Spring Break - How do you guys care for your tank during vacations?

[MelissaJay]

Ok......so I'm stuck here and need the sage advice of you seasoned aquariasts. I'm going camping for 5 days and am trying to arrange for the feeding of my 55g reef tank. I have four damsels and a clown, along with assorted soft corals, SPS and LPS. I will be too far away to return for daily care. Any thoughts?

 

[Tom-tom]

Ask your neighbour to feed them in the morning and night, or a relative and put your lights on a timer, that's what I plan when I go for 5 days

 

[austinsdad]

I'd feedm heavier for the days before you go if you can't find any one to fish sit. How many gallons would you estimate evaporate in 5 days?

 

[Henry405]

I also have this same problem. I'm going on a 7 day trip in the beginning of june so this would he very helpful. I don't really have anyone that can come feed the fishes and I've also thought about automating everything, but my concern is about my kaudern's cardinal. He doesn't seem interested in eating pellets or flakes so it makes it kinda hard.

Didn't mean to steal the thread or anything

 

[tjm80]

I think they will be fine without food for 5 days, it's the evaporation that would concern me the most.

 

[Tom-tom]

I'd feedm heavier for the days before you go if you can't find any one to fish sit. How many gallons would you estimate evaporate in 5 days?

I agree, prob feed a bit heavier and then put a automatic pellet feeder for the last few days, yeh and think about how much it evaporates I loose about 5-10 litres a week

 

[nxb161]

Ask your neighbour to feed them in the morning and night, or a relative and put your lights on a timer, that's what I plan when I go for 5 days

What fish do you have that require twice daily feeding?

 

[Henry405]

Would lowering the SG be a good idea? If your tank is full and the SG is at like 1.021, the evaporation would slowly raise SG, but since its only 5 days, SG shouldn't rise too much? I guess it depends on how much your tank evaporates. I don't have very much evaporation

 

[Fishbone13]

I think five days will be okay. But I would feed them a little extra the days lead'n up to you're trip

 

[Jereli]

Sorry I too am interested this...is it safe to keep the sg 1.021 like henry405 asked..and let it rise on its own... How much can it rise and still be safe?

 

[MelissaJay]

Thanks for all the feedback!! Well....I think you are gonna love my evaporation solution....

I am going to fill the 10 gallon sump to the highest normal level. I will then prepare two five gallon buckets with fresh RODI water. I'll run a siphon line from the bottom of bucket #1 to bottom of bucket #2 and another siphon line from bottom of bucket #2 to bottom of sump.

The level of both buckets and the sump will start out exactly the same. This will effectively double the volume of my sump. The siphons will auto-fill the sump as evaporation occurs. I'll cover the buckets to ensure the evaporation is not consistent.

I was thinking of maybe adding some food to bucket #2 that could provide some latent nutrition for the tank.... But I'm still stumped by the fishy issue . You really think five days without food is appropriate ? I'd be hungry!!

 

[Flake]

I went out of the country for 2 weeks. I left the frozen food in those little pill boxes so they could not be over fed. I also hid all the sw, so my friend could not possibly top off with anything but fw.

She only had to add water once, and all went smoothly.

 

[MelissaJay]

Ask your neighbour to feed them in the morning and night, or a relative and put your lights on a timer, that's what I plan when I go for 5 days

Yeah....I have all my lights on timers already Tom-tom. I live in the rural area outside of Tampa so it would be a bit of an inconvenience to ask someone to drive out for feeding. Perhaps I could hire a responsible teenager to pop in..... But I have disturbing visions of Portal 2 parties and Halo wars ensuing whilst I camp! Lol

 

[Fishbone13]

I don't think evaporation over 4 days would be enough to notice. But I guess it all depends on how hot it is where you live or more so where you have you're tank. And I'm not sure how hight you can let the SG go but I don't like go'n over 1.025. I try to maintain 1.023 for my Anemone's.

 

[Fishbone13]

Yeah....I have all my lights on timers already Tom-tom. I live in the rural area outside of Tampa so it would be a bit of an inconvenience to ask someone to drive out for feeding. Perhaps I could hire a responsible teenager to pop in..... But I have disturbing visions of Portal 2 parties and Halo wars ensuing whilst I camp! Lol

Hahahaha.

 

[MelissaJay]

What fish do you have that require twice daily feeding?

I have 4 damsels and a clown and do not feed them twice daily.

 

[Tom-tom]

I have about 30 invertebrates ATM, I feed them half a cube of mysis shrip in the morning and a dillie at night

Is there such thing as a responsible teenager?? Lol I joke

Mite b a good idea to get a teenager to pop in and feed them

And I love the solution to the evaporation

 

[Henry405]

I have about 30 invertebrates ATM, I feed them half a cube of mysis shrip in the morning and a dillie at night

Is there such thing as a responsible teenager?? Lol I joke

Mite b a good idea to get a teenager to pop in and feed them

And I love the solution to the evaporation

wow thats a lot of inverts, just out of curiosity, what do you have?

 

[austinsdad]

Feed your fish 2x daily before the trip. I did 4-5 days prior, but other's mileage may vary.

You cannot put food in the top-off water. It'll rot and decay.

Also, on your sump top-off idea... I'm not sure a power outage won't cause a sump overflow. Guess it's a dice roll. Fill the sump up to the brim and hope the power doesn't go out.