Away for the Holidays

[RayAllen]

Ok The most im ever away from my aquariums is a day at the most. Now that I have the 210g I have a couple of tangs that are larger and accustomed to eating 2-3 times daily; not to mention the other fish. Also I top off my sump daily. I guess I will add a few more gallons to the sump and hope there isnt a power outage, lol. The Saturday 22nd will be ok because I will be home long enough to feed them. The 23-25th the tank will be alone. Ive heard lots of horror stories about trips. What do you guys think about Automatic feeders; ive never used one. Any ideas or thoughts- im sure some of you others will be going out of town.

Ray

[erikharrison]

Get a ten gallon aquarium, and look for an auto top off setup! It's perfect for when you don't feel like dealing with the tank for a few days. For the tangs, get a veggie clip and put some EDOMAE brand seaweed from H-E-B in it. I fold my pieces into a "paper football" and then clip it in. My tangs attack it with great ferocity! The fold method helps to keep it intact. They should be fine as long as you feed them right before you leave and right after you get back. We go to the coast alot, and we are gone from the tank for a few days at a time. I let my mother go ONCE to feed my fish, and she poured a weeks worth of food in at once. THENNNNNN she decided to top the tank off. She had no idea a sump resided below, at least until the carpet was wet.

[apedroza]

Definitely invest in the auto top off. We are gone for more than a week on some trips and this certainly helps maintain water levels. i usually feed heavily rightbefore we leave and the fish do fine. Just make sure all yoru equipment is in working order. Faulty heaters can create huge headache!!!!

[RayAllen]

Thanks guys, for the suggestions.

[KarenM]

I agree the the auto topoff idea. I bought the basic one from topoff.com on the advice of some well respected Austin reefers. It's some of the best $50 I've spent ($40 for the top off, $12 for the pump from marine depot dot com). Not only did it eliminate me having to top off every day, but it's helped my skimmer stay adjusted because it keeps the water in the sump level.

[LoneStar]

Well it looks like the auto top off was answered...

As for the tangs, you can get a stick of pvc and get a bunch of nori and attach it to it with a rubber band. Then just place it in the tank. The tangs will graze off of it over the next few days. Just place enough on there to last a few days. If they tear through it too quickly, going without food for a day won't hurt them. As for flake food, a auto feeder will work fine.

[alton]

Aquarium Designs has a baby sitting service that they provide for a daily charge

[Bill S]

If you were a little closer...

I second the autotopoff. www.top-off.com

They may be hungry when you get back...

[edawgm]

There is always the lights out method. Though I am not sure this will work but somewhere, I am sure others remember, something was posted about turning off the lights for three days to get reed of algae. This might slow down the evaporation process as well. Though this is just a thought.

[Jeff]

get a bunch of live macro, 1 gl ziplock bag full, and put it in for them to graze on. calurpa is prefered. since it is live it won't break down the water quality as fast as dried nori will, also get some ghost shrimp and put in the tank for you wrasse and what ever else wants to eat it.