Hello, reefers!
Around Thanksgiving this year, I will be leaving the country for a month, and my biggest fear is imagining what my reef is going to go through. So, I look to the thousands of reefers here for advice on what I can do to prevent the most common mistakes. Since I have been anticipating this time away from my tank, I have an IP cam installed on the outside wall of the tank which helps me monitor it remotely whenever I want, my dosing is automated and I have been monitoring it for a few months, so I should be good on that end too. I have an automatic feeder for the fish, my corals are primarily soft with a couple of SPS and LPS. My major concerns are the Auto top off, filter sock change and water changes.
In the event of an emergency, I can call my cousin to come work on the tank, but I would prefer, if I can, to automate the process as much as I can. I have a 10G auto top off container at the moment, that I will be upsizing to a 20G brute trash can so it lasts the 1 month I am away.
My sump system only includes filter-sock, a refugium and return with pre-filter foam without any baffles. I am currently changing my filter sock once a week and wonder if I will be okay if I just remove the socks and let the pre-filter foam do the work, or should I make/purchase a sump with baffles before removing the socks?
For the water changes, I am thinking about purchasing a DOS to go with my Apex, and do ~1G/day for 30 days, or whatever the math equates to and do auto water changes for the entire duration. Has any folk here have had long-term success with daily water changes and with DOS?
The trip is inevitable and my family will be going with me, I don't want to come home to a reef-disaster, so I am willing to listen to any advice and ideas to make this a smooth sail for all the critters and fish.
Around Thanksgiving this year, I will be leaving the country for a month, and my biggest fear is imagining what my reef is going to go through. So, I look to the thousands of reefers here for advice on what I can do to prevent the most common mistakes. Since I have been anticipating this time away from my tank, I have an IP cam installed on the outside wall of the tank which helps me monitor it remotely whenever I want, my dosing is automated and I have been monitoring it for a few months, so I should be good on that end too. I have an automatic feeder for the fish, my corals are primarily soft with a couple of SPS and LPS. My major concerns are the Auto top off, filter sock change and water changes.
In the event of an emergency, I can call my cousin to come work on the tank, but I would prefer, if I can, to automate the process as much as I can. I have a 10G auto top off container at the moment, that I will be upsizing to a 20G brute trash can so it lasts the 1 month I am away.
My sump system only includes filter-sock, a refugium and return with pre-filter foam without any baffles. I am currently changing my filter sock once a week and wonder if I will be okay if I just remove the socks and let the pre-filter foam do the work, or should I make/purchase a sump with baffles before removing the socks?
For the water changes, I am thinking about purchasing a DOS to go with my Apex, and do ~1G/day for 30 days, or whatever the math equates to and do auto water changes for the entire duration. Has any folk here have had long-term success with daily water changes and with DOS?
The trip is inevitable and my family will be going with me, I don't want to come home to a reef-disaster, so I am willing to listen to any advice and ideas to make this a smooth sail for all the critters and fish.
