Vacation!

wjm6449 · Jul 13, 2024

Hi all. Going on vacation - 7 days. I have a relatively new reef tank. Only 3 weeks old! However I have dosed with bacteria and also have a sailfin tang and two clowns and a lawnmower blenny(don’t ask about the tang long story….)

That said with this trip, I put in new filter socks, water changed last night. Put on the protein skimmer and have an automatic pellet feeder (feeds twice a day dry food… Walmart brand) water is topped off for ATO…. Anything I should be concerned about or time to try and let this sucker fly? Not that I have a choice.

PharmrJohn · Jul 13, 2024

My solution to the problem will be to have a neighbor do the feeding and the LFS to come over periodically to check in on issues the neighbor will not have a clue about. A LOT of LFS's offer this service for a price. It ain't cheap, but IMO absolutely worth it. Also, I'll have a camera trained on the tank so that I may check in visually to spot any potential issues.

crazyfishmom · Jul 13, 2024

wjm6449 said:
Hi all. Going on vacation - 7 days. I have a relatively new reef tank. Only 3 weeks old! However I have dosed with bacteria and also have a sailfin tang and two clowns and a lawnmower blenny(don’t ask about the tang long story….)

That said with this trip, I put in new filter socks, water changed last night. Put on the protein skimmer and have an automatic pellet feeder (feeds twice a day dry food… Walmart brand) water is topped off for ATO…. Anything I should be concerned about or time to try and let this sucker fly? Not that I have a choice.

Is the tank fully cycled? What water volume are you working with?

wjm6449 · Jul 13, 2024

crazyfishmom said:
Is the tank fully cycled? What water volume are you working with?

125 gallon. Yeah. Cycled.

wjm6449 · Jul 13, 2024

My biggest fear is the pellets bombing the tank being 2x daily

crazyfishmom · Jul 13, 2024

wjm6449 said:
My biggest fear is the pellets bombing the tank being 2x daily

Why don’t you do a test this week while you’re still home to see whether 2x a day is needed? There are also some long term release feeder packs that the fish just peck at and you can then remove from the tank when you get back home.

wjm6449 · Jul 13, 2024

crazyfishmom said:
Why don’t you do a test this week while you’re still home to see whether 2x a day is needed? There are also some long term release feeder packs that the fish just peck at and you can then remove from the tank when you get back home.

Ah. Good idea but unfortunately I’m leaving today . I mean I guess I don’t have a choice. That and on top of that the fish probably wouldn’t survive 7 days no food. I guess I’ll just need to do heavy maintenance when I’m back and look for the long term release on my next two vacations this summer. Guess this is a good experiment. Being I have a 250 gallon rated protein skimmer for the tank.. I guess it’ll survive. Worst case is 50% water chance on back. I covered the top and lights are reduced

aSaltyKlown · Jul 13, 2024

Don't fill the feeder all the way up, if the main concern is it all dumping into the tank if it fails on.

exnisstech · Jul 13, 2024

I'd shut the skimmer down, one less thing to worry about. Probably isn't even needed on a new tank unless there isn't enough flow to oxygenate the water without it. Fish won't starve in a week if you don't trust the feeder.