gone 12 days, what to do with pico reef?

[cindyp]

hello everyone!

 

i'm new to the hobby and new to this forum

as well. i'll be away for vacation 12 days in the

summer, and i have no idea what to do with my

pico 3 gallon tank? it doesn't have a top off system,

and i'm not sure if one would work with it. (i have

an aqueon zen nano tank.)

 

i have hardy soft corals, a pom pom crab, and

two sexy shrimps in there right now, with two cerith

snails.

 

evaporation and salinity would obviously be a concern.

 

any suggestions?

 

thank you.

[JavaJacketOC]

A friend and very detailed, clear instructions

[Angel<3Nanos]

Have a friend or family member take care of it. If not, I think its time to sell the livestock. 12 days without care is too much.

[saltman123]

Yes unfortunately I would say 12 days is too long with only 3 gallons, if the tank was bigger you might have gotten away with an automatic feeder and a friend.

 

If you have a friend who can stop by and follow instructions on top off and light feeding that would do the trick.

[supernip]

plastic wrap and an internal powerhead set to low, near the bottom of the tank

[thesmallerthebetter]

get a gravity fed ATO (aka hamster bottle) and youll be fine. i left my .9G sps pico for 10 days this winter with no issues, just a yuma that let go of its holdfast but it was gonna do that neway. . best thing is to have someone check daily and if something is wrong call you so yoi can walk them through it, mix up some water change water and have it by the tank, so that they can do a water change with your phone guidance if need be.

[Maniu]

http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Live-Fish-Food/I/Live-Tigger-Pods.aspx?CAWELAID=1630130926&CAGPSPN=pla&gclid=CO6h59TKjL4CFY1xOgodvFcAew

 

http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/12-15-04-AUTO-TOPOFF.jpg

[NorthGaHillbilly]

a DIY auto top off has been the best upgrad Ive done for a tank

[kylhcky]

check your local craigslist/yellowpages to see if there is an aquarium maintenance company around you if a friend can't. it might cost money but they should know what they are doing, especially if you leave instructions.

[Tamberav]

If you want to take the easy approach, this ATO will fit. The sensor part that goes in the tank is fairly small and non-obtrusive.

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/AutoAqua_Smart_ATO_Automatic_Top_Off_System_Electric_Powered_Dosing_Pumps_Top_Off_Plug_In_Units-AutoAqua-CV47286-FIDPETPU-vi.html

[cindyp]

If you want to take the easy approach, this ATO will fit. The sensor part that goes in the tank is fairly small and non-obtrusive.

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/AutoAqua_Smart_ATO_Automatic_Top_Off_System_Electric_Powered_Dosing_Pumps_Top_Off_Plug_In_Units-AutoAqua-CV47286-FIDPETPU-vi.html

 

this is great, thank you! but my eyes bugged out at the price. ha! ow!

 

check your local craigslist/yellowpages to see if there is an aquarium maintenance company around you if a friend can't. it might cost money but they should know what they are doing, especially if you leave instructions.

 

i didn't even realize this was an option. great suggestion!

not sure if any of the local ones do just vacation away maintence,

but i don't see why not. a bit leery of having a stranger in the house though,

tbh.

 

THANKS everyone for your input!

 

i don't have any friends or family close enough

to do this for me, alas.

 

i am considering a maintence company or possibly

even asking if my LFS will "babysit" my tank. i'd take

it there, yep. it'd be a hair raising drive (i mean, i'd be

holding the tank, half emptied of water), but since it's

only 3 gallon pico, it's totally doable.

 

still, a little scary though. not sure.

 

but thanks for all the input!

[NorthGaHillbilly]

i am considering a maintence company or possibly

even asking if my LFS will "babysit" my tank. i'd take

it there, yep. it'd be a hair raising drive (i mean, i'd be

holding the tank, half emptied of water), but since it's

only 3 gallon pico, it's totally doable.

 

still, a little scary though. not sure.

 

but thanks for all the input!

If they wold be willing to do that for you I think thats by far your best option.

[andrewkw]

The best idea is to invest in an auto top off, not only for your vacation but to improve your overall quality of life.

[kylhcky]

while i do agree an ato is beneficial to the tanks water parameter stability, an ato won't feed the tank or clean up derbies or algae blooms that can form though, only bad things happen fast and 12 days is plenty of time for that to happen in such a small volume of water.

[Speaker73]

hello everyone!

 

i'm new to the hobby and new to this forum

as well. i'll be away for vacation 12 days in the

summer, and i have no idea what to do with my

pico 3 gallon tank? it doesn't have a top off system,

and i'm not sure if one would work with it. (i have

an aqueon zen nano tank.)

 

i have hardy soft corals, a pom pom crab, and

two sexy shrimps in there right now, with two cerith

snails.

 

evaporation and salinity would obviously be a concern.

 

any suggestions?

 

thank you.

 

Where are you located? Try a local club and see if anyone near you can babysit your tank for you.

[cindyp]

while i do agree an ato is beneficial to the tanks water parameter stability, an ato won't feed the tank or clean up derbies or algae blooms that can form though, only bad things happen fast and 12 days is plenty of time for that to happen in such a small volume of water.

 

and it'll be summer and warm. so yes, anything could happen. i agree.

i'd feel better with a babysitter, tbh. my goldfish tank? no biggie.

we had an auto feeder and they were fine last summer after 12 days!

 

Where are you located? Try a local club and see if anyone near you can babysit your tank for you.

 

i'm in southern cali! and i have a friend whose husband has

a saltwater 10 gallon, so he'd know how to take care of mine.

but... the LFS is closer! ha! so that is an option. thank you!

[masterbuilder]

+1 on the aquarium maintenance company. Counting on non-reefing friends is at best a 50-50 solution. You do need some sort of ATO unless you don't ever plan on spending more than 1 or 2 days away in the future.

[Justind823]

Hey I sent you a PM

[Go Tigers!]

An ATO Is a must have tunze makes one for smaller tanks or you could go with the controller float switch setup . I look at it as one of the best investments I've made for my tank .

[Jimmyboo]

12 days is fine in my book. I have read threads of people who have gone away for 2 weeks and found the tank perfectly fine when they got back. ATO would be pretty important, if not sealing the tank the most you possibly can, and "over topping off" a bit before you go.

[farkwar]

Hydor ATO is a deal.

 

Inexpensive. Sensor is small and accurate.

 

Has back up built in, like water high alarm, and pump pumping too long shutoff and alarm. Hysteresis built in, waves don't trigger it. I have stomatellas, and no conceivable snail guard would work for them; the Hydor sensor is stomatella and snail proof. Easyist install Ive done or can imagine.

 

You need a small slow pump for it, aqualifter would work. Mj400 is too fast out of box, and needs a valve to slow water intake.

[Jackal_Knight]

For a pico I would not recommend the hydor i love mine but as much as the water needs to drop before it activates the pump is to much for a pico. work great for a sump. For a pump I would recommend an aqualift its what I used for my pico and still use it.

 

I do have my old diy ato if your interested I can let it go pretty cheap.

[cindyp]

For a pico I would not recommend the hydor i love mine but as much as the water needs to drop before it activates the pump is to much for a pico. work great for a sump. For a pump I would recommend an aqualift its what I used for my pico and still use it.

 

I do have my old diy ato if your interested I can let it go pretty cheap.

 

thanks for the offer, jackal!

appreciate it very much. i'll be looking into

my options in june for certain.

[new-b-reefer]

Its a bit late but welcome to the hobby and the madness. I have a picoin an aqueon 4, used to be in a jbj 3 gallon picotope. I would saw cover it, plastic wrap and the power head method and maybe even the hampster bottle for good measure. I had a custom galss lid on my picotope and left it for a week without top off and everything did fine. First try to minimize evaporation. An aotu top off would be great but usually expensive. Having a fried do it is a good option. Hope you find a solution

[patback]

I think everything's been covered by now but just my input on the feeding thing... Do people really worry about feeding their fish while tey are on small vacations? If housed correctly, there is no reason most fish species won't survive off of the rocks and sand.