Vacation strategies

[violaceous]

Just curious what everyone does when they are out of town for an extended vacation. I am guessing most have close associates in SEASL or relatives who live local, but unfortunately I have very few connections to call upon. Is there anyone local who is reputable with housesitting reef tanks? (Illinois Metro)

Just weighing my options before my grand 10 day escape.

I don't want to bog anyone down with daily feeding activities, but then I have also heard horror stories about automatic feeders. I was considering having someone come by every third day for a feeding and water top off, with a flake food dispenser to cover daily meals. I've been testing the dispenser all week and so far so good -- no humidity problems/no clumping. I'm nervous about having someone I don't know well in my home though... What's a person to do?

Any advice? Greatly appreciated.

 

[Shooter7]

You're close to me...we might be able to work something out where I could come by and check things out or feed or whatever you wanted to do.

Another option you could consider is if there is maybe someone you know better that you might be more inclined to trust your open home to like a neighbor or something, you could train them a few basics to take care of the tank or feeding while you're gone, then make a phone list of emergency contacts in case something isn't working right, something about the tank looks wrong, etc. You could get a few people from on here to be on your phone list. I would volunteer for that as well.

 

[saltyunderground]

Call Aquatic Treasures and see if one of their eomployees will help you for a small fee.

We paid a LFS person to watch our tanks back in May. We were gone for two weeks. In that time one tank's overflow was clogged up and it would have caused the tank to overflow until the water was gone from the system if our sitter had not come by and caught it. On another day a skimmer was messed up and he prevented the pump from possibly overheating. It was worth the money for the piece of mind and insurance.

 

[violaceous]

Those are great ideas. Thanks for the help!

My friend that usually house-sits for me is a freshwater enthusiast. Maybe I could see if he would stop by once or twice and possibly have a reefkeeper come by a few times too. 10 days is a long time and I'd hate to have one person stuck with all of the extra travel. Plus I'm not sure how keen he would be on sticking his arm in the tank and slicing up silversides to feed my BTA. LOL Probably not an issue, but you never know.

Dave, if you would be available I would gladly reimburse you for your travel and time. If I have anything I can frag for you, you'd be welcome to it. Also, would be happy to repay you the favor any time you need a reef-sitter.

I may also look into the LFS as well or ask 'thatguy' if I can bother him with a few drop bys.

Thanks guys!



Laura

 

[Shooter7]

Laura, not a problem...no reimbursement necessary on my end. If you want me to drop by a few times and maybe be on call for the friend, then that's fine with me. If you want to go this route, then PM me the details and we'll git r done. If so, I'd like to come by once before you go to check out what you've got going and see if I have any questions. Let me know...

 

[violaceous]

Thanks a million! Will PM you shortly.

 

[levon15]

If for any reason Dave cant cover you, I can stop in collinsville on my way home from work. No problem.

 

[violaceous]

Thank you so very much! I'll send you a PM when I figure out the plans. Again, I would be more than happy to repay the favor. Feel free to call on me anytime.



Laura