Plane tickets.... check!
Flip-flops.... check!
Bikini.... check!
Passport.... check!
Now, if I could only pack my 2 tanks and bring them with me.....
(Sorry ahead of time for the long post)
I'm going on vacation for a month, and need some help on advising my friend/tanksitter. Please tell me what I'm forgetting:
I have a good friend of mine tanksitting for me while I'm away. He does not have any tanks of his own, although he has taken care of a FOWL tank of mine a few years ago. That was a bigger tank, and less maintenance, obviously.
This time around, I have 2 small, fairly established reef tanks: one 15 gal, and a 12 gal nano. The bad news is that they're both small tanks, the good and bad news is that they're very basic. I don't have a lot of complicated equiptment, just some LR and powerheads for now. Neither have a skimmer as I've been neurotic with my water changes and was planning on buying a skimmer(s) when I set up my other 46 gal (which won't be until I get back, now).
Most of my coral are pretty hardy zoas and LPS. The fish are firefish and seem to be pretty hardy too.
I've written down a schedule of what I normally do myself to maintain my little tanks as a guide for him. I've even made a calendar and wrote which days to do add top off water (every 3-4 days), and do a small water change. The only difference is that I normally do a 10% water change every sunday religiously, and I'm asking him to do a water change every 10 days. (I was thinking that it would leave less room for error.)
I'm leaving a bunch of fresh water, and a bunch of mixed saltwater in buckets. I've shown him how I do a water change last weekend, and will show him again this sunday. I've given him all of my books on reef tanks, and also tried to give a brief overview of what to look for if a coral or fish might not be doing good.
The lights are on timers, and I have an automatic fish feeder on both. I also have backup heaters, powerheads, and other things. I've showed him how to test the water with my test kits and showed him in my books what the norm is.
Is this good enough to get my tanks by for a month?
What else should I do? Thanks for any advice/ help/ tips!!!
Bridget
(Sorry for the long post.)
Flip-flops.... check!
Bikini.... check!
Passport.... check!
Now, if I could only pack my 2 tanks and bring them with me.....
(Sorry ahead of time for the long post)
I'm going on vacation for a month, and need some help on advising my friend/tanksitter. Please tell me what I'm forgetting:
I have a good friend of mine tanksitting for me while I'm away. He does not have any tanks of his own, although he has taken care of a FOWL tank of mine a few years ago. That was a bigger tank, and less maintenance, obviously.
This time around, I have 2 small, fairly established reef tanks: one 15 gal, and a 12 gal nano. The bad news is that they're both small tanks, the good and bad news is that they're very basic. I don't have a lot of complicated equiptment, just some LR and powerheads for now. Neither have a skimmer as I've been neurotic with my water changes and was planning on buying a skimmer(s) when I set up my other 46 gal (which won't be until I get back, now).
Most of my coral are pretty hardy zoas and LPS. The fish are firefish and seem to be pretty hardy too.
I've written down a schedule of what I normally do myself to maintain my little tanks as a guide for him. I've even made a calendar and wrote which days to do add top off water (every 3-4 days), and do a small water change. The only difference is that I normally do a 10% water change every sunday religiously, and I'm asking him to do a water change every 10 days. (I was thinking that it would leave less room for error.)
I'm leaving a bunch of fresh water, and a bunch of mixed saltwater in buckets. I've shown him how I do a water change last weekend, and will show him again this sunday. I've given him all of my books on reef tanks, and also tried to give a brief overview of what to look for if a coral or fish might not be doing good.
The lights are on timers, and I have an automatic fish feeder on both. I also have backup heaters, powerheads, and other things. I've showed him how to test the water with my test kits and showed him in my books what the norm is.
Is this good enough to get my tanks by for a month?
What else should I do? Thanks for any advice/ help/ tips!!!
Bridget
(Sorry for the long post.)
In a pinch, if he runs into a real emergency and needs an experienced hand he can flag me down, I'm in Mattituck and be convinced to help for beer 
