I will Be out of town for 10 days??

[orion25]

OK how do I deal with this situation. I will be out of town for 10 days and my Nurace can only cope with about 7 days. Should I increase my water level and decrease my salinity or increase both. Having someone care for the tank IS NOT an option. HELP!!!!

Ryan

[organicreefer]

if youre current top-off can handle 7 days and you will be gone for 10,maybe just shortening the light period by a few hours each day would be all you need to do.just a thought.

[icemark]

I might cover the tank with either a sheet of glass or acylic (depending on your lighting). That would keep the Evap down.

Maybe also a second Nurace...

[Aquariust]

Just don't seal it up too tight

If the nurse can go 7 days, I don't 3 more will hurt. I went out for 5 days and my 55 only evaped about 2 Gallons.

Feed the fish well before you go!

Make sure you do an extensive maintenece check before leaving.

GL!

[scubadude]

Originally posted by organicreefer
if youre current top-off can handle 7 days and you will be gone for 10,maybe just shortening the light period by a few hours each day would be all you need to do.just a thought.

Excellent idea organic!...especially if you are running halides...its just a matter of how much you will need to adjust the photoperiod. The best way to tell is to take your tank off of the Nurse for now and watch how low it gets within 3 days...you need to see how much variance you can play with.

[organicreefer]

thanks scuba .it would work awesome if you had actinics as well,you could leave them on the normal schedule,and have the sun(halides) poke through just a few hours a day,hell ,add another powerhead and you could simulate a week and a half of stormy weather.what could be more natural;; .

[orion25]

Hello All,

Well, I returned home today and I still had an inch of water in the Nurace. I took your advice on the lighting period and set them (4x96 PC) for a 7 hour Actinic / 5.5 hour daylight cycle. I also put about 2 extra inches of fresh water in the sump. Although it lowered the salinity a little it was a risk I had to take. I left the AC set on 76 as usual.

The tank did grow a pretty good layer of algae on the front glass but the LR is still clean (I love that Urchin ). My yellow tang still looks fat and I would swear that my green open brain grew at least a half an inch. Maybe I should leave town more often ;) .

Thanks to everyone who offered advice. I've got one more 7+ day trip in a few weeks and then it will be time to add more corals, maybe Jeff's 9 for $99.

Thanks Again,
Ryan