Ideas for handling vacation?

[TheWackyWiz]

I've got a two week vacation coming up and am thinking through ways I can keep my tank running while I am away. Would love to hear your throughts/advice.

Tank and stock
20g AIO with ATO
1 x bi color blenny
1 x court jester
1 x skunk cleaner shrimp
assorted CUC
Coral are all low maintenance softies
Tons of Macro Algea and pods

Ideas:

1. Load it up and pray - Because I've the macros in there I've been able to maintain a large breed population of Pods. So with this approach I would add a ton more pods and phyto in about a week before I head out so boost the population. The court jester would be able to eat those and the bi color blenny has tons of available algae to eat.
2. Auto Feeder - I have an auto feeder that is okay. My main complaint is it's hard to regulate how many pellets it drops when it cycles. Only the smallest pellets would even make sense for how small the fish are so the risk is that over the vacation alot of excess food would end up in the system
3. Ask my Brother in Law - I can ask my brother in law to swing by a couple times when I am gone and feed the tank but hes a bit forgetful and it would be too much to ask him to come by every other day so realistically he might end up feeding the tank 3-4 times while I am gone

What do you think the best approach here is?

 

[John Bolden]

2 auto feeder because you can be for sure that it gets the exact amount each time and its automated so your brother in law doesn't have to drive out.

 

[ErikVR]

I've used auto feeders in the past with mixed results. One malfunctioned and dumped all the food in the tank. With disastrous results of course. But I've also had a bad experience with relatives dumping in way too much food. Against my very clear instructions that too little food is much better than too much.

 

[EricR]

If you can't trust your in-law to come by maybe every other day or so, that's what the auto-feeder is for so might as well use it -- I'd shoot for UNDERFEEDING from the auto-feeder and hope for the best.
*still best to get eyes on the tank periodically if at all possible

Does your ATO container hold enough water for 2 weeks?
If not, you'd need to rig up a temporary larger container or be confident your in-law can at least make it over to fill that up at some point.

 

[Lavey29]

Auto feeder can work but you need someone to fill your ATO reservoir

 

[fodsod]

Auto feeder and a temporary larger ATO container would be my choice with the BIL swinging by to check on things 2-3 times per week.

You could take some time and literally split up the daily feeding amounts into small separate containers so there's no question of how much to feed each day and have your BIL swing by daily to feed and top off the ATO.

 

[nothing_fancy]

If you have time, Id pick up something simple like a prism ATO and drop the pump into a 5 gallon RO container and let it work side by side with your current ATO this way each of them drains slower and hopefully doesn't let the pumps run dry. This is assuming you don't have any sensors to shut off the pumps when your reservoirs go low. Outside of that if you have somebody to help you like your brother in law that can come by a few times to feed, just have them feed big and keep the foods prepared in your fridge for them. Heater probably isn't a huge concern this time of year but it might be a good idea to run a small fan on your water surface in case it gets hot.

 

[MBruun]

Make small videos for the aquarium keeper

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Auto feeder and an auto top off

 

[John Bolden]

If you take the daily medicine containers and have each days food portioned out into it that also is a fool proof way to have them feed.

 

[mike550]

Eheim autofeeder. Set it up and let it run for a few days before you leave to make sure it’s doing what you want. ATO would be a good idea

 

[Brian_68]

Don't feed, for 2 weeks that fish load will be fine and it is safer. Make sure your ATO makeup tank can survive at least 2 weeks.

 

[LPS Bum]

With that set-up, all you really need is to keep RODI water in the ATO, keep the power going nonstop, and keep the couple of fish you have fed at least every few days.

Having your brother in law come by every few days will assuredly be fine, so long as you don't have any power outages (unless you have an auto kick-on generator). I like to pre-portion out small feedings so there's no guesswork and no overfeeding. You should do just fine.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

I go out of the country 2 weeks at a time. Here is my setup:

2 heaters both on Inkbird controllers - one relocated to inside DT instead of sump
2 Eheim feeders with flake food set to run on different times - setup to test a few days early
Automatic airstone in DT
A large plastic storage container that holds 20 gallons of water for my 40 breeder - for ATO reservoir (instead of 5 gal normal one)
A Wyze camera pointed at both my sump and DT that I check a couple of times a day from overseas
Plenty of backup RODI water and saltwater in the event of a problem (and I can use when I get home)
Backup return and ATO pumps in case of failure of the main ones

A fellow reefer that comes over after one week and does a water change
A backup reefer from my LFS just in case

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Don't feed, for 2 weeks that fish load will be fine and it is safer. Make sure your ATO makeup tank can survive at least 2 weeks.

I think this is cruel.

 

[tinyfellows]

I've got a two week vacation coming up and am thinking through ways I can keep my tank running while I am away. Would love to hear your throughts/advice.

Tank and stock
20g AIO with ATO
1 x bi color blenny
1 x court jester
1 x skunk cleaner shrimp
assorted CUC
Coral are all low maintenance softies
Tons of Macro Algea and pods

Ideas:

1. Load it up and pray - Because I've the macros in there I've been able to maintain a large breed population of Pods. So with this approach I would add a ton more pods and phyto in about a week before I head out so boost the population. The court jester would be able to eat those and the bi color blenny has tons of available algae to eat.
2. Auto Feeder - I have an auto feeder that is okay. My main complaint is it's hard to regulate how many pellets it drops when it cycles. Only the smallest pellets would even make sense for how small the fish are so the risk is that over the vacation alot of excess food would end up in the system
3. Ask my Brother in Law - I can ask my brother in law to swing by a couple times when I am gone and feed the tank but hes a bit forgetful and it would be too much to ask him to come by every other day so realistically he might end up feeding the tank 3-4 times while I am gone

What do you think the best approach here is?

Have you tried putting tape over part of the hole on the auto feeder to dial in how many pellets you want to drop in?

 

[Cool Fish]

Don't make any big changes to your tank 1 or 2 weeks before you leave. You won't be around to see the affects of those changes. If everything is running well, leave it alone until you return.

 

[sandybottom]

I've got a two week vacation coming up and am thinking through ways I can keep my tank running while I am away. Would love to hear your throughts/advice.

Tank and stock
20g AIO with ATO
1 x bi color blenny
1 x court jester
1 x skunk cleaner shrimp
assorted CUC
Coral are all low maintenance softies
Tons of Macro Algea and pods

Ideas:

1. Load it up and pray - Because I've the macros in there I've been able to maintain a large breed population of Pods. So with this approach I would add a ton more pods and phyto in about a week before I head out so boost the population. The court jester would be able to eat those and the bi color blenny has tons of available algae to eat.
2. Auto Feeder - I have an auto feeder that is okay. My main complaint is it's hard to regulate how many pellets it drops when it cycles. Only the smallest pellets would even make sense for how small the fish are so the risk is that over the vacation alot of excess food would end up in the system
3. Ask my Brother in Law - I can ask my brother in law to swing by a couple times when I am gone and feed the tank but hes a bit forgetful and it would be too much to ask him to come by every other day so realistically he might end up feeding the tank 3-4 times while I am gone

What do you think the best approach here is?

Currently on a 2 week vacation abroad. I just recently upgraded from a RSM 130D to a Reefer 200xl with:

2 x ocellaris
1 x chromis
2 x yellow tail damsels
1 x neon goby
1 x royal gramma
LPS and RBA’s

I filled a 18g container connected to a Tunze ato. Also setup a second mini pump to another reservoir for backup if needed which I can activate remotely.

I’m monitoring my tank with PTZ camera and sump with a blink camera. For feeding I mixed varied sized pellets dispensing over a floating ring to ensure the food does not fall straight into the sump. I tested the feeding a week prior to ensure the feeder was dispensing the right amount, twice a day.

So far so good. I’m half way through my vacation and have been checking in periodically to ensure the feeder was going off as timed as well as verifying sump water levels. Definitely invest in camera’s for remote monitoring! I’m crossing my fingers all will be well when I return!

 

[GARRIGA]

Consider turning the heater off and leaving the room temperature at 76. Heaters can fail and cause fires or at a minimum overheat tank inhabitants. Cooler temperature will increase oxygen levels. Reduce metabolism so you can feed every other day just once and make that auto feeder last longer. Fish can go a weak without being fed. Fact is they can go two weeks and I’d just not feed at all. Less to go wrong.

Most importantly. Double up on ATO reservoir and hope that doesn’t fail. Main reason to shut heaters off in case they might be exposed if water falls too low.

Battery backup on the pump which provides filtration along with wave makers. Inhabitants can go without lights for two weeks should power fail but filtration and flow must not stop.

Less is safer. More just means extra points of failure. Including employing family who might be clueless or busy with their own matters. KISS

BTW, loading the tank with phyto (green water) can help feed those pods, filter the water and feed corals then upon return just use a UV or DE filter to remove it. Best filtration is nature. Add brine shrimp while you’re at it. They’ll eat the single cell algae and provide live food in one’s absence.

I’d leave the lights on regular schedule since corals not going to appreciate being acclimated to new conditions although for two weeks probably not a concern, either. Food for thought would be leaving the lights on 247 in that absence as it will keep the green water active yet reduce the intensity to match equivalent DLI over 24 hours. As long as lights are on. Single cell algae will remove co2 and provide oxygen as well as continue to multiple as inhabitants consume it. Sounds far out but then only because none likely have done it yet theory on DLI might support it. Like I said. Food for thought and not saying it must be. Have done this in FW and worked perfectly well but not sure how corals will react although they are clueless to day duration and anecdotally the science behind DLI makes sense to me. 24 hours of 100 PAR same PAR output delivered as 300 PAR for 8 hours.

 

[Nate Chalk]

I've got a two week vacation coming up and am thinking through ways I can keep my tank running while I am away. Would love to hear your throughts/advice.

Tank and stock
20g AIO with ATO
1 x bi color blenny
1 x court jester
1 x skunk cleaner shrimp
assorted CUC
Coral are all low maintenance softies
Tons of Macro Algea and pods

Ideas:

1. Load it up and pray - Because I've the macros in there I've been able to maintain a large breed population of Pods. So with this approach I would add a ton more pods and phyto in about a week before I head out so boost the population. The court jester would be able to eat those and the bi color blenny has tons of available algae to eat.
2. Auto Feeder - I have an auto feeder that is okay. My main complaint is it's hard to regulate how many pellets it drops when it cycles. Only the smallest pellets would even make sense for how small the fish are so the risk is that over the vacation alot of excess food would end up in the system
3. Ask my Brother in Law - I can ask my brother in law to swing by a couple times when I am gone and feed the tank but hes a bit forgetful and it would be too much to ask him to come by every other day so realistically he might end up feeding the tank 3-4 times while I am gone

What do you think the best approach here is?

2or 3

I am usually a 3. myself

But we have a longer trip with the family member i usually ask in the fall... so going to have to move to 2 :S and hook up a larger ato myself.