Preparing for a 55 day vacation.

[Alexreefer]

I have a 90 gal reef tank. Occupants are
Yellow Tang
Melanurus Wrasse
cardinal
clownfish
diamondback goby

CUC
7 scarlet hermit
2 conches
8 nassarius snails.

Corals
5 head torch
2 head hammer

The tank has been set up for 8 months. Will be 11 when I leave. I will have a tank sitter to feed my fish rods original and pe mysis. and check on the tank every 2 or 3 days. He has 4 freshwater tanks and has helped me in the past. I have an ato hooked up to my auto refilling 32 gal brute. I will be changing anywhere from .65 to 1 gal every day. I am looking for a brute trash can maybe around 60 gal. I will be doing wc using my auto aqua smart water change. I have started using it doing small 1 gal wc every day and has been working fine.

Filtration. Water comes down to my sump( should I use filter socks during my trip) Will go either no filter socks or 2 filter socks then into my skimz skimmer and into my biological filtration then refugium. (refugium will have cheato and red ogo)

I am currently fighting a mix of dinos and diatoms but I am coming to the end of the battle. I am wondering if my plan is solid consisting of daily 1 gal wc and feeding every 2-3 days. Also, should I be worried about dosing?

 

[Alexreefer]

Should I get a bigger clean up crew? And will my skimmer overflow? I skim decently wet

 

[dwest]

I have a 90 gal reef tank. Occupants are
Yellow Tang
Melanurus Wrasse
cardinal
clownfish
diamondback goby

CUC
7 scarlet hermit
2 conches
8 nassarius snails.

Corals
5 head torch
2 head hammer

The tank has been set up for 8 months. Will be 11 when I leave. I will have a tank sitter to feed my fish rods original and pe mysis. and check on the tank every 2 or 3 days. He has 4 freshwater tanks and has helped me in the past. I have an ato hooked up to my auto refilling 32 gal brute. I will be changing anywhere from .65 to 1 gal every day. I am looking for a brute trash can maybe around 60 gal. I will be doing wc using my auto aqua smart water change. I have started using it doing small 1 gal wc every day and has been working fine.

Filtration. Water comes down to my sump( should I use filter socks during my trip) Will go either no filter socks or 2 filter socks then into my skimz skimmer and into my biological filtration then refugium. (refugium will have cheato and red ogo)

I am currently fighting a mix of dinos and diatoms but I am coming to the end of the battle. I am wondering if my plan is solid consisting of daily 1 gal wc and feeding every 2-3 days. Also, should I be worried about dosing?

2 months is a long time. I would consider a cheap webcam to view the tank and a skimmate collector. Mine is from avast marine. You might also want to get an auto feeder. I use an eheim. Good luck.

 

[dwest]

Also, I

2 months is a long time. I would consider a cheap webcam to view the tank and a skimmate collector. Mine is from avast marine. You might also want to get an auto feeder. I use an eheim. Good luck.

I would also remove filter socks. Do all your changes weeks before you leave to make sure they work.

 

[Alexreefer]

Will have my neighbor come over and feed the fish. I already have a webcam but skimate collector? Is it worth it?

 

[Gablami]

Will have my neighbor come over and feed the fish. I already have a webcam but skimate collector? Is it worth it?

It’s all about your tolerance for risk. It wouldn’t be the first time a overflowing skimmer cup crashed a tank. If not a skimmate container, then a skimmer float valve to shut off the skimmer if triggered. Or just tune down the skimmer so you’re not skimming so wet.

But if you’re leaving for a long time, you never know what can happen (or die) to cause your skimmer to go nuts.

 

[Alexreefer]

It’s all about your tolerance for risk. It wouldn’t be the first time a overflowing skimmer cup crashed a tank. If not a skimmate container, then a skimmer float valve to shut off the skimmer if triggered. Or just tune down the skimmer so you’re not skimming so wet.

But if you’re leaving for a long time, you never know what can happen (or die) to cause your skimmer to go nuts.

Got it. Will look into one. I will also turn down the skimmer now and see how long it can last without being cleaned and over feed on purpose

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

It’s all about your tolerance for risk. It wouldn’t be the first time a overflowing skimmer cup crashed a tank. If not a skimmate container, then a skimmer float valve to shut off the skimmer if triggered. Or just tune down the skimmer so you’re not skimming so wet.

But if you’re leaving for a long time, you never know what can happen (or die) to cause your skimmer to go nuts.

This has worked fantastic for me:

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/smar...dJAS5zd1C4W_RuzbIOiLRHilk1SaS4gRoCejkQAvD_BwE

 

[Alexreefer]

Looked into it, thanks!

I will probably plumb some tubing from the skimmer into my drain and use the smart skimmer as a back up

 

[Alexreefer]

Any opinions on dosing? Should I put it in my ato water?

 

[Gablami]

Any opinions on dosing? Should I put it in my ato water?

You’re really the best person to answer that. You are currently changing 1 gallon a day with AWC. Are your parameters stable without dosing? If we’re talking about alk, too high can be bad, just as too low can be.

 

[Alexreefer]

I will check params when I get home.