If you are away.........???

[fleekk]

Hi Bros ( who have such experience),

I am travelling away for 2 weeks soon, nobody will be around.

My concern are :

1. Do I need to do any adjustment to the tank for the 2 weeks absent?
2. Will there be any problem for the water evaporated away ( no top-up)
3. As for feeding, I believe the livestocks should be alright right? ( cardinal & neon tetras, angels, usual algae eaters crew)
4. How abt lighting hrs, should I reduce it???
5. Can I stop co2 & light for the 2 weeks, just out in a air-stone?


Please assist if you have such experience.

[geoffrey]

Do a good trimming and hacking plus water change before you go. If you were not doing once weekly fertilising before, do a mega-dose just before you leave. If you can afford, there is an auto-fertiliser-dispenser from Eheim.

You can leave the lights and CO2 running normal with a timer. The only concern when you travel is evaporation. Fill your tank up with water just before you leave too. You may want to consider turning off your cooling fans.

If you have some more to spare, you can also consider an auto-feeder that will dispense feedings at a preset timing too. However, I seriously think it's not worth the money to expend on those gadgets.

[victri]

Eheim Liquidoser. I used that for daily dosing of ferts when I had to go away for reservist. A really neat little device! It makes dosing so convenient I'm still using it now.

[fleekk]

[quote:f42062e536="geoffrey"]Do a good trimming and hacking plus water change before you go. If you were not doing once weekly fertilising before, do a mega-dose just before you leave. If you can afford, there is an auto-fertiliser-dispenser from Eheim.

You can leave the lights and CO2 running normal with a timer. The only concern when you travel is evaporation. Fill your tank up with water just before you leave too. You may want to consider turning off your cooling fans.

If you have some more to spare, you can also consider an auto-feeder that will dispense feedings at a preset timing too. However, I seriously think it's not worth the money to expend on those gadgets.[/quote:f42062e536]

HI Jeff,

Thanks for the advice but I do not think is worth to invest into this gadgets.

But 1 question on the cooling fan, will temp rise without it and moreover no fresh air at all in the house? What do you think?

Thanks man.

Any other bros has advice on this.

[budak]

I second the idea that if you do a good trim and water change just before you leave, the plants should be fine.... the fish, if healthy, can fast for 2 weeks (or eat algae) with no problem. But without CO2 and lights, your tank will very likely turn into a rotting mush. Please do consider investing in a simple automatic timer (less than $20) to switch your lights/co2 on and off. The Timer is NOT a luxury gadget.

The only thing I would worry is if there are power outages (lighting strikes, unannounced PUB/HDB works, power trips etc).... which can happen JUST when you are NOT around. If you have time, why not ask around for friends or someone on the forum who stay near you to help "jaga" your place - drop by every 3-4 days just to check that the tank and flat are alright, top up water etc....???

[fleekk]

Hi pal,

I am currently using a timer, I am refering to gadgets like automatic feeder & liquidoser which I think not necessary.

Thanks for the advice.

[geoffrey]

But 1 question on the cooling fan, will temp rise without it and moreover no fresh air at all in the house? What do you think?

Yes, temperature will rise, that is a trade off. You have to decide base on your knowledge of the ambient temperature in your house whether you want it off or not.

Fresh air or air circulation? Your tank with plants is giving you oxygen, albeit little, during your photo-period.

[foxxkat]

[quote:8c0ae26aa6="geoffrey"]
If you have some more to spare, you can also consider an auto-feeder that will dispense feedings at a preset timing too. However, I seriously think it's not worth the money to expend on those gadgets.[/quote:8c0ae26aa6]

ahh.. finally found wat i been searching for..

hi geoffrey, i will be facing exactly the same situation in dec, ie away for 2weeks. interested in the auto-feeder u mentioned. wat's the brand/model u hav in mind and whr i can go take a look at?

frankly, i don tink it's gonna worth spending on this (how often i away for weeks anyway).. the most is let the fishes die no i mean give away the fishies b4 i go off.. only costs few bucks.

but as i'm new, i'm interested in learning mor. might even get it on impulse hehe

[Simon]

[quote:05ec1a69f2="foxxkat"][quote:05ec1a69f2="geoffrey"]
If you have some more to spare, you can also consider an auto-feeder that will dispense feedings at a preset timing too. However, I seriously think it's not worth the money to expend on those gadgets.[/quote:05ec1a69f2]

ahh.. finally found wat i been searching for..

hi geoffrey, i will be facing exactly the same situation in dec, ie away for 2weeks. interested in the auto-feeder u mentioned. wat's the brand/model u hav in mind and whr i can go take a look at?

frankly, i don tink it's gonna worth spending on this (how often i away for weeks anyway).. the most is let the fishes die no i mean give away the fishies b4 i go off.. only costs few bucks.

but as i'm new, i'm interested in learning mor. might even get it on impulse hehe[/quote:05ec1a69f2]

you can get someone u know to help u with the feeding

[ranmasatome]

waaa.... i volunteer to "jaga" if you trust me and live near enough...if you really desperate then pm me..

[geoffrey]

No wonder LFS are complaining the auto-feeder is one of the slowest moving item!

There is one by Ehiem if you change your mind.

[Simon]

frankly, it is not alot to pay to keep your fishes alive. As a hobbyist, we shld be responsible for them. Either get someone to feed them or go get something cheaper (china brand).

[foxxkat]

yup, hav thot of asking pple to look after. to cut long story short, sadly dat's not an option. i can however, donate the fishies back to the fishshop i bought them from, den buy fr them again wen i'm back

so it's Ehiem ... and china board?
i'm very interested!! wat & how? isit a DIY? do u hav a pic can share?

[Simon]

[quote:48027f9906="foxxkat"]yup, hav thot of asking pple to look after. to cut long story short, sadly dat's not an option. i can however, donate the fishies back to the fishshop i bought them from, den buy fr them again wen i'm back

so it's Ehiem ... and china board?
i'm very interested!! wat & how? isit a DIY? do u hav a pic can share? [/quote:48027f9906]

I recommend 'china brand' autofeeder, becoz they are cheaper.. effectiveness, I don't really know... I always have someone feed my fishes for me.

[foxxkat]

oh cina-brand.. ok thx man. will chk it out.

i oso envision a DIY device using a timer.. mayb timer turn on a fan, fan blow food into the tank.. i made it sound too easy, dono how to DIY. guess wil hav mor ideas wen i go chk out the auto feeder.

[geoffrey]

Frankly, fishes won't die if you stop feeding them. I did that for close to a month and nothing seems to happen. Neither have my fishes grown thinner. I guess there are alot of things inside a planted tank they see as food that I don't.

[vinz]

I don't feed the other fishes in my Arowana tank and they are fatter then the fishes in my tank that I feed. The arowana does not leave enough scraps to make them that fat either. If the tank is a thriving planted tank, the fishes should do fine without feeding for 2 weeks.

Give them a big feed 2 days before you leave and then do a water change the day after the feeding. That will buffer them and prevent a NH3/4 and NO3 spike from their shit during the trip.

You can also check out the slow release fish food designed for this kind of situations. I've not used one though, but it should be cheaper then a dispenser.

For the plants, do as Geoff suggested. Be mentally prepared for some algae, but then there might be none.

[foxxkat]

if can survive 2 weeks.. veli good liao.

i was curious, so went chk out the auto feeder prices at sam yick.

ehiem - $89 (i will buy this wen i'm a multi millionaire)
dono wat cina brand - $24

will try the methods suggested by geof above.

[liuhao]

how much is eheim liquidoser anyone knows? $100 plus? any cheaper brand does the same thing?

i always have touble dosing iron. because i leave home very early and come back very late. my plants only wake up when i am not available. since fe2+ iron only stays in water for very short time, i am thinking the best way is to dose iron at peak hour, say, 1-2pm every day so that my plant can make best use of them.

my hornwort seems seriously lacking iron. new grows show yellowish/dry/pale colors...

[geoffrey]

[quote:15dd705819="liuhao"]
i always have touble dosing iron. because i leave home very early and come back very late. my plants only wake up when i am not available. since fe2+ iron only stays in water for very short time, i am thinking the best way is to dose iron at peak hour, say, 1-2pm every day so that my plant can make best use of them.
[/quote:15dd705819]

Very unlikely your hornwort lacks Fe. Very little of it is needed, besides other plants should be affected too. How long Fe stays in water depends on the chelating agent used and light. Try switch to DTPA instead ETDA chelated Fe may help. In fact, if ETDA Fe were used at all, dosing it every other day should not have any problem.

Not forgeting, there are also many stuffs within the tank that can act as chelator and bind itself to the Fe hence prolonging its usefulness to plants.