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jawwad2004

Senior Member
Location
Queens, NY
Rating - 100%
37   0   0
I had a big mishap when I went away for 4 days. I had a friend who was in the freshwater hobby, so he made sure he fed the fish and took care of the lighting, however he didnt know about evaporation in the sump. Came home to see my sump almost empty, pumps running dry! This was in the summer so the tank temp was at 85. Ive learned my lesson! Everything is going to be automated by next year when I go away. lol.
 

aaron

Australian
Location
Sydney
Rating - 100%
16   0   0
I have gone away for six weeks a couple of times, mostly with out any problems but when i went to Australia for five weeks this summer i had a number of corals bleach because the water must have got too hot and my Alk level was way down by the time i got back.
I put covers on my tank and sump to keep evaporation to a minimum, while i'm away. I seem to get enough gas exchange in my skimmer and the covers really help to keep evaporation low.
 

Reefer420

Advanced Reefer
Location
Manhattan
Rating - 100%
15   0   0
Get a Auto top off unit and have a container of RO/DI water that will last as long as you are away and get someone to feed the fish once a day (or at the least every other).
If it is for a looong time you can find places that will service your tank for you (probably pretty expensive though- and I know you like those discounts :) ) People who don't want anything to do w/ their tanks have services that come and take care of everything once a week or more- plus if you have a complicated setup they would be able to fix anything thats broken and adjust any parameters that might be off.
 

inline6

Advanced Reefer
Location
Queens, NY
Rating - 100%
29   0   0
Reefer420 said:
Get a Auto top off unit and have a container of RO/DI water that will last as long as you are away and get someone to feed the fish once a day (or at the least every other).
If it is for a looong time you can find places that will service your tank for you (probably pretty expensive though- and I know you like those discounts :) ) People who don't want anything to do w/ their tanks have services that come and take care of everything once a week or more- plus if you have a complicated setup they would be able to fix anything thats broken and adjust any parameters that might be off.

I second the ATO system, pretty much a must have for a small reef, especially something that is 12g the evaporation can be compounded by the small volume of the water.
 

Reefer420

Advanced Reefer
Location
Manhattan
Rating - 100%
15   0   0
I have a closed top tank- my 1.25g ato water container lasts me a full week. And I don't need to worry about swings in my salinity (I can't store my RO/DI water anywhere and taking out my filter and creating a cup or so a night would be a pain in the A$$).
 

Pseudo

OG Member
Location
New York
Rating - 100%
185   0   0
I let my mother do it. She topped off with regular tap water and fed the fishies. Would you belive I got better growth and colors when she took care of the tank... I guess because she didnt put her hands in the tank like me.

ATO is the way to go and call a friend weeks ahead of time and TRAIN them what to do and leave a contact number to real reefer just in case.

Kasei
 

Melt

Senior Member
Location
brooklyn
Rating - 100%
15   0   0
i went for two weeks ...I got a tunze auto topoff.(ossolator) and a 20g tank for my top off..i made a couple buckets of R/O water and told my friend just add it in the 20g ..and feed a cube of food every other day...

The only problem I had was he would come upstairs and drink my VSOP and watch the tank all nite...He kill two bottles of my VSOP....and told me thats his payment...
 
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DEEPWATER

Guest
Rating - 100%
185   0   0
Melt said:
i went for two weeks ...I got a tunze auto topoff.(ossolator) and a 20g tank for my top off..i made a couple buckets of R/O water and told my friend just add it in the 20g ..and feed a cube of food every other day...

The only problem I had was he would come upstairs and drink my VSOP and watch the tank all nite...He kill two bottles of my VSOP....and told me thats his payment...
its better then coming home to see the tank all over the livingroom ,,lol....
ill take the 2 bottles anyday ,,
 

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