Vacation time !! what to do about my tanks

[Ohioreef1700]

Its nearing that time of the year where we take our annual family vacation but i stress over the tanks at home so much that its hard to have a good time without worrying about what is going on at home with the tank.
Heres a few ideas that i have since I don't really have anyone locally that i trust to keep an eye on them without screwing something up..
Buy 2 nest home monitoring cameras so that i can have digital connection to my tank at all times and if i have to as a last resort call the lfs or i can just hope for the best and see what happens(considering $4000+in coral is in one of the tanks its not the best idea that i have had) !!!
Any ideas from anyone who has had experience in the past with this problem and concern?
My 2 tanks are a 65 cubes(ai lighting setup, skimmer, goo reactor, and all the other common item except for an ATO which i need to order before i leave. and the second tank which i sell all of my frags out of which is a 65 gallon total rubbermaid stock tank with t5 fixtures and all of the bells and whistles except an ATO.
Thoughts , comments, Ideas ????????

 

[mbemount]

Do you have a LFS you trust? I would just pay them to watch over it/maintain it for the time you are gone. Low cost overall if you are worried. I use nest cams at home and they work really well.

 

[alton]

I have a great neighbor that feeds and checks on my tanks every day. I leave them with phone numbers from two different LFS and my AC and Heating Company.

 

[kcinnick]

Apex monitored by an aquarium service. Between ATO, automatic feeding, dosing, automatic water changes... I wonder why we are needed any longer...

 

[Ohioreef1700]

I have never tried apex what does a whole system cost app. ?

 

[Ohioreef1700]

Well needless to say I flew to California last year for business and I thought that my tank would be in good hands well the LFS never showed up and as I was eating dinner the day that I came back in heard my garage open well it was them and not to mention my tank was out of water in the sump all of the pumps were running dry skimmer was overflowing and there was algae everywhere so they decided to never show up and then come on the last day ( they got the dates wrong !! I was already home )

 

[Dmorty217]

I have never tried apex what does a whole system cost app. ?

Apex Gold will run you $700+ with ALL the bells and whistles closer to $1600 or more depending on what all you wanted. I use the dropcam pro on my 625g, nice to be able to have a little piece of mind. You need someone you can trust to check on and feed the fish. Check your local club

 

[Ohioreef1700]

I will definitely look into the apex

 

[billdogg]

I have a neighbor ' s daughter come over daily (he comes with justincase) to top off and feed.

 

[Wazzel]

Hire a pet sitting service that can take care of the tank. I have a zoo at home and it is much cheaper for us to hire a sitter to take care of the 2 dog, 2 cats and 3 fish tanks than to kennel the dogs and cats and try to find a fish sitter.

 

[chilli_reef]

Where are you in Ohio.
I may be able to refer you to a good LFS that also does house calls ?

 

[joshbrookkate]

Make sure you give yourself lots of time to know that the ATO is running smoothly before you go. Standard advice on this forum is not to change anything just before you go away.
I'm going away in early March and will be setting up my Apex auto feeder today.
Yesterday I dismantled all my pumps and cleaned everything.
Then on to setting up the cameras.
No surprises for my daughter, who will be looking in on the tank.

 

[Ohioreef1700]

What ato do you recommend

 

[Ohioreef1700]

I'm in Perry east of mentor

 

[chilli_reef]

Oh wow lol !!!
I'm waaaaay south in chillicothe. Lol !
You may have to go all the way to chardon. I know there is next to nothing in ashtabula.. Mentor I'm not sure...
Youngstown I would just stay out of all together.
Maybe Beachwood ? Its pretty upscale, that's where your likely to find the home service lfs's.
Pretty sure you'll get mugged in youngstown lol !!!


I deliver freight all over the greater Cleveland area, as well as the entire state of pa. I'll do some searching for you. I bet we find a good one. Honestly though, I would find a trustworthy neighbor or family member over a stranger at an LFS.

 

[Ohioreef1700]

I know of one LFS store in beechwood I work in beechwood. I don't think they will drive 25 min to service

 

[chilli_reef]

http://m.yelp.com/search?cflt=aquariumservices&find_loc=Perry,+OH+44081


I'm sure you've probably found the same but just incae there you go.

 

[chilli_reef]

You would be surprised how far they may drive. Money talks lol !
I wouldn't discount them until speaking to then first.

 

[joshbrookkate]

What ato do you recommend

I have a Tunze. Very happy with it, easy to set up, and no problems in the 12 months it's been set up.

 

[Ohioreef1700]

I will stop up there after work one of these days.
I was looking at the tune ato they seem like a quality product.