stay or go?

[am3gross]

i love this hobby... let me just say that.... here is my dilema..
i am in the military and i will be deploying in april for about 7 months. i have a 210 gallon that has some coral and fish in there... everything is pretty automatic except the water changes. now i know the wifey will do what she can and take care of it for the most part, but i know it wont be takin care of like i do or like it should be takin care of. i also know that 7 months is a long time to expect to go trouble free as far as equipment and parameters and such go.... should i risk it and let the wife try or do i sell off the livestock now and start back up when i get back?

any thoughts? other military members?

 

[Johnny C]

I have several friends and family members in the military. What branch are you in? In my opinion I think it would be in your best interests to sell the livestock that you have before you leave. While your wife may know the basics, things can go south with our aquariums very fast and it would be horrible for you to know that things are going wrong while you are away. Do you belong to a reef club? Maybe a local hobbyist would be willing to hold onto your favorite pieces until you return? This way you don't have to part with everything and can relieve yourself (and your wife) of the stress of worrying that something may go wrong.

Good luck on your deployment. Thank you for your service!

 

[wtildens]

AM3, i'm navy too and yes deployments suck. The best bet is to find a friend on base thats into saltwater too, (craiglist, or what ever you have to do. I'm sure you can find someone in VA) ask them to keep your stuff while your gone. Maybe you can return the favor when he deploys.

as for my self, most of my stuff finds homes when i deploy. I keep the tank up and running(god bless the wife) but the tank is in pretty bad shape when i return.

 

[serpentman]

I would consider at least selling off the corals and inverts. If your wife is up to it, you could keep the fish relatively low maintenance. It's hard enough being away from family for that length of time, the last thing you'll need is to worry about your tank.

Good luck and thank you for your service.

 

[US Marine Coral]

I would keep the tank up and running and have a friend or local reef club to look in on it from time to time. As long as she in comfortable with the maintenance you should be fine. Good Luck!!

 

[awestruck]

FWIW, I would sell livestock but keep the tank running. Maybe your wife would be willing to do a small water change 1 x month and other simple things like make sure the temp is staying constant. This way you won't worry about your livestock and she won't feel pressured to take care of your tank when she may not really know how.

 

[ir_danno22]

I hear you, i'm currently out and my calcium is high but all is stable. my wife stays busy with work and hates getting water from the store since we live in a second floor condo. luckily I have a month left out here. My wife does a good job of keeping the fish and corals fed in the morning and when she gets home. I only have her occasionally test calcium and alk since all others always read 0ppm. She keeps the top-off water full, skimmer cups clean and sends me pictures of the tank. I let my wife know that the LFS we go to does tank maintenance services and should give them a call if she ever needed any serious help. So far she has not needed to use their services as of yet.
I've been planning an auto water change system using a 55 gallon salt water container, 2 of the Litermeter RPMs on separate 12v power sources, and controlled with my apex with float switches. Game plan is to have a few gallons changed out once a week automatically or changed a larger amount changed on command when my wife presses a button. The pump that removes the water, drains out to the laundry room main drain pipe. When the salt storage tank gets emptied, an alarm would sound and all the wife has to do is press another button/switch to fill the reservoir and add salt. I'm trying to keep the design small, fool proof, simple enough and cost efficient but nothing is cheap in this hobby or simple. I'm still planning out the water change on command switch route or whichever method makes sense. I'm looking at almost $800 for everything; RO/DI unit, Pumps, Containers etc. I am hoping that this system will allow me to forego the calcium, alk and mag dosing.
This deployment sucks!

 

[jeff@zina.com]

The other option is to divorce your wife and find a new one that's into salt water....

I'm actually surprised there aren't services catering to servicemen/women with tanks that will maintain the systems for a low flat fee. Guaranteed clients at a number of the major bases. You can hire a service to maintain it, but it's not cheap. And there's always bad blood when livestock doesn't survive at a friend's. Personally, I'd sell and rebuild a bigger tank later.

Jeff

 

[Lynnmw1208]

Maybe you can find an aquarium service close by. I know we have someone around here that will service tanks for a fee. maybe if you mention military they will give a discount. well they should at least!

 

[re-fin-away]

Maybe you can find an aquarium service close by. I know we have someone around here that will service tanks for a fee. maybe if you mention military they will give a discount. well they should at least!

I would even look into a local reef club in your area. I know where I am at we all pitched in to help a family when the husband was deployed. Mowed lawns general house maint. ect. I would hope you could find someone to service the tank while you are away for no fee to you. Thanks for your service, and God Bless.

 

[am3gross]

thanks for all the replys..... alot of good info here. i am in the navy... 8 years now. this will be the first deployment of my carreer. longest i have been out to date is 3 months.....

the tank is a 210 gallon with a 75 gallon sump. i have an auto top off and all the wife needs to do is turn the rodi on once every 2-3 weeks. there are no small water changes!..

she is into saltwater and has had her own tank... we took it down cause it was to much for her to keep up with it,with her carreer and the kids... plus taking care of me!... i have needs! i am sure she would be willing to do the job necesary and would do it well enough but dont know if i want to put her thru it. im leaning towards taking it down.......

there are clubs that are around and i am sure they would be willing to help out if needed.... i may have to butter some of them up.

thanks for all the replys..