First vacation coming up. Getting scared.

[biofool12]

So like the title says, my first vacation since me getting my reef tank started is coming up. My tank will be 6 months old by then. Any tips or tricks from some of you experienced tankers?

 

I have a Biocube 16G

2 clownfish

8 corals, mixed, LPS, Shrooms and Zoas

11 Snails

Pretty big pod population (Hopefully this will be enough for the 2 clowns to eat while I'm away?!?!)

 

Will be going away for 2 weeks. I have an ATO, timer on my cheato light and timer on my reef lights already. I will install a second heater that has a preset temp of 78 degrees, my current heater is set to 80 so that will only come on if the main heater fails. My ATO container is more than big enough to supply fresh water for 2 weeks. 

 

This is what I have so far:

Do a large water change a day or two before leaving

Clean the back chambers 

Trim the chaeto more than usual to allow 2 weeks of growth with no space issues

I was also thinking about not running filter floss. My filter floss will get pretty clogged within a week and it starts to disrupt the flow to the back 2 chambers. I usually change it every 2-3 days and it's not THAT bad. I just don't want it to get clogged up to the point where the water flow will be considerably lower.

 

What else would you guys recommend? Lower temp? Shorter light schedule? 

 

My main concern are the clownish since they will not be directly fed. I can possibly ask my LFS to hold them for me while I'm away?

 

[ajkochev]

43 minutes ago, biofool12 said:

My main concern are the clownish since they will not be directly fed. I can possibly ask my LFS to hold them for me while I'm away?

You can get a automatic feeder that would do pellets while you are gone for the fish.

[Clown79]

2 weeks without food is a long time.

 

You will need to get an auto feeder for them.

 

I would not alter the temp while you are gone.

 

I would do a waterchange a few days before because in the event anything were to happen and needs correcting, you won't be headed out the door or already on vacation.

[SaltyBuddha]

I agree with Clown on the WC a few days before. Also, get an automatic feeder. They are easy to use and will make you feel better about leaving the fish. 

[patback]

I am on the other side of the fence.  For 2 weeks 2 clowns will be absolutely fine without food.  Pods like you said are good. They may be dwindling when you come back, but your clowns should not be thinner looking.  

I went to the GBR for 2 weeks a few months ago.  No issues when I came back and all I did was top off a little extra before I left.  I do have a plastic lid though, so that kept down on evaporation. 

[SaltyBuddha]

@patback I'm going to use your signature quote the next time I am drinking and doing a water change, "We're a drinking group with a reefing problem." Love it

[patback]

Lol. I turned signatures off so I didn't even know I had a quote in there.  I believe credit for those wise words go to @jack1978

[jcreefer]

I’m in the same boat, two week vacation coming up during the summer.  Have Apex to monitor, lights scheduled and ATO.  I’m having a family member come by to switch out the water reservoir but am concerned with the two clown fish.

 

Any recommendations for a reliable auto feeders?

 

Jeff

[biofool12]

Thank you everyone for the responses. The only issue I have with a autofeeder is that I feed my clowns reef frenzy nano so I can't see putting that in one of them haha. I guess i'll be on the lookout for a quality Auto feeder and quality pellet/flake food.

[psidriven]

i've used the eheim every day fish feeder for years w/o problems. you may need to modify it if you feed smaller amounts of smaller size pellets. I just stuck a piece of tape on the opening and cut a hole to my liking.

[xthunt]

I had a week long vacation a few weeks ago. I got the Fish Mate F14 feeder over a drum feeder because I could ration out exactly how much gets dropped. Pellets like to float, so I made a simple feeding ring out an empty NLS pellet container. Empty 2l soda bottle would do the same. I put the feeding ring in a few days before, and fed from it to get my clown used to eating from it. 

[Reefaddiction]

You’ll need to say 20 hail Mary’s before leaving.....

   vacation is a huge stress for me as well. It’s best if you have a friend or family member who can at least check on the “house” wink wink while your away and just tell them to feed the fish and make sure there is still water in the tank. 

   Haha I would dread having to fix an issue with the tank by describing what to do over the phone to a person who knows nothing about tanks... smh lol there are so  many wires on my system they wouldn’t know where to start.

   Enjoy your vacation, it will be ok!

[kimberbee]

20 hours ago, patback said:

Lol. I turned signatures off so I didn't even know I had a quote in there.  I believe credit for those wise words go to @jack1978

It was actually RTF... one of those moments when you can actually tell what he means... 

[Martin Riggs]

Yea I would have a family member or competent person look over the tank.