should i worry?

[createdlight]

Going out of town for a week (vacation!) i have a 210 tank, lights are on timers, ato is on 55 gal drum so that should not run dry? what do i have to be worry about? My daughter inlaw will be feeding the fish 2 times a day. i am doing a 30 gal water change , and cleaning the skimmer out the sunday before we go on Monday. I just hope the weather behaves and doesn't bring a power outage.
any tips?

thanks
gb

 

[NYreefNoob]

how much water do you think u go through in a week ? i would only use a tub that holds that amount and maybe a few gallons more, just to be on the safe side and measure out the amount of food for each feeding so they dont over feed and have a battery operated air pump on hand with air stone in case of power outage and spare batteries

 

[createdlight]

my current ato container is one of those Christmas wrapper holders, i think it's 10 or 12 gals. I know it goes through that in like 3 or 3 1/2 days. which is why i am throwing the ato pump in my rodi 55 gal drum. I usually top off the ato from the rodi drum. to make it easy for her i'll just drop the ato pump in the rodi drum. i have been wanting to set it up this way any how.

 

[KathyC]

my current ato container is one of those Christmas wrapper holders, i think it's 10 or 12 gals. I know it goes through that in like 3 or 3 1/2 days. which is why i am throwing the ato pump in my rodi 55 gal drum. I usually top off the ato from the rodi drum. to make it easy for her i'll just drop the ato pump in the rodi drum. i have been wanting to set it up this way any how.

If you are going to do this, check it now to see that the water will be enough and it works correctly.

I would suggest she feed only 1 x per day. Overfeeding is probably one of the largest reasons for tank failure (knock wood) when a person goes away.

Find a reefer near you who won't mind being 'on call' if something goes wrong. Someone to call when things don't seem right, they need not have access to your home.

If your lights are on a controller be sure to set a program for the lights to shut off if the tank reaches x temperature.

For a tank that size, you'd want to have a few battery run air pumps on hand. Do you have any back up plan already for a power outage?

..and don't forget to leave her the address for MR

 

[qy7400]

A fellow reefer and MR are great for the person to know about, there was someone a while ago whose spouse was over seas and folks here helped walk the person through the problem; think someone may have even gone to the house.

Any time I go away I write down a quick check list of what to do, check temps/water level in the sump/ what and how much to feed. A day or so before i leave a dry run with the person so they can see and ask any questions. Like Kathy mentioned how much to feed is important as you'll always see someone whose tank was overfed because the fish 'looked hungry'. I'd be very cautious about changing something with the system before you left, test and think about Murphy as he's waiting to screw things up. I'd also only fill the 55 gallon drum with a little more that you'll need and test for back fill and siphon when the ATO shuts off.

 

[createdlight]

If you are going to do this, check it now to see that the water will be enough and it works correctly.

I would suggest she feed only 1 x per day. Overfeeding is probably one of the largest reasons for tank failure (knock wood) when a person goes away.

Find a reefer near you who won't mind being 'on call' if something goes wrong. Someone to call when things don't seem right, they need not have access to your home.

If your lights are on a controller be sure to set a program for the lights to shut off if the tank reaches x temperature.

For a tank that size, you'd want to have a few battery run air pumps on hand. Do you have any back up plan already for a power outage?

..and don't forget to leave her the address for MR

Thanks Kathy
I will fall back to only one feeding a day. Yes i will test the new ato setup to make sure every thing goes as planned. I should buy some battery operated air pumps just incase. I will see if my local lfs manager, would be willing to help out incase of a problem.