Leaving town, any special precautions?

[lordroad]

I'm leaving for my honeymoon on wednesday morning and the house is going to be sat on by my brother. Duration of trip is ten days... I was wondering if there's anyhing I should do other than a good water change before I head out.

Other than topping off with fresh R/O water every other day, is there anything else I should tell him to do? I think I'm going to have him feed once a day... or would it be better every other day like freshwater fish?

I'm also going to show him how to use the magnetic algae pad cause the front panel is really getting gunky.

Unfortunately a timer is not possible right now, I'm going to have him be as regular as possible with turning the light on and off. Does 10 hours of light sound like a good number?

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

I'd have him feed them every other day, because non-fish people always seem to overfeed anyway, so better to overfeed every other day than everyday.

 

[1979camaro]

honestly, in a SW nano i would say feed maybe only every 3rd or 4th day just to be safe...the fish can always graze on the LR. other than that and topping off there isn't much.

ten hours a day should be more than fine for light (no corals right?). why isn't a time feasable?

 

[lordroad]

yep, no corals, only a fledgling feather duster that just popped up a week ago

I have two timers, and neither of them allow for grounded plugs. I really need to invest in a grounded unit but just haven't had the time lately. I keep the lights very regular now, but I'd like to get it on a more precise circuit.

My power strip is also very crowded... and most timers are clunky. Do you know of any unit that would be tight and would only expand a little but further out (in circumference) than the plug?

 

[Shipley18]

hmmm my grandpa has one that would work I willask him where he go tit i would bet fleet and farm, otherwise how often is your brother coming to your house? just have him turn them on and off, depending on the distance he most travel.

 

[aresgod]

i agree with camaro about the feeding, fish can regularly go 7 days without eating, plus there is stuff in the tank for them to munch on. when i go away for 4 or 5 days i dont have anyone feed them at all.

 

[1979camaro]

probably aren't any timers which aren't bulky however if you look in the garden section you might find one which will work. they are designed to be stuck on a stake so they have a short cord where they plug in...i screwed the timer into the stand next to the powerstrip...lemme look for a link

 

[1979camaro]

http://www3.shopping.com/xGS-intermatic_24_hour_timers~NS-1~linkin_id-3062442


its the one on the left: kind of spendy but i like having it like this. home depot has them

link didn't work...trying again

 

[dbacksrat]

just a note on topping off--it is warming up here in az (it was about 90 F today)...i have noticed that water evaporation is increasing (meaning daily top offs are become more and more)...i can't wait until it reaches 115 F here...i'll probably be topping off 3 gallons of FW per day (meaning ~1/10 of my current water volume)

 

[1979camaro]

dude, you need an auto top off

 

[lordroad]

thanks camaro, that's perfect.

d-backs rat (heh, finally just got your name ) yeah, it's heating up here too, but nothing like AZ. I have noticed a difference, and i'll probably be needing to top off daily too pretty soon.

I bet in your arid climate it's insane. Last time I was in Phoenix, we stayed at a buddy's house, and I ate a grapefruit off a tree that was growing in his yard, threw pieces of the skin on the "grass", and when we got back that afternoon, it was like pigskin on a football.

You got any Saguaros growing in your yard?

 

[dbacksrat]

no saguaros yet...i wouldn't be surprised though

camaro--i've heard of an auto top off, but that is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too technical and involved for me...anyway, do you happen to have one of your amazing links that you always seem to have ready for the clueless ones (mostly me)?

 

[1979camaro]

for sale: http://www.spectrapure.com/St_alc_p3.htm

or to build: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~delbeek/topoff.html

 

[dbacksrat]

oncemore you come through--thanks again

 

[wayne]

Tunze and aqua medic and I'm sure others make nice auto topups. I particularly like the tunze, they need to have good ones as their skimmers are super fussy on water levels being constant

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

ABout the bulky timer. I found none slim enough to fit neatly into a powerstrip, so I opted for a 3-pring extension cord, and then plugged the timer into the extension cord.

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

prong, not pring
that's not a new fancy gizmo or anything

 

[1979camaro]

"pring" eh? where can i get me one of them thar prings? ive got to have one!