Vacation...

[A_Lee]

So, come time for a vacation, what do you all do in terms of keeping your tanks topped off, and your fish fed? Is there anything else i can do besides having someone come over and top of the tanks and feed the fish?
None of my tanks have an ATO installed on them.
Say you'll be gone on vacation for 5-7 days.
I'm actually scared of being away from any of my tanks for more than 1-2 days

 

[Gomer]

have super easy instructions for the caretaker. have premeasured 2part or dosing or food. leave nothing to be estimated except top off..and even then, leave explicit instructions as to pour rate etc.

 

[Elite]

I have ATO. I just have someone to feed my fish once a day. Show the guy some basic stuff. Always call me if something is wrong before fixing anything. Remind him to wash his hand before feeding my fish ;D .. Tell him don't clean the tank. Have SW ready incase emergency WC.

 

[A_Lee]

How often do you have someone come over? Every day? Once a day?
Sorry, I am a bit paranoid as I may be going on vacation for 5-7 days with my family in a couple months.

 

[tuberider]

Have someones phone # that knows what's up around for whoever is taking care of your tank JIC.

 

[A_Lee]

You mean like, so if in any case the person taking care of my tank has a question, and can't get a hold of me, they can call someone else?

 

[Elite]

Everyday..

Oh like Jeremy said, I do have someone who know about SW available incase there is an emergency.

 

[tuberider]

[quote author=A_Lee link=topic=6936.msg89781#msg89781 date=1237354877]
You mean like, so if in any case the person taking care of my tank has a question, and can't get a hold of me, they can call someone else?
[/quote]

Yes they can, or if you want to be doubly sure give them access to your account on this forum (someone you trust) and have an phone # they can call .

 

[A_Lee]

just curious -what is the longest any of you has been away from your tank while having someone come over to take of the bare essentials? And has anything ever gone wrong?

 

[Eight]

I've been away for one month while I was working in Sydney. Everything was fine for three weeks, but the last week, somehow salt spray got onto one of the power plugs, nearly started a fire and shorted a power strip. My Aquacontroller started emailing me like crazy and I had to call a friend over who is tech saavy, but knows nothing about saltwater. I skyped him internationally and walked him through everything... but he didn't manage to get the return pump plugged in properly, so I lost probably a third of my stock.

I dunno why, but every time I leave for a week, something seems to break. Thankfully I have roommates who I can walk through troubleshooting and a couple emergency reef friends if something really bad happens.

 

[phishphood]

Been away for 10 days with no one really watching the tank at all other than roommate who will only notice something's wrong if the tank isn't full all the way or the carpet around it gets wet.

Nothing really bad came of that trip. My ATO somehow didn't kick in so salinity was kind of off and the return was semi-running dry (sucking in plenty of air, but also still had the water to cool it down since my returns were under water). Didn't worry about feeding the fish since it was lightly stocked foraging-type fish in a 120g.

 

[Lyn]

I posted notes at the tanks with explicit instructions and phone numbers for myself and a fellow BAR person in case of power outage. I had auto feeders, and I decreased the salinity in the tanks slightly to compensate for evaporation, stuck lids on the tanks, and hoped that the increased salinity due to water loss wasn't extreme. We came home after a week and all was well. Salinity was elevated a bit, but not detrimentally, in fact, I noticed growth in my SPSs. We made some fairly large water changes before we left though, and that is when we decreased the salinity to 1.024

 

[Thales]

Here is a draft of an article about leaving your tank. It still needs a once over (or twice over) and any feedback anyone wanted to give would be great.

 

[sfsuphysics]

I left a checklist for my parents (dad) when I went to Hawaii for 10 days, it was basically feed food once ever 2-3 days from premeasured cups into both tanks, specifically saying which goes into each tank. Then top of the water if needed, I had two pieces of tape on the sump, one a "fill if it goes below this amount" the other "stop filling at this line.

Well food got fed, and water got topped off on ONE tank (ironically the tank I care less about), I think water splashed around a bit because one of my powerstrips was charred black and partially melted (almost started a fire), over all though everything survived so I can't complain. I did have a check list where I asked him to check each box after doing something... well I have the feeling he just checked the boxes before he left without actually doing.

What I'll probably do in the future is move heaters inside the tank, that way if the sump does run dry or your return pump fails, you won't have any issues with heating the tank. Hell I could probably get away with shutting off the sump all together and worry about the evaporation in the tank when I get back, but that depends how long you're gone.

 

[sid700]

[quote author=Thales link=topic=6936.msg89850#msg89850 date=1237377935]
Here is a draft of an article about leaving your tank. It still needs a once over (or twice over) and any feedback anyone wanted to give would be great.
[/quote]

Useful article Rich. Here's some comments....

I like bullets and/or checklists.

I also like to do a "test-run." Leave the system for several days and see how the automated stuff is going - feeder feeding enough?

During the prep, I cut-off the power and see if the UPSs do their job.

 

[A_Lee]

That is an awesome article you've got there Rich! And everyone else, thanks for the tips!
After this thread, I already feel not as worried about being away from my tanks for 5-7 days.
It is also good to know I belong to a community of fellow reef keepers who really know what's going on

 

[lastduke]

I have tried to leave the tank alone 7 days, nothing bad happened.
But i am planning a two weeks vacation in May, I have to find someone to feed the fish at least once.
How long the fish will be okay without food? I hope any club member in Orinda area can give me a hand, or maybe just catch the fish and send them to LFS for a couple weeks.

 

[JAR]

ATO is the way to go.

House sitter.
Stay by the phone.
Perfect instructions with hands on preview of feeding/dosing schedule.
Things that could go wrong list and how to fix them. ie re-setting a GFCI or circut breaker.

 

[A_Lee]

No room for ATO, and not all my tanks have a sump.
I'll definitely be having someone come over as often as possible, and will for sure have my cell phone on me at all times!

 

[Elite]

A bucket/container next to the tank would work.