Thanksgiving break.....5 hours away for 10 days

[skae310]

Hey guys I am leaving from my dorm in Rochester back to Pittsburgh for 10 days. Its about 5 hours away. I am thinking I have to take the fish home as I will not have any one to care for them. I am thinking the corals should be ok for 10 days with timers on the lights. Just gonna pray a little there.......as for my fish.... I have 2 clowns. I am thinking of taking maybe 5-10 pounds of LR and the fish and keeping them in a 5 gallon for the time. I know I might have a chance of a mini cycle but I plan to just watch the levels. Think itll work? or any suggestions?

 

[thincat]

Looking at your setup the only thing I would worry about is evaporation, A 14g can loose water real fast.

 

[skae310]

This is true. and as much as id agree at home I dont think I will have problems here. Maybe its the air but I havent toped off yet since I got here. I havent had enough evaporation at all in between the two weeks I have in between water changes. Or at least nothing that would influence the water chemistry at all. So I think in that aspect I will be ok. What do you think would be the best way to transport?

 

[cabezon]

between the lights and the fans my 8 cube evaps a lot of water. Are you checking the salinity with a refracting hydrometer, or just looking at the level of the water? Because the filtration area in the back holds a lot of water, and the level is always the same out front. there is a window on the side of the return pump side that shows the height fluctuation.

I might take out some SW and add RODI to get the salinity to 1.023ish and then let it evap away for the corals.

add an air pump to your five gallon bucket for the fish, and you will be OK. Watch the temps.

 

[skae310]

No im serious when I say theres very little evaporation. I know the back area is where the water drops first and even back there it remains constant for about 2 weeks. Yes I am using a refractometer so I know the salinity is accurate. I will take your advice on the lowering it though. I think I am gonna lower it to 1.024 due to very little evaporation and that gives me a little more cushion. Heat is gonna be the biggest problem on getting the fish home. How influential is temperature on the rocks? Im not saying I am going to keep them in the cold, but is it less vital than the fish?

 

[MarineFlake]

Suggestion: Auto top off and food timer OR make a new friend who can tend to your tank. If not, looks like nemo is going for a ride.

 

[skae310]

I thought about automatic feeder but i havent seen one that would attach to a biocube so I would have to mess with it, plus I dont trust those very much. Id rather know they are fine and as much work as its gonna be it doesnt seem that bad for the reassurance. Plus they seem pumped about going on vacation so I think its only right to let them travel with me

 

[cabezon]

If your dorms are anything like my dorms, they are locked down for the holiday, so no friend could help. unless you had a friend in an apartment down the street.

If your fish are pumped for the vakay, then make sure they can hang their heads out the window. lol

iron ore heater packs in ziplocks for heat?

 

[eyring2210]

If your dorms are anything like my dorms, they are locked down for the holiday, so no friend could help. unless you had a friend in an apartment down the street.

If your fish are pumped for the vakay, then make sure they can hang their heads out the window. lol

iron ore heater packs in ziplocks for heat?

heatpacks need air to work. My suggestion would be small heater running on an inverter that plugs into the cigar lighter of the car.

 

[Krypt]

Since it's only 5 hours, you could place the clowns in some bags with air, then put them in a foam cooler with some heater packs. That should keep them warm and safe for the road trip.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

If you're going to the extent of getting the fish out and getting an inverter, why not just put the fish in a 5g bucket and tank the whole tank with you? 14g doesn't weigh that much. Just don't get in an accident. That would be bad.

 

[fort384]

If you're going to the extent of getting the fish out and getting an inverter, why not just put the fish in a 5g bucket and tank the whole tank with you? 14g doesn't weigh that much. Just don't get in an accident. That would be bad.

LOL You know you are an aquarium junky when you are worried about someone getting into an accident not because they might get hurt, but because it might disturb the tank.

Good stuff.

 

[skae310]

Well everything has gone well so far until today. I had a mini tank set up, had no mini cycle, temp was all in check. I wake up this morning and the temp was 90! I have no clue how this happened but it usually stays at 78 all the time. How can I lower this fast, yet in a way not to hurt the fish?

 

[Krypt]

To lower the temp gradually, get a small desk fan and point it at the water on top. You can also float a couple sandwich bags of ice to get the temp down faster if your fish are showing signs of stress.