Leaving town for a week. Tank prep?

[cleverrev]

Hello fellow reefers!

I will be leaving for a trip for a week and it will be the first time I have left my tank for that long. It's a 20 gallon tank.

I have an Ehiem automatic feeder that I haven't yet opened that I will use to feed the fish. Looking at buying a battery backup and/or a bubbler that is triggered from power loss. My biggest concern is my ATO, when snails cover my overflow it dumps water. I ordered a cover that should eliminate that issue. Also I use a media tray with filter floss. I don't think it can last a full week with starting to restrict flow. I will have a dogsitter at the home daily and I may be able to convince her to swap the floss for me once in the middle of the trip. Definitely a little apprehensive about leaving but hopefully I can get this figured out.

What have you guys done in the past and what potential issues should I plan for? TIA!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hello fellow reefers!

I will be leaving for a trip for a week and it will be the first time I have left my tank for that long. It's a 20 gallon tank.

I have an Ehiem automatic feeder that I haven't yet opened that I will use to feed the fish. Looking at buying a battery backup and/or a bubbler that is triggered from power loss. My biggest concern is my ATO, when snails cover my overflow it dumps water. I ordered a cover that should eliminate that issue. Also I use a media tray with filter floss. I don't think it can last a full week with starting to restrict flow. I will have a dogsitter at the home daily and I may be able to convince her to swap the floss for me once in the middle of the trip. Definitely a little apprehensive about leaving but hopefully I can get this figured out.

What have you guys done in the past and what potential issues should I plan for? TIA!

Definitely having someone you can trust check on your check is a huge relief! I know people who would not leave for vacation unless they had people come and either feed their fish or check on their tank in general so good idea having a dog sitter come by and check the tank.

 

[Dryanimtt]

Or leave the filter floss out for the week. Not worth the risk. I hardly think leaving it out for the week will have much of an affect

 

[cooltowncorals]

Definitely leave floss out for that week that’s a no brainer don’t want to overflow

Make sure you have enough water in your ATO

check your doser reservoir levels

Try your auto feeder and watch it the weekend before you leave

Might consider sinking pellets so all the food doesn’t go to the over flow

 

[Cell]

Get the feeder up and running before you go to make sure it's working as intended.

I'd just ditch the floss for the week.

Buy a cam from Amazon. They are $20-30.

 

[Dryanimtt]

Yeah, setting up a camera for me is essential. Being able to have site and sound of my tank is a must, and has enabled me to save my tank on 2 different occasions while I was out of town

 

[Stephen8169301]

Like everyone said no need to run the floss I ran floss but I stopped months ago

 

[secret_reefer337]

This is what I do whenever we go on vacation:

Make sure all automatic gadgets are working right. Auto feeder test a week before you leave. If you can get something to temporary guard your ATO sensor (make a fence out of egg crate or something) to make sure no snails will get in. Fill your ATO or get a bigger water container to hold more than what you are expecting to use while you are gone. Don’t install filter socks or mat. If you are using skimmer, make sure you attached a tubing that will help direct the skim-mate into a separate bucket.