Maintaining your tank while away....

[kgeorge]

Ok, so my tank hasn't looked right this week... I've been pullin my hair out trying to figure it out and I finally tested alkalinity and it was way low. I've added the buffer you get to raise it and I will test it again in the morning. My main question is... I'm going on vaction at the end of next month and will be gone for over a week. I'm worried sick about the tank. I plan on putting a huge barrel with top-off water to give it "topped off" while i'm gone. I'll have a friend check on it to make sure it's ok but he won't know what to do or how to check parameters by the test kits, etc. So what should I do? Do I need to mix lime water in the top-off while I'm gone to keep it right? or what? I'm still new at the "adding chemicals" part so hang with me here and don't get to complicated....

Suggestions on what to do to help it run smooth while i'm gone??????

FYI: no calcium reactor just in case you ask

[Ninong]

I have never had much luck with my designated substitute tank-watcher when I went on vacation for a week or two. Something always went wrong.

My advice: Keep it as simple as possible!

I didn't have a calcium reactor either but I didn't dare try to get my tank-watcher involved in dripping limewater (Kalkwasser). I instructed him on how to add B-Ionic two-part stuff to the sump. I deliberately gave instructions for an amount that I knew to be a little too low. My instructions were: three tablespoons of "A," wait a full minute, then three tablespoons of "B."

He never followed my instructions on feeding. I finally gave up on any hope that he would follow those instructions. Maybe you will have better luck in that department?

Make sure all of your lights are on automatic timers. Make sure the tank-watcher knows to call you right away for "help" if anything makes a strange noise, smells like smoke, sparks coming from any piece of equipment, water on the floor, etc. I had an ignitor in the metal halide fixture burn up on the second day of a 10-day trip and I got a phone call telling me that the "room is full of smoke." So the tank had to get by with just fluorescent actinics for the next eight days.

Whatever you do, try to keep it simple and put everything in writing. Do not expect the tank-watcher to follow your instructions. Therefore, make sure that even if he doesn't do some of the things he's supposed to do, nothing bad will happen. Do not, for example, think that the tank-watcher might be capable of actually slow-dripping limewater. Forget about that idea because if he dumps too much, too quickly, bad things will happen.

Your tank-watcher may or may not be willing to feed frozen food, what with all the hassle of taking it out of the freezer, thawing it out, etc. You may want to skip that idea and simply go with flake and pellets for the duration. If so, leave detailed written instructions for how much of each per day. Make sure the guy knows to soak the food in a small cup of tankwater for a few minutes first so that it doesn't all float on the surface. It's probably better to not suggest turning off anything (pumps or anything else) while feeding. Don't have him turn anything off because he may forget to turn it back on.

Expect that no matter what instructions you give on feeding, he will feed twice as much. That's a given.

Ask him to look at the temperature every day and call you if it gets out of line.

Unless you have an overflow drain line from your skimmer cup, you will need to show the caretaker how to remove and clean the skimmer cup. He will probably have to do that at least once, maybe twice. Set your skimmer for very dry skimming.

When you get back home, expect to see a little cyanobacteria here and there and algal film all over the glass. You can take care of that in no time at all after you're back. It's probably not a good idea to leave instructions on cleaning the glass unless you're going to be gone for a really long time and the person taking care of the tank has a minimum level of experience with marine aquariums.

Good luck!



P.S. -- Even if he doesn't add anything (two-part product) while you're gone, your calcium and alkalinity won't drop too much during a 10-day absence. It might drop from 475 ppm Ca to 375 ppm Ca, depending on demand in your tank.

P.P.S. -- I made up a large quantity of R.O./D.I. topoff water in advance and stored it in a Rubbermaid 20-gal container. I had a large Tupperware bowl next to the R.O./D.I. water. The instructions were to add one to two bowls of freshwater per day, as needed, to make sure the water level in the sump remained near the top line and didn't come anywhere close to the bottom line. You have to make sure they understand that the world will come to an end if they forget to add water and the pump runs dry.

If you have any kind of mechanical filtration (foam blocks, batting, etc.) in the sump that will need to be cleaned while you're gone, consider whether you can run without it or make sure you instruct the care-giver on how to take care of that task.

I always added a bag of fresh carbon and a fresh Poly-filter pad to the sump just in case.

[kgeorge]

Nice, Ninong. Thank you! OK, should I add any limewater to the storage tank or anything else?

P.S. The guy that will watch my tank is very good at following instructions and I also care for his animals while he is gone so I know he'll do everything he can to be careful and watch it closely!

[Ninong]

Nice, Ninong. Thank you! OK, should I add any limewater to the storage tank or anything else?

The storage tank should be just freshwater for topoff (evaporation replacement). Assuming you have a sump, make sure that there are two lines clearly marked on the side of the sump: the top line is the full line and the bottom line is the do-not-ever-go-below line. Make sure that he understands that he should add just enough water to keep the level in the sump at or just below the top line. It should never get too close to the bottom line.

Having someone add Kalkwasser (limewater) can be tricky. It's possible to add a small amount all at once (no more than one liter per 100 gallons of tankwater) but I have never done that and I don't like the thought of asking someone else to do it either. That's why I think it's better to purchase some B-Ionic (or C-Balance). Those are the two-part systems (one bottle of "A" and one bottle of "B"). Then he just has to add one or two tablespoons of each to your sump every day. I'm not sure what size your tank is. Mine was 120 gallons and I believe I had my brother-in-law add three tablespoons of each daily. I think this is the safest way to maintain calcium and alkalinity while on vacation.

The guy that will watch my tank is very good at following instructions and I also care for his animals while he is gone so I know he'll do everything he can to be careful and watch it closely!

If that's the case and you regularly feed frozen foods, then maybe you can trust him to follow instructions on how to feed frozen foods. The good thing about frozen foods is that you can tell him only one cube (or two cubes, as the case may be). If you have any herbivores (tangs, rabbitfish, etc.), you may be able to get him to put a small piece of Seaweeds Select (or nori) on a clip every day. I tried to get my bro-in-law to do that but it didn't work. He lost the clip behind some live rock and I had to fish it out when I got back. And I know he didn't pre-soak the flake food because I found some of it on top of the center cross brace. That means he didn't even bother to remove the acrylic shield I had installed around the top of the tank to keep the fairy wrasses from jumping out. He simply sprinkled the flake food without seeing where it was going and a lot of it landed on the cross brace.

[Ninong]

I forgot to ask if you have a chiller? If you don't have a chiller, then you will have to make sure the ambient room temperature in the room the tank is in doesn't get too hot while you're gone. That means leaving the A/C on while you're gone.

[kgeorge]

My tank is a 75 with a 50 sump and two 20 gal fuges..... with were I keep the water at in the sump it equals out to right at 150 gallons. I have purposely not bought any more fish in the last 3 months because I knew I was going on vacation.... (Sacrifice!!) I only have 5 fish..... 3 being clowns so it won't be hard to feed them. I hope to have my Reefkeeper Eliete here and installed by then (they ship tomorrow for the first few of US that ordered them on the first day!) so I will be able to have an auto top-off installed so all he would have to do is check it to make sure it's doing fine. I have no chiller but have been experimenting with the room temp to know what it does and where it keeps my tank. Plus the RKE will be able to kick extra fans on if the need be. On the doseing after talking with you, I believe I am going to order some more Ocean's Blend 2 part from Chuck for my friend to dose while i'm gone.....

[Samper]

Kyle, before you leave give the system a once over to make sure that you aren't leaving a problem in the hands of your friend. The simplest issues to you become nightmares for an inexperienced individual. They then become a nightmare to you while sitting on the beach......

I like to give everything a check before leaving for more than a few days. Clean all the pumps and equipment before hand to ensure that everything is working properly. Do a full range of water tests the day before and make your adjustments giving you 24 hours to observe it afterward. One thing that I learned from the military is preventative maintenance. Other than that Ninong covered it all.

Give your buddy my number and if he needs help I'll make the drive.

[Ninong]

One more thing -- if you think overheating might be a problem while you're gone, reset your timers to reduce the daily photoperiod by a couple of hours. You do not want the water temperature to get much above 86 F at any time. This could potentially cause a problem. And one problem could result in more problems.

P.S. -- If you have metal halides and fluorescents, you just need to reduce the metal halides.

[kgeorge]

Ok, thanks guys. I think with the info I have been given I feel much better!

Chuck, I'ma need some that two part!

[Samper]

Done.

[dougc]

I avoid the overfeeding syndrome by measuring out each feeding of frozen food into small plastic cups. 1 cup = 1 feeding, period.

I also feed flake and pellet, but that is done using an automatic feeder, so the caretaker has no opportunity to over-participate there.

I also wrote up a care guide, complete with checklists, instructions and pictures. Even if the caretaker doesn't commit it to memory, it can be helpful if instructions must be provided over the phone.

My tank is controlled using an AquaController, which will alert me to some gross problems, such as heater, chiller, or topoff malfunctions. Lighting and such is all automated. The controller sends me text messages in the event of an alarm condition. Everything in the communications chain (controller, network switch, router) is on a UPS so that alerts can go out if there is a power failure. I have the controller set up so that it is accessible from the Internet. I also have my home computer set up for remote access, so anything up to and including reprogramming the controller can be done remotely.

Before leaving for more than a couple of days, I make sure that all regular maintenance, especially pump cleaning, has been done. I usually leave the central air on when away during Summer (which we hardly ever run when home) so that the effects of a chiller malfunction are minimized.

I've only had problems while away a couple of times and in each case the AquaController alerted me to the problem. Still, I keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Doug

[Lance]

Do you do water changes and how much?
Whats the stock from CUC to coral and do they look stressed?
So was PH of also? Whats the tanks age and how off was it?
Whats used for water flow in there?