What is your tanks # - how long can it last

[afamousjohnson]

Since it is the holidays and many folks do a lot of traveling - myself included. This should be a good topic.

Is your tank self sustained and by how much. How long can you leave your tank with no assistance. What have you done to help you get to that point w/equipment or diy ideas etc.

That is my biggest reservation with my tank - is having to worry about it while away or on vacation. I can prolly get away with 3-4 days un attended with help from my cal rx, controller, ato. After that i have to have someone check in on the tank and top off ato res - otherwise using a large reservoir makes me a bit nervous. Comfortably i cant leave my tank for 1 day without worrying about it.

So what about everyone else - how long can it last and how did you get to that point. 1 day 2 day 1week etc.

 

[DaveMorris]

I have a webcam on my sump. A webcam on the front of my tank. A Reefkeeper Elite with NET module connected for notifications. An Eheim auto feeder for food. And Reeftronics.net for an automated check up on my tank every 15 minutes. If something is not right the Reeftronics web site will notify me as a back up to my controller doing it. I travel extensively for work and while my wife and daughter love the tank and will feed it they may not necessarily notice if something has gone wrong. I can leave town for weeks and feel totally comfortable doing so thanks to my controller, Reeftronics, and yes, even my wife and daughter.

 

[MattL22]

Never heard of reeftronics how does it work?

 

[DFW]

If I go somewhere for more than a day, I will have to employ a tank sitting service to come by here daily. Some local stores have this service.

 

[Eckolancer]

I can go about a week as I don't have my rodi plumbed to the tank yet. I have enough top off water to last about a week. I don't do water changes so once rodi is plumbed in I could go for a very long time. My only concern would be algae feeding for tangs. I have a homemade algae feeder that last about 3-5 days. When I go on long trips I triple it up and can get about 8-10 days out of it.

 

[Reef Junky150]

If I had a feeder I could go a week or a little longer. It helps I'm always connected to my tank. The only thing probably keeping me from saying I could go two weeks is the algae turf scrubber would probably be really overgrown after a week and a half.

 

[afamousjohnson]

Ya feeding can deff be an issue. My poor fish will only get 2 meals over the next few days cause i dont feel comfortable using the elec feeders.
Im gonna try and add a poll

 

[afamousjohnson]

This sounds sweet - i have always wanted web cam set up on the tank - peace of mind is priceless except in achieving.lol

I have a webcam on my sump. A webcam on the front of my tank. A Reefkeeper Elite with NET module connected for notifications. An Eheim auto feeder for food. And Reeftronics.net for an automated check up on my tank every 15 minutes. If something is not right the Reeftronics web site will notify me as a back up to my controller doing it. I travel extensively for work and while my wife and daughter love the tank and will feed it they may not necessarily notice if something has gone wrong. I can leave town for weeks and feel totally comfortable doing so thanks to my controller, Reeftronics, and yes, even my wife and daughter.

 

[rayn]

I say 2-3 days. Only for top off reasons in the ato though. Currently I feed my fish every other day, so a good couple of daily heavy feedings and they have made it for a week before.

 

[afamousjohnson]

Thats what i did for this TG travel trip. Heavy feeding up until i left for a bit. So they should be fine for a bit. My ato top off is really my only hold back as well. Although it does seem that if i dont check daily there is potential for something.lol always having to adjust cal rx or messing with lights.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I've left my tank for up to 2 weeks unattended, and 1 week many times.

 

[afamousjohnson]

14 days is my end goal and i would be all good with that #

 

[Squishie89]

The real question is how long can I leave the tank alone =P

 

[saltyhog]

8-9 days in the summer when the humidity is higher, 6-7 days in the winter when the humidity is super low. I have a 16 gallon ATO reservoir.

 

[mrcoffee2]

I manually top my water off, and that's a choice... I do not do water changes so theoretically I could hook a 40G res to an ATO and be good for months.

 

[Mike J.]

I've left my tank for a week several times. It's still hit or miss. Once the skimmer was overflowing into the sump and once the ATO water ran out because there was too much water in the tank because there was loose algae blocking the overflow. But, thankfully nothing major.

 

[DaveMorris]

Never heard of reeftronics how does it work?

Go to Reeftronics.net and look around. The Reeftronics system will poll your controller every 15 minutes and log the temp, ph, orp, etc. It will also email you if it can not connect to your controller. This is an important safety back up in case your controller goes down and you aren't home. There is information on the site for getting set up. It is free, but I would strongly recommend a contribution to the effort since it is a very worthwhile service.

 

[Wags]

I am heading to Greece for the month on January. Am trying to train my roommates to help it survive over the 28 days.

Any tips so I can avoid disaster?

 

[ReeferEric]

I think I'm okay for maybe 2 weeks, once the apex AFS comes in I can go for a month. Given all the fish will be eating or pellets but it's better than nothing, four times a day.

Dosing are controlled via Apex, daily water changes via Apex, everything via Apex. LOL

 

[METZCOOL]

I can go 30 days and then i need to mix saltwater. With the Apex I run 2 Apex auto feeders to take care of the food.
Auto top off is controlled by solenoids that turn on the ro/di system to refill the top off container and turn it off when full.
Water changes are done with a Liter Meter III at a rate of 50 gallons a month with salinity probe to monitor tank via Apex.
Calcium Reactor for trace elements.
Skimmer has auto cleaner head to prolong cleaning cycles( after 30 days it is pretty gunked up)
UV Sterilizer runs and keeps my glass to where a mag float cleaning every two to three weeks keeps it clean.
Whole house generator for power outages.
It has been working out well with this set up and I knew that long term reefing becomes work ( although it is a passion, simplicity makes the hobby even more enjoyable!!)