My dad is really sick and as much as my wife and I don't want to travel during these times it's a MUST. We have a neighbor that will being checking in daily on all pets but...it's so hard to leave the tank and mine is not automatic. I tested just did my 20% WC and adjusted my ALK as needed (new tank so it doesn't need much). I'm lining up a 20g ATO reservoir with a 10 gallon back up that she can switch the lid easy on..It's just tough to leave for two weeks. Can anyone think of anything I should do or am forgetting? We don't really get power outages...knock knock..but I would flood. Normally my wife is home all day if anything happened normally..thoughts suggestions?
Leaving my tank for two weeks...
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Brett S
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How soon do you have to leave? If you have some time it might be good to go through a trial run where you don’t touch the tank or make any changes and see how things go.
The comment about causing a flood if the power fails certainly concerns me. I mean you shouldn’t operate the tank in that condition normally, much less when you will be away for two weeks. Why will it flood if the power fails?
Definitely talk to whoever will be taking care of the tank and let them know what the normal water level should be and be very clear on how much to feed the tank. There have been a lot of posts about tank sitters who way over feed and cause problems.
A lot of local fish stores also offer tank maintenance. You might want to call around and consider hiring them to come once or twice a week to check on the tank and make sure things are going well, or at least have them on standby in case your tank sitter discovers a problem.
The comment about causing a flood if the power fails certainly concerns me. I mean you shouldn’t operate the tank in that condition normally, much less when you will be away for two weeks. Why will it flood if the power fails?
Definitely talk to whoever will be taking care of the tank and let them know what the normal water level should be and be very clear on how much to feed the tank. There have been a lot of posts about tank sitters who way over feed and cause problems.
A lot of local fish stores also offer tank maintenance. You might want to call around and consider hiring them to come once or twice a week to check on the tank and make sure things are going well, or at least have them on standby in case your tank sitter discovers a problem.
Are you saying your sump can’t handle the extra volume when your pump shuts off? I’m freaking out.
As for the tank and leaving it for a couple weeks, its pretty much topping off and feeding the fish. I used to leave for work for 2-3 weeks at a time all the time.
If you lose some water from an overflow, you might want to leave some saltwater. I’m freaking out about that.
As for the tank and leaving it for a couple weeks, its pretty much topping off and feeding the fish. I used to leave for work for 2-3 weeks at a time all the time.
If you lose some water from an overflow, you might want to leave some saltwater. I’m freaking out about that.
highest_tides
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I appreciate the thoughts. Personally, I really wanted to upgrade but am very cost limited with my first born on the way. It will flood not because of check valves in place failing or the sump not taking a back siphon, it is because I custom built my overflow to save and it was my first build...basically I don't have a full seal around my entire overflow. It's a long story..So when the power cuts I drain fully into the sump but subtle leaks drain from my DT into the overflow. Which keeps draining into the sump. If the power goes out I have two days. I've checked and decided it wasn't worth at the time to transport everything to my 40g and fix..YET
highest_tides
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I know...pray to the reef gods for me. We haven't had an outage in 1.5 years now. As for the caretaker....she's very fish friendly and has already come over to know what is needed and how my system is. I'm just worried. We leave tomorrow because time is limited.
Brett S
Valuable Member
What about putting a standpipe in your overflow? If you put in a standpipe that ends about 1 inch below your normal tank water height then in the event of a power failure the water should only drain to the top of the standpipe whether there are leaks in the overflow or not.
I would partition food like in a pillbox or something if you can. Or at least give very specific feeding instructions. Good luck and I hope your dad is OK.
Brett S
Valuable Member
In that case I would not make any chances now unless absolutely necessary. That way at least you know that the tank is running as normal up until the time you left. It’s so easy to try to change one thing or adjust something and not realize that it caused a problem until a few hours or a day or two later. At this point I think stability is the most important thing.
It sounds like your power outage flood is a slow leak, rather than a quick flood, so if you warn your tank sitter about the possibility then hopefully if the power does fail she can come and periodically move some water from your sump to your DT or something before there is an actual flood.
BirdGuy21
Active Member
I’m sorry to hear about your Dad, hope everything turns out okay.
For the tank- if the pet sitter is going to feed the fish I recommend getting one of those little pill containers and pre-proportioning each days feeding out. What seems like a lot of food to us might not seem like enough for someone not as experienced. Having it set out for each day helps take the guess work out of it on the pet sitters end and gives you peace of mind that they won’t overfeed the tank.
I would also have some clearly labeled, pre-mixed saltwater ready to go in the event of an emergency. Plus plenty of RODI for top off. Any spare equipment that you might have I would set out for easy access. Things such as heaters and pumps, where if something would fail you could walk them through a replacement without having to try and tell them where it would be located in the house.
If you have time before you go a Wyze camera on the tank is a good investment, so you can check in and eyeball how everything is going. Also writing down any instructions and contact numbers in case something goes wrong.
For the tank- if the pet sitter is going to feed the fish I recommend getting one of those little pill containers and pre-proportioning each days feeding out. What seems like a lot of food to us might not seem like enough for someone not as experienced. Having it set out for each day helps take the guess work out of it on the pet sitters end and gives you peace of mind that they won’t overfeed the tank.
I would also have some clearly labeled, pre-mixed saltwater ready to go in the event of an emergency. Plus plenty of RODI for top off. Any spare equipment that you might have I would set out for easy access. Things such as heaters and pumps, where if something would fail you could walk them through a replacement without having to try and tell them where it would be located in the house.
If you have time before you go a Wyze camera on the tank is a good investment, so you can check in and eyeball how everything is going. Also writing down any instructions and contact numbers in case something goes wrong.
Nick Steele
2500 Club Member
Do you have a camera that you can set up near the tank to keep an eye while away?
I recommend it to everyone that will ever have a pet sitter. I have one and it is wonderful.
I recommend it to everyone that will ever have a pet sitter. I have one and it is wonderful.
Brett S
Valuable Member
I’m sure you’re already trying to pack up and have so much to do before you go, but the other thing I might suggest is getting an IP camera and setting it up so that it’s pointing at the tank. I have a camera that I use when I need to leave my tank for a while and it definitely calms my anxiety when I can pull up my phone and connect to the camera to see the tank and see the fish swimming around and know that all is well. I‘m sure Best Buy would have one in stock and maybe even target or walmart.
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As long as water quality is good, adequate water for addition is available and fish fed sparingly- All should be good. This is where a controller such as Apex plays a value as you can monitor your tank on phone.
Have neighbor take pics at each visit and send it to you
Have neighbor take pics at each visit and send it to you
Brett S
Valuable Member
Also, along the lines of the camera, when I do need to leave for a while I’ll usually leave the sump doors open so I can see inside the sump with the camera as well. I can see the the water is flowing and the skimmer is skimming, etc.
Having some premixed salt water available for the tank sitter is a good idea as well. And maybe some RODI water as well in case she needs to top off the ATO. Just make sure they are well labeled and she knows which one to use for the ATO.
Having some premixed salt water available for the tank sitter is a good idea as well. And maybe some RODI water as well in case she needs to top off the ATO. Just make sure they are well labeled and she knows which one to use for the ATO.
Brett S
Valuable Member
That’s a great idea, but it’s also a great example of exactly the kind of change that I would not make 24 hours before I leave. We know the ATO is working now and if the multi timer accidentally gets programmed incorrectly or set up with too long of an interval between top offs that’s something that might not be caught during the next 24 hours and it could cause a problem during the next two weeks. But certainly once the OP gets back home I think it could be a good change to make.
highest_tides
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I appreciate all the comments and well wishes for my father. I do have a camera I can setup and connect to at any time. I'm going to transfer ro/di that I have and mix about 20g of salt. I'll bring her back over to show how to plug my external pump in a pull out the hose to put fresh saltwater in if needed and have any extra heaters and pump in the front of my cabinet. I think ill be covered. As for the food, I'm going to portion it out now. What about freezing ro/di cubes with food portioned out?
