Reef-sitter?

[rsyver]

So, in about a week, my family and I will be headed out on a vacation. Our wonderful neighbor will be pet/reef-sitting for us. I'm wondering what bits of advice folks may have for me or my neighbor in preparation. I think feeding is all she'll have to do. Even feeding may have some tricks to make it easier for a sitter to take care of. What say all of you?
Thanks.
By the way, we'll be on a cruise so communication will probably be at a minimum.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I've now gone full automation, but when I had novices take care of my tank....especially feeding.....I had small plastic cups prepared with the food already metered out so all they needed to do was dump it in. Otherwise, pray you have no other problems.

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Pre-measuring the food is a great idea. I would also let her know to join here and post any questions that come up. If you have a good LFS, I would give her their number so she can have someone to call if there is an emergency.

 

[csreed]

Where are you located? Are there other local reefers who could help out if something seems awry?

 

[Exodus]

A List of Suggestions just to help be prepared for anything.
- Have a Bucket of pre mixed Salt ready to go, Have a second bucket empty with a marked line and a pump with a hose in case of water change.
- Ensure your refractometer is calibrated and they know how to use it.
- Hopefully they are familiar with API Test Kits or Hanna Checkers in case something is off and you need them to do a quick test, testing parameters remotely is not an option.
- Plastic bags, Ice cube Trays, Weekly Pill Containers all make great tools to separate daily feeding doses frozen or dried.
- A simple reminder note to check the Skimmer Collection Cup
- It Might be helpful to give a rundown in front of the tank and point out your healthy corals, this way if somethings amiss they can be sure to promptly notify you.

 

[ilovereefing <3]

Maybe have your sitter work with you and the tank for the week so they can see you feed, then have them feed...etc. Let them get comfortable with it before you go.

 

[Trex]

We, somewhat, recently spent 2 weeks in Europe. Our tank sitter was a woman that we met at the dog park who works across the street from our place. She had 2 things to worry about; feeding the fish, and making sure that the ATO reservoirs stayed full.
Several weeks prior to the trip we had her and her husband over for dinner. I told her to pretend I wasn't there and do what she was planning on doing.
I did leave her with a number of the a friend who could walk her through some things if needed.
My 210 has an APEX, so I was able to log in at check the numbers.
Glad to say that the trip was a success and nothing happened to the tanks. Though, one of filter socks was "full" and splashing a bit, so I picked up some mesh ones for trips.

 

[DISC0]

Not to worry you but more of a response to those that rely on full automation. I was on vacation last week and have my set up automated as well. I left on a Friday and was returning the following Sun. I have a full Apex so was able to keep an eye on things. On Wed my apex lost connection and I was no longer able to monitor. On the way back from my trip I started getting worried and decided to drive straight through. I arrived home at 1Am to a power less house! The power company tech made a mistake and went to the wrong location and cut power. There was a notice on my door that due to non payment they turned off the power. I went inside and checked the tank with my phone flashlight. Everything looked horrible. I pulled out the things that had died and called the power company. The woman that answered said there was nothing that could be done until Monday at 7AM. I drove to Walmart and bought a car battery and power inverter and hooked up what I could with that. Sunday I purchased a generator and did several water changes. Monday night used the battery again and Monday morning woke the neighbors up with the generator again. Needless to say the power company turned power back on Monday and I am having to file a claim with them for all the food in my fridge, deep freezer and the loses in my tank. Believe it or not I only lost a star fish and had to cut back some of my birds nest where it had started to die. All fish and other corals pulled through and are looking better everyday. I guess the point I am making is even with all the great technology if I had someone come over each day just to look and make sure all was well this could have been fixed much earlier than it was.

 

[rsyver]

Thanks for all the tips so far. My tank is automated but done the old school way with timers and such. My ATO usually lasts for almost 2 weeks if need be but having her check that is a good idea and one that I hadn't thought of. I do have an excellent LFS, however a 25 min drive away, so I'll leave their contact info. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with other reefers local to me as I don't participate on our local forum. I just ordered an automatic battery backup for my Jebao pumps in the display and I've got a battery powered air stone that switches on automatically for the fuge when the power goes out.
Again, thanks for all the great tips.

 

[AlexG]

The last couple of trips I kept the frozen food for each day in 1 bag or a measuring spoon with the pellets. I wrote out good instructions and walked the sitter through the process of top off and dosing. In the event of an emergency I had a LFS I knew well and a good friend on standby in case something bad happened. 10 years ago I used to look at my tank before trips and change my favorite part of it because that is what used to always die when I left. I had 3 bad trips with old setups but looking back there was nothing I could have done to prevent them sometimes you just have bad luck. The last few trips I took with the setup I was running last year did not have any issues. Another thing I added for my tank last year was a drop cam. In the event the sitter needed help I could talk to them through the camera and see what they were doing if needed. Best to keep it simple if its possible.

 

[Fin]

One thing that I might add is to label all of your switches and plugs, so that if the tank sitter calls and tells you there is a "loud noise" or "water on the floor" you can tell them what to unplug or turn off and they can easily find them. Also label your breaker, in case something really bad happens electrically and they need to cut the power to the tank to save your house.

 

[Paul B]

I have gone away a couple of weeks every year for many years and always have a tank sitter come over every other day to feed the pre measured frozen foods I have in the freezer in little cups. I built a small container with holes in it and stuck a tiny powerhead next to it that pumps water into the container. This sits at the water surface. She puts the frozen food into the container where it thaws and gets swirled around the tank. If she dumped in the little frozen block of food, one or two fish would eat the entire thing. I also have a Net Cam camera near the tank which does not connect to the computer. It connects directly to wyFy so from anywhere in the world I can see my tank live. I recently want to Hawaii and could clearly see my tank on my phone. I think it was $60.00 and just plugs into a wall.
I also kept 10 gallons of top up water near by in case my ATO stopped, which it did. I have a line drawn on the glass and she knows the water is supposed to be at that level so she can add some water from that supply.

 

[Gamma]

I like the netcam idea...leaving for aspen then napa so nedd to start getting plugs labeled and food divided. Great ideas!

 

[Mike in CT]

Some simple things, make sure your main pumps are not on a gfci circuit when your away...had a time when a small power fluctuation knocked off my gfci outlets and then your out of luck because they won't turn back on. I also have a regular landline answering machine that I can call time to time to make sure the power is still on.

 

[dragonfish]

foscam netcam

 

[maroun.c]

I travel 2-3 times a month in average and my tank sitter (wife) is now at ease with the things she needs to do when I'm on travel. Yet it always helps that she has the LFS number on hand and a couple of reefers/firends who can assist if she can't reach me.
We just had a one week vacation last month and my father had to maintain the setup (top off some quarantine tanks, make sure the Top off tank is full, feed the fish cleanup the skimmers...) made sure to prepare measure food cups for him to feed, to write down all the things he needs to check and go one by one each time he's checking the tank. Make sure to inform them not to double feed if they miss a feeding...
A web cam definitely helps to check on things.