks, shattering hazard), mainly for the lack of sump/plumbing as well as for a visually striking design. Much harder to do when the tank manufacturer has to design for holding 300+lbs of water in check.

EDIT: all kidding aside, bobz has a VERY attractive nano tank - what he says definitely will work, too. But if you're just considering getting your feet wet so to speak I feel it's good to start out with inexpensive-yet-effective approach until you get a good understanding of the basics and what the gadget-dollars can & should get you.