How to prepare for being away.

[SanguinesDream]

I am hoping/planning to be away over Christmas for +/- 2 weeks.:eek: and am making a list of how to fortify my tanks against the house sitter and inevitable disasters.

Aside from a fresh water change, premixed water for top offs, bright red sticky notes warning against over-feedings, timers for lights, equipment checks and rechecks, what else would you do (aside from staying home) to prepare your systems for being away?

Please keep in mind that I do not have high-tech equipment and live in a remote community where the next reefer is 2 hours away. Thanks in advance. :mrgreen:

[spit.fire]

What do you mean premixed for top off?

[darkreef]

I would mark very heavy salt mix water and fresh water... My sitter was typing off with salt ... For the first day luckily he asked alot of questions and I picked it up. Then I red taped all the salt water buckets in my house .

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

gather all information needed or things you do on a regular basis and have it all on a computer file labeled by time of day...videos of you going through the chores as needed,and things to look out for in case of problems...something I would do if I ever leave for longer than a week,...

[SanguinesDream]

What do you mean premixed for top off?

I will premix my water at .20 to account for evaporation and rises in salinity. I know approximately how much evaporation I have per week. The second week will be at a lower salinity level, I just have to figure it out based on no weekly water change, as I normally do a 1/4 weekly wc.

[intarsiabox]

I will premix my water at .20 to account for evaporation and rises in salinity. I know approximately how much evaporation I have per week. The second week will be at a lower salinity level, I just have to figure it out based on no weekly water change, as I normally do a 1/4 weekly wc.

I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding you or not, but your top-off water should contain no salt at all.

[Madreefer]

I will premix my water at .20 to account for evaporation and rises in salinity. I know approximately how much evaporation I have per week. The second week will be at a lower salinity level, I just have to figure it out based on no weekly water change, as I normally do a 1/4 weekly wc.

I dont see how salinity fluctuates. I go for a month at a time. I just make sure theres alot of fresh water in case my reservoir runs empty, show how to clean skimmer and strict feeding rules. But I have contact via cell everyday. Next time all cleaning magnets will be hidden though. Came home to a scratched tank.

[SanguinesDream]

I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding you or not, but your top-off water should contain no salt at all.

No you weren't misunderstanding, I was misunderstanding as I was still thinking about it from a wc perspective minus the actual wc. Thank you so incredibly much for pointing out the error in my logic.:biggrin:

[Aquattro]

I clean my skimmer before I leave, pre-pack daily food (or interval of visits) and leave it at that. My top off is automated. I wouldn't want anyone doing any type of water change. Everything else is on timers (controller).

[Craigdillman]

Leave a good set of instructions on feeding and cleaning you want them to do .

Also I think giving them a number of a fellow reefer or LFS and giving them a heads up or even ability to post a forum on here would be helpful in the case of an accident that you didn't plan for could help

[asylumdown]

I clean my skimmer before I leave, pre-pack daily food (or interval of visits) and leave it at that. My top off is automated. I wouldn't want anyone doing any type of water change. Everything else is on timers (controller).

+1 simplest and best guarantee that your tank will be guarded against any misunderstandings or crazy spikes in nutrients. The last time I went away for two weeks I just picked up several packages of the smallest size of ziploc brand tipper ware containers and pre-portioned out every single day's worth of food. Feeding my fish for my roommates was as simple as grabbing a container from the freezer, thawing the contents, and feeding.

[kien]

It sounds like everyone has got you covered with great tips.

I myself prepare for vacation by calling Brett (lastlight). This approach hasn't failed me yet.

Also, I make sure to top up the prayer reactor before I leave, just in case.

Where are you going?

[Borderjumper]

I would buy one of those containers people use for their medications.. They are little plastic boxs marked Monday, Tuesday, etc and put your daily amount of fish food in each one. You could even put frozen in there and keep the container in the freezer

[craigwmiller]

Something else to do is a vacation 'trial run'. Make your preparations, your lists, your instructions, and then follow them for the duration of your planned trip, but say a month prior.

If you don't want your watcher to do water changes, don't. Clean skimmer? Feed once per day, every other day? Clean glass? tinker/poke/prod/adjust -- skip it all, watch what happens!

Then adjust your instructions and/or automation accordingly.

This got me through a 3-week vacation last February, and even a panic'd call from my house watcher who was unhappy with a whole bunch of little things, which because I was prepared to what the tank looked like after 2 weeks of my instructions I said: "no problem, keep doing what you are doing, that algae on the glass is fine :D".... I did lose 3 clown fish during the trip, but nothing else was affected so likely was Brooklynella. My sitter was worried, but with the much more sensitive life unaffected, I was okay with it.


Also, it helps having an IP video camera pointed at your tank (and another at your sump (room) as applicable. And if you can get remove internet access to your controller that is also helpful, but clearly not a requirement.

[someguy]

If I'm going away for a while, I pre-package food for each day, make sure my top-off is full, demonstrate skimmer cup cleaning, warn them that some algea will build up on glass and tell them not to worry about it (ie: I don't want them sticking anything in the tank to try to clean). Lastly, I have them turn off the lights for the last 3-4 days and stop feeding. This makes their job easier, makes over feeding less likely and I always find that a few days of no light and no food makes the whole tank look a little happier.

[Coralgurl]

The last time I went away, I was lucky as my daughter was my tank sitter. As she had a good idea of what needed to be done, I still left instructions and I made sure I labeled EVERYTHING, equipment, plugs etc. I had all my buckets ready for top up water, plus more made in the basement. I also did a water change a few days before I left, plus made sure there was mixed water if needed. I also found someone who could take a phone call if something happened. One night my ATO stopped working so the return pump started sputtering once the water level dropped. She called Matt and got it sorted out.

I also watched someone's tank for them and they left awesome instructions, how to refill top up water, amount of food, dosing and freshwater fish. Don't assume what you do on your tank, someone else does, even with experience. I took better care of his tank while he was away, than I did mine, I was so scared something would go wrong. Try to have as much prepared in advance so your tank sitter just has to wipe the glass and feed the tank.

Not sure how some of you can go 2 weeks without cleaning the skimmer cup...