Going out of town

[Woody5465]

OK. Now comes the part I dread. I'm going out of town Labor day weekend. I'll be gone from Friday night till sometime late Monday afternoon or early evening. I really don't like leaving my tank unattended for this amount of time and I don't have anybody to look after it.

What advice do you guys have to offer. Any suggestions on a reliable automatic feeder?

I have a 29g FOWLR, fairly young system, with about 25lbs of LR. 1 Ocellaris, 1 Purple psuedochromis, 1 Neon goby, 1 Choc Chip Sea Star, 2 peppermint shrimp, and a small handful of turbos, blue leg hermits and nassarius. Also running a Coralife needlewheel protein skimmer and 2 koralia nano powerheads.

 

[JPKeenan]

I'm a FW guy but I know with my tank I can go away for the weekend and not worry about feedings (the fish will survive two or three days without food).

Invest a few bucks in a timer (like for a lamp) and put your lighting system on the timer so the stuff that needs light will get their normal day/night cycle.

 

[Boulder]

I left town on a 5-day family vacation earlier in the summer when our tank was about 5-weeks old. My inhabitants at the time were about like yours (2 fish, a few crabs, snails, shrimp, feather duster).

I didn't do anything specific to prepare other than routine care and just left the lights out. I made sure the main water parameters checked out the morning we left.

Everything was fine when we returned.

 

[Woody5465]

I'm a FW guy but I know with my tank I can go away for the weekend and not worry about feedings (the fish will survive two or three days without food).

Invest a few bucks in a timer (like for a lamp) and put your lighting system on the timer so the stuff that needs light will get their normal day/night cycle.

My lights are on a timer and my power is very reliable. Even when we have had outages in the past it is usually restored in under 3 hours.

My parameters stay consistant, so far anyway. pH=8.4, Ammonia=0, Nitrites=0, and nitrates hover around 20.

I'm just nervous about leaving it unattended that long.

 

[JPKeenan]

*lol* sounding like a new parent the fist time they leave the baby alone with a baby sitter for a night on the town.

But do know what you mean. First thing I do when i get home from work is call for my cat and check the tanks.

 

[Woody5465]

I left town on a 5-day family vacation earlier in the summer when our tank was about 5-weeks old. My inhabitants at the time were about like yours (2 fish, a few crabs, snails, shrimp, feather duster).

I didn't do anything specific to prepare other than routine care and just left the lights out. I made sure the main water parameters checked out the morning we left.

Everything was fine when we returned.

Maybe my anxiety is unfounded. Everything has gone so smooth with this tank that I just keep waiting for "Murphy's Law" to kick in.

I'm not crazy about automatic feeders either. I feed them once a day. After they finish their "frenzy" I'll skim out any large leftovers with the net. I don't want to overload the tank with an auto feeder. Maybe like JP said, they'll be OK for 3 days without feeding?

 

[Woody5465]

*lol* sounding like a new parent the fist time they leave the baby alone with a baby sitter for a night on the town.

But do know what you mean. First thing I do when i get home from work is call for my cat and check the tanks.

LOL. That's exactly what I was thinking when I started this thread.

 

[JPKeenan]

finally got both my tanks balanced, now to sit back and enjoy.....

The one I keep an inch or so down so I get that soothing waterfall sound. Nice to come home to that sound after a night at stress at work

 

[Woody5465]

finally got both my tanks balanced, now to sit back and enjoy.....

The one I keep an inch or so down so I get that soothing waterfall sound. Nice to come home to that sound after a night at stress at work

I know exactly what you mean.

I could sit there and watch my for hours. Great way to relax and escape the stress.

 

[donkuchi19]

I've left my tank for 5 days before with no feeding and everything was fine. If we fishkeepers do anything, it is usually overfeeding. The reef doesn't have anything like the amount of food we usually add to tanks so a few days will be no problem.

 

[melosu58]

For that little bit of time you`ll be OK. If it was going to be 5 or more days I would suggest you try to find away to get them fed. Supposedly fish can go two weeks without being fed. I wouldnt want to test that out nor do I think it`s fair to the fish. JMO

 

[JPKeenan]

hehehe my cat gets separation anxiety when I am gone for the weekend.... The fish just say "oh god-like feeding hand is back!"

I know what you mean though about Murphy's Law. Expect teh worst and when it doesn't happen you are relieved.

 

[Woody5465]

Well, I feel a little more at ease. Thanks guys.

Maybe I could set up a web can on the tank while I'm gone? Nah. That's a little overboard. lol. Besides, I'll be 300 miles away. I could see myself trying explain that to the cop when I'm rushing home to save the day.

 

[JPKeenan]

Well, I feel a little more at ease. Thanks guys.

Maybe I could set up a web can on the tank while I'm gone? Nah. That's a little overboard. lol. Besides, I'll be 300 miles away. I could see myself trying explain that to the cop when I'm rushing home to save the day.

I know some people have used the "bathroom" idea to try to get out of a speeding ticket.

"Officer, my 90g tank has sprung a slow leak and if I go under 88mph I won't make it home in to time to save any of my fish!"

Or you could always say your flux capacitor was broke on your speedometer.

 

[melissasreef]

I know how you feel about leaving the tank and all your friends. I too am having the same feelings. I have people coming to feed as I will be gone for 9 days. I like your webcam Idea... if i knew how to do it I would. I love my fish, and corals and do spend all day watching them. My hubby jokes that he thinks he'll have to put me in the car kicking and screamimg. I am going to be over 600 miles ( 12 hours) away, so there will be no ablilty to save the day for me either. I would go with everyones advice... you'll be ok since it is only a few day. Know that I will be feeling the same worries as you while I am away, too. Try to have fun though

 

[brianf40us]

I left my tank for a couple of days just recently and the only think i would be concerned about is topping of the tank. You could purchase an automatic top off machine. I know my tank evaporates quickly so im not sure if you would have the same problem.

 

[melissasreef]

Well I thought I would let everyone know that I just got home from my 9 day trip. I had some one come to the house daily to check on my tanks. I let 2 pages of detailed instructions as well as had then come over to watch me take care of the tanks prior to me leaving. I got home and everyone is safe and happy!