vacation

[swalke2]

I have grown really fond of my tank now that it up and running and has lots of life. I am wondering what do you do with your tank when you go on vacation? I hate thinking about somone else "messing" with my stuff.
Do you trust your house sitter to feed the tank and replenish the water? There is a possiability I can get snowed in and be gone longer than the 4 days im planning, should i turn off my protien skimmer so the sitter doesnt have to mess with it? or take a chance and leave it up to them?

Lights are on a timer for what its worth...

thanks
Steve

 

[brianjfinn]

It all depends on how competent you think your house sitter is. You would need to teach them everything about the maintenance you would expect them to perform, create a check list, and watch them perform the procedures.

Also, give us more information on your setup. How often do you need to clean the collection cup for your skimmer? Do you have a waste collector, or the ability to add one to your skimmer? Do you have and auto top off? How much water is evaporated daily? How often and what do you feed? How long has the system been set up?

 

[swalke2]

How often do you need to clean the collection cup for your skimmer? i think it could go 5 days, i usually clean it more often

Do you have a waste collector, or the ability to add one to your skimmer? its a prizim skimmer so im not sure about waste collector

Do you have and auto top off? no auto top off

How much water is evaporated daily? I go about 3 days before adding water, it takes about that long for the water level to get below the brown plastic rim.

How often and what do you feed? feed twice a day

How long has the system been set up? I guess about 3 months give or take.

I trust the sitter, but I guess I was trying to get a general feel on what most people do.

Thanks
Steve

 

[brianjfinn]

With a more established tank, I'd be fine leaving it for a week or so without any worries. If you're feeding twice daily on a three month old tank, then I'm guessing you have a decent bio load, and I'd be worried about leaving such a young tank if there's a possibility of you getting stranded. In your case, if you trust the sitter, then I would leave a check list of everything that needs to be done and when, and show them how to do it. One week shouldn't matter that much as long as you have someone watching it.

 

[brianjfinn]

Also, what other people do all depends on their system. Someone with an established tank, a controller, an auto top off, an auto feeder, and a waste collector for their skimmer should be fine leaving their tank for at least a couple weeks with no problem. Personally, my new tank is only a couple months old and I'm still working out the kinks, so I wouldn't trust someone else to take care of it for a week. My 20 gallon that's 6+ years old I have no problem leaving that for a couple weeks knowing that it will be fine.

OH, and remember: Don't do a water change the day before you leave. Try to do it at least three days before so that you will be able to see if there are any unusual changes. Not that anything will happen, but you always want to be there just in case something does happen.

 

[swalke2]

Right on thanks...Im hoping im only gone 4 days, but heading to the great lakes

 

[raisedonnintendo]

Easy dude just get your water mixed where the salt is really light before you leave. Fill it up with a litlle more water then normal. Turn off everything but. Heater , powerheads, lights, and circulation pump. Pack your bags and enjoy your vacation. If you are back in less then a week your water will be a little low your salt will be about where it should be. N your fish will be screaming feed me. Less there something like a lawnmower blenny and a mandarin. N which time your lawnmower will be sad as you scrape his food off the glass.

 

[jcook54]

If it's for a week or more I get a fellow reefer who knows my system to come by and take a look. Of course when he's gone I do the same for him. If it's for a couple of days I let my sister-in-law take care of feeding but I ALWAYS set aside tiny cups with that amount of food I want them to have. I also leave written instructions for emergency situations that include the info for someone to call if something seriously goes south.

 

[brianjfinn]

Also, you can always post on here if your sitter says there's an emergency, and someone will be able to help you out.

 

[swalke2]

:up:
I like the tiny cups idea

 

[hhughes]

When I am away, my mom comes over to take care of my zoo. I usually set aside several 1 gallon containers of topoff water so she can add as needed. I leave everything running, she knows to check the skimmer cup and empty if it has anything in it. Lights are on a timer. I have her feed half as often as normal; I feed 6 days a week, she feeds every other day, and I measure out the food ahead of time. She is aquarium-savvy, but knows freshwater best; she has the number of a trusted friend in case anything strange happens.

 

[jeffmuse]

RaisedOnNintendo;592186 wrote: Easy dude just get your water mixed where the salt is really light before you leave. Fill it up with a litlle more water then normal. Turn off everything but. Heater , powerheads, lights, and circulation pump. Pack your bags and enjoy your vacation. If you are back in less then a week your water will be a little low your salt will be about where it should be. N your fish will be screaming feed me. Less there something like a lawnmower blenny and a mandarin. N which time your lawnmower will be sad as you scrape his food off the glass.

+1 very good post.

I picked up an auto feeder that I use when I am gone over the weekend. It only feeds flake foods, but it keeps the fish fed while I am away.

If you are ever planning on going away for longer, you can contact your local fish store to schedule maintenance on your system. I live in Suwanee, I know that Marine Design will do this.

 

[morganatlanta]

I've got an autofeeder and an ATO on my 30 gallon so I only have once a week maintenance. That has greatly reduced my stress when I'm gone a few days or just too busy to pay attention. Those were the best investments I've made on my tank.

I use the autofeeder with pellets 4x daily all the time, so I just make sure it is full before I leave. Before I had the ATO, I left gallon jugs of filtered water for the dog sitter add as needed. I also talked with Kevin at Warehouse Aquarium about being emergency backup when I was gone for 10 days. If the dog sitter saw anything unusual (like pumps not running) they were to call Kevin.

 

[schwaggs]

I feed only frozen food once per day so I make up sandwich ziplock baggies with the proper proportions of food for each feeding so there is no risk of over feeding. I make a checklist of things the sitter should check (water level, temp, etc.) to make it easy for them to verify everything is OK. I have an Apex controller that emails me when something is wrong so that gives a little more peace of mind.

I usually go for 2 weeks so leaving the system unattended is not an option for me.

 

[gnashty]

I use my controller, a waste collector, and ATO but no fish feeder. I feed nice and heavy before I leave, triple the nori on the clip and leave several 1 gal jugs full of FW and 40 gal of SW just in case.

I have a emergency contact list on the fridge of ARC members and sponsor stores. I tell my gf to keep ATO bucket filled (only gets me about 3-4 days) and to feed pellets daily thru a feeder hole i had installed. she rarely does what I ask because the ATO is always empty and my fish swarm me....He is home!!! he's gonna feed us!!!

I wouldnt worry too much if the fish had to go 3 days without eating but they may turn on your corals if they get hungry enough. I know my regal munches on my leather when I dont feed often enough