Going out of town - No one to watch tank...

[Atl300zx]

I am going out of town in a couple weeks and i have no one to watch the tank, what course of action should i take?

I have an auto-feeder so that isnt my concern. My concern is with the dosing of ferts.

I am running 4.7 wpg and using pressurized co2 (30 ppm) in a 55G. I dose per the EI system. I will be leaving Thursday morning and returning Sunday evening.

My usual schedule is:
1/2 tsp KN03 MWF
1/8 tsp KH2P04 TuThSa
1/8 tsp Trace Elements TuThSa
1/8 tsp K2SO4 TuThSa
50% water change Sunday

What should my temporary schedule be for that week?

 

[tropicfishman]

iono what to tell ya honestly, thi shas to be the worst part about fish keeping, going on vacationa nd not finding anyone to watch the tank. Even when ya find some one the usually knownothing about fish lol WAIT! if your ferts are liquids, you can buy this one autofeeder that can add meds, ferts, foods, etc. its liek 70 bucks though at:

www.drfostersmith.com

 

[travis simonson]

If you can't find anyone to dose for you I would highly suggest cutting your lighting while you are gone. Even if you have plants that require high light, they can make it for some time on 2 wpg and you will almost certainly prevent a massive algae outbreak. Dose your nitrates to around 30 ppm or so before you leave to stave off an NO3 crash for as long as possible. You'll likely return to some algae, but you can do things to minimize it. Good luck

 

[Atl300zx]

i figured there wasnt much i could do. Anyone have an idea of high i can bring all the nutrients without hurting my fish, that way there is a chance i dont crash on any of them??

Also should i just resume my normal schedule upon return (i.e. 50% water change day of return, followed by resuming EI on monday)??

TIA

 

[Purrbox]

I concur with Travis's advice. Cut back on your lighting to at least half, although 2WPG would be better, and shorten you lighting period to 8 hrs. Hopefully this should slow down the growth enough to avoid any major problems.

I would resume your normal schedule when you get back, starting with the 50% water change and dosing.

 

[Atl300zx]

Would getting someone to come by on saturday and doing my friday and saturday doses at once help?