Question for a tank sitter

[Maho.B]

Hello. We are leaving soon on vacation for a week. I have someone (who knows nothing about reef aquariums) stopping by once a day to feed the fish. I have been using the Tropic Marin A and K trace elements for awhile and very happy with it. Because it's dosed daily, should I try to get the tank sitter to measure and add it or just not dose it for a week? I know many reefers don't even dose trace at all so it's probably not a big deal, but everything is so happy and stable right now I would rather disrupt things as much as possible. Thanks

 

[sgdnycct]

That’s tough! My tank is one of the biggest stressors when I’m going to be away.

My suggestion would be to test not dosing before you leave. I’m hesitant to have someone inexperienced dose my tank. I have in the past pre-measured in individual bottles with very clear instructions.

If you can absorb the cost you can also have a nearby lfs do it.

 

[exnisstech]

I had my 83yo Mom dose my 2 part when i vacationed once. I had clearly marked containers with written instructions and all went well. Maybe ask the sitter if they're comfortable doing it and run though the process with them?

 

[MC Blowfish]

When I went on vacation, I had someone feed the fish. I skipped on dosing.

 

[Maho.B]

Thanks everyone, he's coming over Monday to go through instructions, I'll show him the dosing and see if he's comfortable with it, if not I'll skip for the week.

 

[Andamaite]

If you can pre-portion things and clearly label them it helps. That's how I've done it over the years for both tanks and especially touchy pets. Pipettes stored bulb-down with a label tape around them works well for dosing things out. I would also pre-mix other stuff into top-off water because I did not have an ATO then. During one day of the trip I had them get a single cube of custom mixed frozen food out and add it to the top off water.
These days I'd just say "Make sure the water is at the blue line, and if it isn't add water from the blue gallon jug next to the tank that says "TOP OFF". Don't do anything else. You are an angel please enjoy this money and these delicious snacks."