What do you do during vaction??

[Jujubee]

During December 28-Jan 10 my husband and I will be visiting out families in South Carolina from Virginia. All my tanks are cycling. I know that probably sounds a little crazy but beginners mistake. I am hoping they are stable before our vacation. But what have you guys done while away??
We just moved to VA in June and there are very few people I have come to trust maybe even just ONE person around my fish.
The only thing is I have a 10 gal with 4 platys, a 1.5 gal with fry, and a 2.5 with african dwarf frogs and 2 snails.
What am I to do??? Would it be best to find someone to take care of them? And what if my tanks aren't fully cycled? I'm a little stressed since it's getting closer to December.
Thank you in advance for any advice!

 

[flitabout]

That's a good question. Well hopefully they will be cycled and then you have to find somebody that you can train to care for your tanks. As long as they come over every few days to feed very small amounts of food it really shouldn't be a big issue. But it sounds like water changes will be an issue especially in the fry tank. Do you trust your friend to handle water changes?

 

[Jujubee]

If I had her over and showed her how to do tests on the water and how much to take/put in and also using prime and the amount to use. Even how to feed the fry the frogs and the adult fish. Everyone is so different. It's deff a lot of work I am worried I might be asking too much of her if it comes down to that.

Would a dissolvable shell or block of food be alright for the 10 gal or would that be too much on the water to handle? If it's not shed only have to worry about the fry and frogs.

I really am worried. I've been working my butt of to keep everyone alive and healthy

 

[Coyne]

You should be able to go two weeks with out a water change. To be on the safe side, do a large one just before you leave.

Fish can go a while with out food... Though two weeks might be pushing it. I'm not sure about the ADF.

If you have somebody you trust with popping in once or twice a week to feed them, then I'd go that route over using a feeder block. You can even leave pre-measured amounts in baggies to prevent over feeding.

I've heard mixed reviews in those feeder blocks, but I don't have any personal experience with them. Seems like it would be better than nothing. You could even look into one of those auto-feeders.

You still have over a month to do your Fish-In cycles, which should be enough. In my experience they take about 4 weeks.

 

[Delapool]

I've looked at the auto-feeders and thinking of trying one. A guy at work had one and said they were great. The ones I've looked at don't really suit my setup for mounting so still thinking.

I've done the feeder blocks for a week and they do ok. Whatever you do, I'd suggest testing it before you went away. One weekly feeder block I tried only lasted a day (fish were very happy). I ended up using a more expensive one and placed it away from the water flow. Even then I suspect it only lasted most of the week. Fish were fine, plants a little more beaten than normal though.

 

[Jujubee]

Thank you guys for your advice. I think I'm going to consider having someone pop in instead. I know the blocks can murk up the water some. & I do have a bit left for my cycle. It's been going on for a month now so hopefully a few more weeks for it to come around.
I guess that's the only thing about fish huh haha you can't drop them off at a fish kennel.

 

[Delapool]

Yes, I'm also hoping to have someone pop in. Probably just to check the room isn't too hot but you never know.

 

[Jujubee]

I wish you luck
I'm a little scared but hopefully it all goes well

 

[Delapool]

I wish you luck
I'm a little scared but hopefully it all goes well

Good luck with it. Last time the tank temp went too high but all fish went well. I've got a battery powered air pump now so I think I'm covered just in case of a long power failure. Lol, I think the tank gets more organised than the rest of the house and gardens.

 

[mrvincent]

Add bottled BBs.

I tested Nutrafin Cycle for cycling, adding them directly to filter bios and my 30 gal tank got cycled in 9 days.

A good BBs product can't do damages and may help.

 

[Jujubee]

Good luck with it. Last time the tank temp went too high but all fish went well. I've got a battery powered air pump now so I think I'm covered just in case of a long power failure. Lol, I think the tank gets more organised than the rest of the house and gardens.

I agree with your statement! After work I take my dog outside and then it's right to doing test and water changes before cleaning anything else or even making dinner hahha.

 

[Jujubee]

Add bottled BBs. I tested Nutrafin Cycle for cycling, adding them directly to filter bios and my 30 gal tank got cycled in 9 days. A good BBs product can't do damages and may help.

I've hear contradicting things about bb in a bottle. I know the bb for ammonia is present but the bb for nitrite is a lot slower. I have ammonia nitrites and nitrates present ammonia goes from 0-.25 since my tap has .25 ammonia in it I can get my nitrites down to .25 but my morning their back to 2-5 ppm nitrates stay around 5-10ppm

I could in fact purchase some but would it affect what I already have going on? And where would I go to purchase it if I went that route? There is a petsmart next to where I'm working today and I was planning stopping by to pick up a few things for my unstocked 20 gal. Hey, I could even throw some in there! I have ammonia and nitrite present no nitrates yet that I know of at least. We shall see after work

 

[mrvincent]

Nutrafin Cycle worked very well in my case for cycling when adding it directly to the filter bios... I don't know for other brands... I'm testing Seachem Stability at now, it's priceless.

I think auto-feeders feed too much food, depend on your population and the autofeeder you buy...

If somebody come at your home to feed your fish, prepare cups (dosings) for him/her, as it's very common that your friends will overfeed your fish and make your NH3+NH4/NO2 problem worse.

Make a 50%WC the day before you go in vacation, make sure the temperature of the new water is the same that your aquarium water.

 

[flitabout]

In my experience Nutrafin is one of the better ones and actually establishes the nitrite it's actually the first to show up after use. I class it in with Seachem stability. Which is a live bacteria supplement. When it is packaged the bacteria are given food to keep it alive. The trick is to get a fresh batch. I know with stability that it has a 4 year shelf life. So by the time it has gotten close to the expiry date you are essentially just getting an expensive bottle of water. I got that right from Seachem's site. You also have to factor in the storage conditions. If it isn't stored well then it can kill all that bb. This is why there is so much disagreements on it's use. Because your can't test it at the store to make sure that is still good. The only way to know if you have a good bottle is to buy it, take it home, and use it. I will look up the manufacture dates on the Nutrafin and let you know what it is.

 

[Jujubee]

I do have nitrites present In my tanks, will adding the nutrafin spike it? I already have to do 2-3 wc a day :/

 

[mrvincent]

I do have nitrites present In my tanks, will adding the nutrafin spike it? I already have to do 2-3 wc a day :/

Adding Nutrafin Cycle to the bios of your filter will help live "Beneficial bacterias" to establish. This product contains nitrifing bacterias that convert ammonia to nitrites, then nitrites to nitrates (Nitrates are very very less toxic). Yes, this product will help both for ammonia and nitrites. It is NOT instant, it take a bit time for BB to establish.

Make sure you NEVER rinse your filter bios in tap water.

 

[Jujubee]

I purchased some and have added it to 3 of my tanks. I don't have a filter for my frogs so would adding it to the water be okay? There is bacteria present and the levels are .25 am. .25 nitrite 5 nitrates. I do a small water change on their tank every day to every other day

 

[mrvincent]

I purchased some and have added it to 3 of my tanks. I don't have a filter for my frogs so would adding it to the water be okay? There is bacteria present and the levels are .25 am. .25 nitrite 5 nitrates. I do a small water change on their tank every day to every other day

Hmmmm your frog will probably require good filtration, I heard about they sensitive to nitrogen spikes...

The autotrophics BBs'll glue to the substrate probably... You will have best results with ceramic filtration, because bacterias in this liquid adhere on surface like ceramics biomax, and they like water flow and oxygen for optimal reproduction, efficiency, and nitrogen oxydation.

 

[Jujubee]

I do have a small 3 gal filter I can put in there tank they didn't seem to like it last time I did place it in their tank

 

[Jujubee]

Sorry that was a super quick reply. But it's a little tetra whisper it only has a little Cartridge but nothing to hold the bb like my 10 and 20 gal filters do.
I did add it to my frys filter which is another 3 gal tetra whisper. What worries me is my nerite snails that are in with the frogs. Will they escape?