going out of town. not sure what to do.

[sillysidewinder]

I am about to go out of town for 9 days... I have a 25 gallon reef tank. I am not sure I am going to be able to get a "reefer" to take care of my tank. Does anyone know ways to get a tank taken care of while I am away? I know that I should do a water change pretty much the night before. I think my tank should be fine without a water change for 9 days, however what about cyano algae buildup? I have two clownfish, would they be ok to be fed every other day so I don't have to have someone over everyday? I think that the most important things would be feeding and top off. I don't have an ATO and don't have the money to get one either. Are there any reasonable services around the city that would be able to take care of my tank? I don't really have much money to blow on that...

 

[CONSTANTNE]

9 days should be fine as long as the tank is being topped off regularly. If your having something feed the fish every other day maybe they can top off too, just make sure they understand to put the RO in the sump or back chambers to let it mix before it gets to the display.

 

[sillysidewinder]

anyone happen to have an auto feeder or auto top off that i could borrow?

 

[fishman1069]

I know that a couple of the vendors and members offer services like that. Maybe you should throw up a post like that. If I was closer, Id do it for you.

 

[Levito]

I'd actually recommend doing the water change a few days before you leave and not the day before. You're changing the water balance in your tank when you do a water change, and it's always possible something goes wrong afterwards. If you give yourself a few days after, at least you'll have a chance if something goes wrong. Better off leaving a tank that's stable if you're going to be away for some time.

 

[irvp13]

+1 with levito. Feeding everyother day would be just fine. Top off and dose for Alk.

 

[DJYoshi]

I went away for 17 days and this is what worked for me:
30/20/10 water change leading up (30% on Monday. 20% on Wednesday. 10% on Thursday).
I left on Saturday morning.
ATO: probably the most important thing that you can do. I'd actually suggest just buying an ATO sensor for $80. 1 of thebest things you can ever have for the tank.
Auto Feeder set to feed every other day at the same time.

Don't be scared..I know I was, but honestly, I came back to a healthy tank (some apasia...but there was coralline all over the place when I got back..and the growth with the coral was crazy [kind of makes me 2nd guess target feeding every 3 days]).