What to do when you go on vaca?

[mchandler]

Ok, so i set up my first saltwater fish tank. This sumer I will be taking 2 - 1week vacations, and I'm nervous leaving them in the care of my friends... what do you guys do? Does anyone here take vacations?!? Some sort of auto feeder? What happens if there's some sort of crises while you are gone? Just a thought. thanks.

 

[rich1515]

Maybe I am lucky but the woman that owns my LFS will service my tank while I am away.
If I didn't have her I would prep individual baggies of food with the proper portions for each day and set a couple of DI tanks for the person that is coming over to top off when it gets below a pre-defined line.
Upon my return I would up my water change amount the next time I did one.

 

[puffygrrl]

Go to your local LFS and ask for phone numbers of fish "babysitters". Even if thereis no professional people, you may get a bite from some experienced employee or friend. If you do hire someone, leave a key with your enighbor of friend that can monitor visits. Good luck!

 

[carsgirlsnfish]

if you're having a friend come over to help you then i would have them come over several times before you go so they can see how you do things. then, you can know whether to trust them or not

 

[sarahmorton2003]

I am so lucky!! My mother in law will stay at the house and take care of the tank and kids

 

[bwets_angel]

I guess I am just lucky because my brother lives next door to me and also has a saltwater tank so him and my sis-in-law will take care of the tank for me while I am gone. Then I will do the same for him if needed.

 

[josh]

Your best bet is to get a local reefer to atleast come over every other day. While it's ok for a non reefer to feed the fish etc., having someone knowlegable check in on the tank is the best way to go. That way in case of something drastic, such as a power failure, they will know what to do ( such as restarting a siphon etc. )
Your LFS might do it for a small fee, but just check out your local club, get active in it and you will never be without a knowledgable tank sitter........which will give you great piece of mind.

 

[dindi]

well sarah and be_wets you don't apply why even respond. we are trying to help someone who isn't so lucky to have a family member to TRY to take care of our fish when we are not around.. I would like to know as well. Glad you have fam but some of us don't.

 

[toddpolish]

I am worried about a power outage...especially cause I live up north.
Anyone around here have a generator??? Curious how that is set up/where to get one/how much....
???

 

[clarkiiboi]

well sarah and be_wets you don't apply why even respond. we are trying to help someone who isn't so lucky to have a family member to TRY to take care of our fish when we are not around.. I would like to know as well. Glad you have fam but some of us don't.
The original post stated:
I'm nervous leaving them in the care of my friends... what do you guys do?
Key words: what do you guys do?
And they stated what they do, and that was what was asked, so yeah, it does apply.
Anyways, I'm going on vacation in June and the girl at the LFS will take care of it for a small fee---but worth the no worries.