Leaving for 10 days...

[Sly_Fra]

Hi guys,

since the intro of pressure CO2 (I opted for the RedSea system, works great for me so far), the tank looks GREAT, plants are pearling, no more algua, etc.

I am using PPS-Pro ferts.

But now I need to go on a business trip for 10 days... what are the best practices prior to departure...? Cut down CO2? Cut down light? Cut down light AND CO2? leave as is? Overdose PPS-Pro to have enough fert to last a while...? Something else?

Thanks for your precious advices,

 

[fort384]

Is someone coming in to take care of the fish in the tank? You could walk them through dosing ferts... even if you miss a few doses, hitting it a couple of times in that 10 days would be good.

I would also cut way back on the lighting while you are gone... maybe 6 hrs a day. This will tend to slow everything way down... slow growth, slow nutrient uptake, etc.

I would not do a big overdose of ferts right before you leave. Maybe a double dose, and see if you cannot get someone to do 1 or 2 more double doses while you are gone. This would probably be enough with the reduced lighting to get the tank through till you get back.

You can cut back the CO2 some as you cut back the light... but be careful. Unstable CO2 above atmospheric equilbrium but below say, 20ppm or so, can cause some pretty severe algae, even in a 10 day time span. Would rather have too much CO2 than too little. It takes 80ppm+ to kill fish.

 

[Tad]

Use timer for the light

 

[Sly_Fra]

Thanks. I am already on a timer for lights: 8.5 hours of light a day (I'm at around 4wpg). And nobody can come to take care of it.

But OK, I'll try that: cut down to 6 hours, double dose of ferts. Not sure I want to unstabilize the CO2. As you say, I prefer too much than too little at this stage.

 

[fort384]

Things'll probably be fine. If no one can come in to take care of them, I would do a triple dose... that way you will have about 3 days of over fert, 3 days of declining concentrations, and only about 4 days of possible nutrient deficiency. With less light, there will be less uptake of nutrients as well, which will help.

 

[rkilling1]

When I go on vacations, I just set the CO2 and lights to come on two or three of the days while I am gone.

I have someone add ferts during those periods of light as well.

This past summer I was gone for 9 days. I only had the lights and CO2 come on for two of the days I was gone. The tank was fine when I returned.

 

[neilanh]

I don't really agree with overdosing ferts. THe plants will suffer going without, but they'll recover within a week or two of resuming your normal routine.

If you have the ability to cut half of you're lighting (i.e. 2 plugs on your lights) then I'd do that and run at 2WPG for about 6 hours a day. Otherwise, cut the lights to 4 or so hours per day, and it really doesn't matter what you do with your CO2. Not sure which Red Sea system you have, but if you have the pressurized system you can have the CO2 back in range in 12 hours, and if you have the bio system you'll need to replace it when you return anyway.

JMO

 

[fort384]

I really wouldn't consider it overdosing when we are talking about a triple dose of pps pro. I dose fertilizer once a week using target dosing, which basically means I am putting in a PPS pro dose x7.

Agree with everything else though Neilan.

 

[Sly_Fra]

Thanks guys. THe CO2 is pressurized fyi. I will cut light by 2 and reduce to 6 hours. Leaving in 3 days, back in 13... Will let you know the state of things upon return...