Tank on its own over xmas break :(

[TavisB]

My 5.5 is going to be on its own for 13 days. Right now it only houses some xenia, gsps, and some shrooms. What can I do to make sure everthing is ok while I'm away?

Would it be better to pack everthing up and take it home with me and then bring it back?

 

[thisisme]

lower the salinity a little so when water evaporates the salinity does not go to high also adding a water top off would be good as well

 

[wea747]

auto top off

 

[intenseimage]

Set the lights on a timer (even if its just 4 hrs a day) and an auto top off

 

[Jocko]

Evaporation is what will get you. Somehow I doubt you will want to spend the money on an auto topoff. If taking it with you is an option, then I would highly suggest you do that!

 

[j2me5ku]

if youre looking for a cheap ato, you should check out the battery powered air pump auto top off in the diy nano section....it seems really cheap to build and in little time.

 

[mr pink floyd]

id say pack it up, most colleges will shut off power to the dorms over long breaks, so youll have no heat, flow, light for 13 days....

 

[TavisB]

Its in my highschool classroom (wish i was still in college lol) so the power will be on. Lights are already on a timer, just worried about evaporation. I'm going to see how much water I lose over this weekend and try to estimate how much ill lose over the break. Longest I've left it so far has only been 4 days.

 

[Reefer Wannabe]

Is it possible to get into the classroom even once or twice? I had a 29 gallon in my classroom that I would leave alone for 5-6 days over breaks, but no more than that. Coming in right in the middle of break would help so much.

 

[blackheart]

does it have a hood?

 

[thisisme]

a simple top off system would do like an air tight container with two air hoses coming out of the bottom one about 2" longer than the other. how this works is simple you put both ends of the hose coming out of the bottle/container into the tank when the water level drops below the shorter hose it lets air into the bottle/container and water is let out through the longer hose and shuts off when both hoses are under water. if you can understand that great hope it helps lol

 

[TavisB]

Ok, I checked the evaporation rate over the weekend. It lost 0.2 gal over 3 days. So that would work out to 0.87 gallons over the 13 day break.

 

[lbaskball45]

now you have to calculate how much total salinity level would go up for 0.87gallon evap.

 

[TavisB]

I think that would end up being a specific gravity of 1.032?

 

[wea747]

Just do an auto top off, it's not that hard, you just need a small pump, a water jug, and a float switch. Ideally on a timer to come on a few times a day, just so the pump is not going on and of ever 15 min.