Leaving for vaca:Suggestions for tank babysitter?

[eb8919]

Well I'm going on a two week vacation, and my biggest concern is obviously the well being of my tank. I've already made a calender for feeding and supplementing with strict instruction not to over feed. All lighting is automatic on timers and filters run continuosly. I also plan on doing a big water change before leaving. Is there any other suggestions or personal experience that may help my situation? Any ideas are appreciated.

 

[greggnyce]

Tell them only to feed the fish once or twice a week while you are gone. People that do not have tanks do not understand overfeeding.

 

[sufunk]

After having my sister-in-law WAY overfeed despite strict instructions, my advice is to actually show the sitter how much food to give each time.

A "pinch" means different things to different people! My sister-in-law apparently thought a "pinch" was a handful!

 

[nemogirl]

I always show them how much to feed and leave written instructions beside the tank. I agree with greg though, I usually tell them to feed less than I would when I'm at home. The temptation to feed too much is too much for them to resist - poor fish, they look sooooo hungry. While I normally feed them every day, when I'm gone I tell the sitter to feed them every 2 days. The fish have never had a problem with this.

 

[macchicks]

I saw once someone had all food rationed out in dixie cups and marked for each day. Then hid actual food containers so the pre measured was all the sitter had access to.

 

[sufunk]

You didn't mention it in your post so be sure to have enough topoff water for them to add to the tank.

I put a little piece of tape on the outside of my sump to show my sis-in-law where the water level should be and let her know to add RO everyday to keep it at that level.

 

[KarlBob]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13094547#post13094547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by macchicks
I saw once someone had all food rationed out in dixie cups and marked for each day. Then hid actual food containers so the pre measured was all the sitter had access to.

I did this with snack-sized zip-lock bags. They were marked "Small Tank - Monday", "Large Tank - Wednesday", etc.

Recently, someone in my local reef club forum had a tank-sitter who meant to be considerate and helpful, but...
In Arizona, in the middle of the summer, the tank-sitter Turned Off the Air Conditioner on the way out of the house!

Another poster in the same thread sent a back-up tank-sitter to check up on the primary tank-sitter's performance.

Try to find a tank-sitter who at least knows about freshwater aquarium-keeping, leave very detailed instructions, and hope for the best.

 

[Macimage]

I also have a piece of masking tape on my sump with a magic marker writing that says "Sump Fill Level" with an arrow pointing to the bottom of the tape.

I leave extra saltwater at 35 ppm in two 55 gallon barrels in the side yard in case of catastrophic tank failure, they can throw the corals/fish into them.

I leave extra RO/DI water for top off to refill the reservoir or to manually top off the sump, as I have my top off set to slowly top off my tank.

I've also labeled all my cords. If you've ever looked under your tank, it's probably one confusing jumbled mess. If a pump goes off, starts to burn or cavitate, I want to be able to tell them on the phone which cord to unplug. I don't want them to have to plug and unplug everything looking for the correct cord.

We leave our house AC set at 76 degrees so that if there is a power failure my tanks are not running at the brink of warm and have some leeway if the house starts to heat up and the chiller is off because of a power failure.

I have my Ampmaster 3000 hooked up to a Smart UPS 2000 and it will run for 6-7 hours. We also have two generators that they can use.

I turn my finicky external skimmer down so that it will not overflow (next tank will have an insump skimmer). When I am home I run the skimmate level pretty high because I can check it periodically.

I have a three ring binder with the following that I leave for them:

1. A two page instruction sheet that covers daily maintenance and emergency information, ie AC/Heating companys' phone number, all our cell phone numbers & where we are staying if applicable, neighbor reefer phone number, where the generator is, how to start it, which pump to plug into it, etc.

2. A photo or printout of each fish and coral so that if there is a problem they will know what to tell me on the phone, not the funny yellow thingie is dying.

3. All my equipment manuals and instruction sheets are also in the binder.

4. There is also a complete table with a printout of my Aquacontroller settings, the AC codes and what each command line that I have programed is, but that is more for me so I can see/remember all my settings.

Good luck!
Joyce

 

[A.T.T.R]

.... dont trust anyone


i left my house to a pet sitter who we used for years..

i come back to a ro line leaking with electrical tape around it...
apparently my dumb dog chewed it.. and rather then calling me.. he did a cheep fix...
i come home to an inch of water in the whole house ..

well.. the solution woulda been this..

UNPLUG THAT BLACK THING in the 2nd outlet by the fridge

 

[Macimage]

You need to let your pet sitter know the $$ value of your tank. My tank sitter is WELL aware of the cost of our reef.

I think many times people do not realize the cost involved, as beginner freshwater systems may be worth a few hundred dollars. They need to know that you are entrusting a $5K, $10K or $25K or (whatever the cost involved is) reef setup in their care.

I also pay the tank sitter well for their time spent. They know if they are there all day swapping out a pump that they will get fairly compensated for their time.

i come home to an inch of water in the whole house ..

Wow, an inch of water in your home!! Did that happen in one day?

We have the tank sitter come every day.

Joyce

 

[eb8919]

Wow, some crazy stories. I have instructed on topoff and have more then enough ro water prepared. I will definatly put a topoff line in the sump. I like the ideas of labelling chords (even for my sake) and the printouts of species names and pictures....Ive been a victim to the ''ya the red thing with stripes and weird things coming out of it is on its side not moving'' meanwhile that could have been a couple things. Thanks for the advice so far...very helpful. And yes i will remember to emphasize the amount of money, blood, sweat and tears involved.(maybe not blood n tears but they will get the point).

 

[gillesec]

Macimage ... can I come reef sit for you please!!!!!!!!

LOL

 

[Macimage]

Any time!!

Joyce

 

[lloydkeller]

just came back from costa rica 10days one of my daughters friends watched the tank she fed 2 times a week every thing went greatut i did wory alot

 

[down and outman]

Tried my father-in-law the first time. He was so impatient listening to my instructions. Found my Beta with a half inch of food in the bottom. My daughter did a better job, even followed my 2 part dosing instructions to the letter.

 

[raen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13096181#post13096181 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gillesec
Macimage ... can I come reef sit for you please!!!!!!!!

LOL

PM me and tell me where in cinti. Me too! Love to know local reefers!

 

[raen]

So, we just did a 10 day vacation. I bought small rubbermade containers, mearsured out the perfect amount, and labled with time, date and day for feedings. I also had top off water at the tank side with when to top off. I did it about 2 days ahead of time, but worth it when you consider all that you have! Good luck, we all worked out nicely, our sitter was fantastic! Ihope you come to nice new (good) growth, and happy fishies!

 

[Sk8r]

Use frozen food with instructions (typed, on paper, stuck to tank) that read "one cube only!!!!"

 

[Aquarist007]

the most ideal situation is to find a reef buddy in your area that can look after your tanks while you are away and visa versa

 

[Stixbaraca]

When I go on vacation I always have a family member top off and feed the tank. After all these years I know exactly how much top off the tank needs, and I label the containers for what days they need to go into the tank.

For feeding, I use one of those "days of the week" pill containers, and fill what days I want them to feed. That way they just open the container for the day and dump it in the tank!