Travel plans: How do you prepare to be away from your tank during the holidays?
- QUESTION OF THE DAY
- Thread starter Peace River
- Start date
- Tagged users None
What camera do you use to remotely monitor?
I have a Nest IQ camera and it shows tang and the tank and some big fiah movements but video does NOT have resolution/ fidelity to show corals or fishes clearly...
I would absolutely invest in camera to remotely monitor tank, be able to zoom and see the corals and the fish closely...
What is the best camera (wifi accessible) do you use? Or any good one you wish/ know of?
I have a Nest IQ camera and it shows tang and the tank and some big fiah movements but video does NOT have resolution/ fidelity to show corals or fishes clearly...
I would absolutely invest in camera to remotely monitor tank, be able to zoom and see the corals and the fish closely...
What is the best camera (wifi accessible) do you use? Or any good one you wish/ know of?
Next year i have to go away for around 6 weeks i will have my friend she will feed the fish and i will have the LFS to give me fresh salt water every 3 weeks so i will be praying that it works i don't know is she can handle frozen food but pellets and dry food should be ok. i can only ask her to fed them 1x per day that hard to do that's 1 reason i didnt go awaay this year have to work it out
lagatbezan
Well-Known Member
I would say almost all things from the vote list 
I actually made a tiny summary video just a month or so ago, when we left on the thanksgiving holiday.
My piece of mind is the apex and camera system
I actually made a tiny summary video just a month or so ago, when we left on the thanksgiving holiday.
My piece of mind is the apex and camera system
i have a friend that i know she will feed them might have to use dry food not happy about that but i guess if she feeds them 6x times a week and forgets 1 time a week they will survive i will have the LFS come in every 3 weeks to change the water i have a75g tank i will have him change around 40-50 g that should hold it i hope and pray
a vacation in europe they call it a holladay so i guess i will be going on a holiday
I travel regularly for work, usually the longest I am gone is not that long I guess 2 months at the longest. I keep a 100 gallon ATO reservoir, I run 2 return pumps, [ one of them is giving me problems right now ] I am in Indonesia. I have someone come in 1 time a week and clean my overflow box and feed a few worms and clams. My return pumps will have to be replaced when I get home next year, still thinking what I will change to. I am currently running 2 Cor20s but that will change soon.
PrattysReef
Active Member
Was away for a total of 7 days and my brother in law managed to crash my tank. If he had called me he I could have easily found d the problem. Dirty filter socks and had him changed them out with the spares I had. Unfortunately he didn't and ended up dropping the salinity trying to refill and killed all my sps. Find someone who is competent in the hobby if you plan on leaving your tank to them.
Eienna
5000 Club Member
Never change anything just before going to bed or leaving for a trip. Leave a couple days' buffer to make sure all is well before leaving. Personally, though, I almost never go anywhere XD
squidarcher
Active Member
My best friend (and neighbor) comes every day to check on the tanks and reptiles. Auto feeder on my main reef, along with wifi leak detectors and a wifi inkbird also helps. However, the tank sitter is the most important part. I’m on vacation right now and a week ago he sent a video of my return pump blowing out air as the chamber was so low. He called me and we troubleshooted, found out my overflow had clogged with algae and was reducing water levels in the sump. Had he not got there for 5-ish more hours, both my return pump would have broken and my tank could have flooded.
Katherine Corals
Active Member
I stalk my APEX app like crazy! Use dosers for automation, and have a TRUSTED saltwater friend who can stop over twice a day, feed fish and do routine checks. I try not to leave my tank for more than 4 days, or else my trip is ruined from anxiety lol
mucky1957
Active Member
We are going away fro 3 weeks next week. Before I go the glass gets cleaned, external filter gets cleaned, do a 20% water change and then leave instructions for my son who comes in every two days. I leave next to the tank 2 x 25lt ro tubs and a bowl so he can top up, he cleans the glass if it needs it, empties the skimmer cup when needed and doses some lanthanium for me and feeds the fish ( his option..either flake or pellets or frozen block ) Last time we went away the tank was in great condition when we returned. Oh..and he gets to look after my koi pond as well.
Starganderfish
Active Member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2019
- Messages
- 179
- Reaction score
- 133
I permanently run Auto Water Change and Auto top-off systems anyways. Rely on sand sifting fish and inverts, auto dosing etc. So my normal ongoing maintenance is to feed every second day, scrape the glass once a week and refill Saltwater reservoirs every fortnight.
The only thing that changes when I go away is to hook up the auto feeder.
If I’m away for more than two weeks I’ll use a larger saltwater reservoir. Otherwise it’s really no different if I’m there or not. So much easier when you run a simple, low maintenance automated system and don’t fall down the rabbit hole of extraneous add ons and equipment.
The only thing that changes when I go away is to hook up the auto feeder.
If I’m away for more than two weeks I’ll use a larger saltwater reservoir. Otherwise it’s really no different if I’m there or not. So much easier when you run a simple, low maintenance automated system and don’t fall down the rabbit hole of extraneous add ons and equipment.
Starganderfish
Active Member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2019
- Messages
- 179
- Reaction score
- 133
Heh. Even the perfect procedure has its flaws. Just got back from 10 days holiday. AWC, ATO and auto feeder supposed to be running.
Turns out I forgot to refill the ATO reservoir and it ran out after a couple of days. This halted both the ATO and AWC (it’s a combined AutoAqua unit) and sadly did so after the AWC drain but before the fill. Over the remaining 7 days, evaporation caused the water level to drop to the level of the return pump so I came back to find alarms blaring and the return pump blasting clouds of bubbles into the tank.
Everything survived and a quick refill, water change and glass clean and it’s back to normal.
My Bullet Goby is quite emaciated and twitchy though. Looks like the turbulence in the tank put him off his food and he didn’t eat. He’s had some food today and I will give plenty of feed over the next week to hopefully bring him back to health.
My takeaway is that no system is perfect, I need to develop a proper checklist before leaving, but (as I’ve always said) most reef tanks are a lot tougher and more resilient than we give them credit.
They often don’t need the level of micro managing folks give them. I’ve always run my tank a little fast and loose, and I think that makes the whole setup a little more resilient.
Turns out I forgot to refill the ATO reservoir and it ran out after a couple of days. This halted both the ATO and AWC (it’s a combined AutoAqua unit) and sadly did so after the AWC drain but before the fill. Over the remaining 7 days, evaporation caused the water level to drop to the level of the return pump so I came back to find alarms blaring and the return pump blasting clouds of bubbles into the tank.
Everything survived and a quick refill, water change and glass clean and it’s back to normal.
My Bullet Goby is quite emaciated and twitchy though. Looks like the turbulence in the tank put him off his food and he didn’t eat. He’s had some food today and I will give plenty of feed over the next week to hopefully bring him back to health.
My takeaway is that no system is perfect, I need to develop a proper checklist before leaving, but (as I’ve always said) most reef tanks are a lot tougher and more resilient than we give them credit.
They often don’t need the level of micro managing folks give them. I’ve always run my tank a little fast and loose, and I think that makes the whole setup a little more resilient.
