Advice while on vacation

[thommyboy12183]

I will be on vacation for ~ 12 days and i was trying to get acvice on what to do that would be beat for my tank. I have a 4 fish, a sea urchin, shrimp, anenome crab, bta, seastar, star fish and a cleaning crew.

Thanks in advanced.

 

[aznflyfisherman]

I went out of the country for 15 days, I think evaporation is the main issue you will have to worry about, but if you have an auto top off then you will be fine. Also lighting should be auto program for dusk to dawn if possible. Have someone with some knowledge or clearly write out instructions for your fish sitter, show them your tank n what needs to be done for emergency just in case. Label each power cabe/devices, Make sure who ever watches your tank to not over feed, to be safe i show them how to n told them to feed every other day. I also set up a network camera so i can check on it to make sure nothing is wrong.

 

[mcgyvr]

What do you do to the tank when you aren't on vacation?
The same needs to happen when you are..
plain and simple..

ATO/food mainly..

 

[thommyboy12183]

What do you do to the tank when you aren't on vacation?
The same needs to happen when you are..
plain and simple..

ATO/food mainly..

I guess my main concern is the feeding as I really dont have anyone local that could stop in to feed.

I will do a water change before i leave and lights are on a timer so the only thing i really need to worry before i leave is feeding. I know those auto feeders are Cr@p and then that would be a big if the fish would even eat pellet food.

 

[static916]

One of the things I've heard that I might try myself is to see if I can hire the LFS service to check on the tank. Might be expensive but it will be worth it to enjoy the vacation without any losses.

 

[mcgyvr]

I know those auto feeders are Cr@p and then that would be a big if the fish would even eat pellet food.

Many of the auto feeders work just fine.. Get some pellet food now and start seeing how they respond..
What type of fish?
Most will take pellet food..

 

[thommyboy12183]

Many of the auto feeders work just fine.. Get some pellet food now and start seeing how they respond..
What type of fish?
Most will take pellet food..

Used one of those pyramid auto feeders cubes and everything. Worked fine and all are doing good. Thank you though.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Make sure your ATO reservoir has enough water in it. There are several reliable auto feeders on the market, I use an Apex feeder with NLS pellets. Also, if you do frozen food, it helps if you have a neighbor kid who can drop in every couple days to feed.

We're gone sometimes for as long as 30 days when we go to Asia and never had an issue. Here's a little write up I did on my build thread (bottom of page 16):

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2345585&page=16

 

[Sk8r]

Eheim autofeeder, cheap-ish, and very reliable.
ATO to handle evaporation. You might want to turn your skimmer off for the duration in case of an overflow...depends on how often you have to empty the cup. And do NOT turn the ac off.