What is your routine when leaving for a few days?

[Loki]

With MACNA just days away I am curious as to what everybody does to prepare their tanks to be unattended for a few days.

I have a controller for each of my tanks so I don't worry about lights or stuff like that. I top off the ATO which lasts me about 3-5 days depending on time of year. If needed I will turn off the return pump and put a little extra water in the sump to give the ATO a little more wiggle room. I turn the return pump off so the level in the sump will show where it would be if power went out so I make sure it won't over flow.

I change out the filter socks for mesh instead of the felt that clog quicker. Empty and clean skimmer. Check to make sure all pumps and equipment is working properly. Set lasers to kill in case anyone wants the coral.

Oh and feed the fish. I also try to get a good spot feed in for the corals but if not I haven't noticed any difference.

What is your routine?


I'm on my phone....

 

[3Twinklets]

Leave a list for hubby and glow in the dark arrows on the floor pointing the way to the food and water! Voice recognition alarms if he goes the wrong way. Also video surveillance cameras that I can see on my I phone just in case he trys to cheat!!

 

[weaponsofmassdesign]

Cross my fingers!

 

[Loki]

Lol. You guys are funny


I'm on my phone....

 

[Wesley42079]

I tell my wife and kids to step away from the tank and do nothing.

A inexperienced reefer conducting feedings, topping off or anything related to the tank is dangerous.

I just cross my fingers and hope everything will be fine when I return.

I would like to have a video camera setup so I can see my tank online, but I don't know any good brands.

If anybody has recommendations, I would appreciate it.

 

[MarvinsReef]

best advice I can give yah is having a camera set up when you leave and have someone (preferably a reefer too) available just in case. I've left the tank twice this year already for more than a week. I'm able to view the tank anytime I want from my phone. my top off can last about a week, so I only had someone fill the top off once. my biggest concern when I left was someone emptying out our dehumidifier since it gets full after a day-day and a half. it also helps to have a controller you can control remotely. I don't have that atm but I do plan on investing on a remote controller, later down the road. dunno if this helps but having my cam set up has helped me be more comfortable in leaving the tank. I actually use it daily when I'm not home.

 

[Timfish]

Just walk away. I have auto feeders and sumps/refugiums are set up so after a water change it's at least a week before any water needs to be added.

 

[MarvinsReef]

Just walk away. I have auto feeders and sumps/refugiums are set up so after a water change it's at least a week before any water needs to be added.

oh yeah... forgot about having an auto feeder. I also have a feeding station that the auto feeder dumps into. funny coz the fish will know where the food drops after a while. also, my fishes are trained now to watch the feeding station around the time the auto feeder kicks in. it's fun to see them gather up knowing it's chow time.

 

[Trex]

What up in MN (( live in the 'burbs of Chicago )) last weekend for a wedding and to see Bob Mould play Copper Blue (( incredible concert, but isn't relative to this thread, but just wanted to say it. )), left on Thursday and returned Sunday night.
I made sure that my kalk drippers (( 5 gallon for the 75 and 40, 2.5 for the 65 )) were full and dripping at the proper rate before leaving. Fed the fish a bit more the days before leaving. Other than that, the tanks were on auto-pilot while I was gone, and everything was normal when I returned.

When I was on London for the Olympics for 12 days I had my old man stop by every other day to fed the fish and top off the tanks. The first 5 days he didn't have to top off due to the kalk drippers.

Lastly, I left the A/C on, granted up to 76*, so that the tanks wouldn't get too hot and that the fans wouldn't kick on and evaporate too much water.

 

[o2manyfish]

Wesley,

I have two Pan, tilt zoom cameras and I would recommend either one. They are pricey, but they are great.

The first is the Canon VB-10. Reliable camera, and older available used on ebay - o2manyfish's Live & Controllable Webcam - Enjoy

Then this past spring I updated and picked up the Axis 214z. This camera is great for reefkeepers because it has automatic white balance, and if you are running a blue tinted tank this makes a huge difference. The Axis also is PTZ, has night vision, and 54x digital zoom - So you can check each polyp.

I haven't fully configured my Axis yet but you can check it out at 74.62.193.110 - Lights on the tank are on from 5pm to 1am PST.

The Axis is a pricey toy, but if you shop ebay you can find them used for a reasonable price.

Dave B

 

[Glenn]

My wife calls the pet-sitter and away we goooooooo....