Going away for 2-3 weeks, what to do?

[bettapassion]

I'll be going away for 2-3 weeks, need some advice on what to do for my planted tank before I leave the country. Do I have to use tablet fert which can last 2 weeks before I go? Can the fish and plants go without water change for 3 weeks?

[budak]

i think u can change water (60%) about 2 days before leaving (not one day before, in case the fresh water got something wrong). Also doyour trimming, and give the fish a good feed the day you leave. just add your normal fert regime should be ok.... make sure the timer and CO2 all ok........ wash the filter maybe... top up CO2.

but i think around 2 weeks no need to feed the fishies..... they will survive... i did it before..... u should also find much less algae when you come back.

[vinz]

Give the fast growing plants a good major trim and a normal water change a day or two before you leave. Invest in a liquid doser to help you dose liquid fertiliser. Make sure that your CO2 will last.

You might want to feed your fish more then usual a week before to fatten them up, but make sure there isn't any leftover food in the tank. OR.. get an autofeeder.

A stable tank should be able to last 3 weeks without maintainance.

[bettapassion]

Thanks for the advice.

I tot of using auto feeder but there will not be any water change so i drop the idea [:]

[sherchoo]

I would prefer not to feed the fish than use a auto feeder.

[benny]

I have left my tank unattended for 3 weeks. No problems with plants or fishes. However, the puffer fish was sooo skinny when I return.

Cheers,

[theodore]

Wouldn't puffers, rams and other semi-aggressive fishes hunt for shrimps when they r hungry?

[geoffrey]

Vinz,

Liquid fert doser? Is there such a thing? Where can we find it?

[PeterGwee]

Look for eheim ones...available at C328, Nature and most good LFS.

[geoffrey]

Thanks Gwee.

[Cardinal Tetra]

i have been wondering, do you leave your lights on and off with an autotimer during that period?

[naturetan]

Where can I get an autofeeder?

BTW, where's C328? Can't find it under the LFS list.

[sherchoo]

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On 3/12/2003 12:22:16 AM

Where can I get an autofeeder?

BTW, where's C328? Can't find it under the LFS list.
----------------

C328 is actually Clementi florist and Aquarium located at Blk 328, Clementi Ave 2. You can get the autofeeder from there too. Personally, I'm quite hesitant to use such a device. Quite scary is this thing screws up. If you're gone for a week, juz dun feed them. The fish will be fine.

[hwchoy]

I don't think it is a very good idea to wash your filter days before you leave (assuming this is an external filter that you wash only every 6 months), every time I washed the filter I get some casuatly, probably because I managed to kill too much bateria.

I also do as someone mentioned, fatten them up a bit before going, and for the vegetarians I leave two good sized slices of cucumber. This will do great for the shrimps, cyprinids and also tetra.

[mrs budak]

We forget that, in nature, fish don't get ready food such as nutritious flake, granules or tablets containing protein, fibre, and all the vitamins you can think of. Fish in nature often have to look for food or scavange; going without food for long periods is quite normal.

Also, the tanks themselves already have a food source for the fish - algae.

So don't think that your fish will starve to death if you're away for a few weeks. This is just another day for the fish. What you should be more worried about is maintaining the quality of your water. Do a water change a day before (so that you can take remedial action in case something wrong with the water).

budak and mrs budak have left tanks unattended while they go on holidays or go overseas for business. Except for once when the tank was wiped out due to poor water quality (something in the taps), the fish were none for the worst when they returned. In fact, you'll find a cleaner tank with quite a lot of the algae gone!

[elmike]

Hi folks

Correct if I'm wrong...

My understanding is that tank light timer unit operates the same way as that of a fan or aircon unit in that it shuts off after the set duration... and that one has to manually switch it on again the morning after. So, even with your lights connected to a timer, you would still have a problem w providing lighting for your plts during the 2-wk absence.

mike

[toledosun]

Don't think you're right there mike. I've 2 different brands of timer and in both cases, they have 24 hour time control to switch the lights on and off at any number of intervals during the 24 hour cycle.

For my lights, I set them to come on between 7-8 a.m. every morning so that I can see my fishes when I'm up and again between 4-11 p.m. so I can see them at night.

[toledosun]

Say betta passion,

I saw in Sam Yicks and I think petmart those "vacation" fish cubes. They are supposed to release food slowly (as the cube dissolves) over a certain number of days. The smaller cubes are good for 10-15 fishes over 3 days while the larger cubes are good for 10-15 fishes over 2 weeks.

Not sure if the cubes add any undesirable chemicals into the water as they dissolve though.

[vinz]

I haven't tried these vacation fish food before, but I'd test it on the fishes at least a week before,to make sure they will eat the stuff or condition them to eat the stuff. Cause, in case they don't eat it, you're gonna have a lot of rotting fish food in your tank while your not around.

[elmike]

toledosun

Thanks for enlightening! A timer unit is on my "shopping list

mike