There are many terms that we reefers have come to fear: RTN, Montipora eating nudibranchs, wife seeing the credit card bill, and Fedex losing the box. Unfortunately, many of us have come to fear something that we should look forward to; vacation.
While most normal hard-working people look forward to the relaxation that only being away from work for a week or two can bring, we reefers know that this is a double-edged sword as it is usually while we are on these breaks, that something running our tanks decides to go haywire.
Sadly, over the years I know of many individuals who have lost their entire tanks due to some issue occurring while they were away. Even sadder, many of these bad experiences happened to individuals well-known in the hobby and as a result, these tragedies became known to everyone.
As a result, many of us feel “tied down” by our tanks or more specifically live in fear that when we leave something catastrophic will occur and we will be helpless to manage it. While we cannot prevent all catastrophes from happening, with some good planning we can reduce their likelihood and thus be able to get away and actually enjoy our vacation and relax.
Sadly, our significant others often do not understand this and why we can’t relax on vacation and just think we are paranoid. Unfortunately for many of us, this paranoia is well-founded.
Current list of casualties
To date, my friends and I have come home to flooded carpets, RTN/STN outbreaks, algae blooms, bleached corals, fallen corals, lost expensive frags, anemones sucked into powerheads, clams spawning, fish jerky on the floor, dysfunctional lights, cooked tanks, cold tanks, time-shifted lights, irrational controllers and the worst, a blown circuit breaker during a heat wave that was not reset, killing most of my 1200-gallon sps tank.
Since it is now prime vacation time, I thought I might be able to lessen this anxiety by helping everyone to better plan for being away. Hopefully, my experience will help me try to reduce or prevent anyone from coming home to a major tank disaster.
The first step, as with everything in this hobby is proper planning. Just as we plan for much of the vacation, we also need to plan for being away from our tanks. Proper planning does not happen overnight, so take your time in making the plans, do it over a couple of days or nights so you do not miss anything. This is a multi-step process, there is not just one thing.
Don’t add anything new
The first part of the plan is simple: DO NOT under any circumstances add anything new, or change anything two weeks prior to leaving. Even if you encounter the fish or coral you have been dreaming of adding since you started, resist the need to add it. The same is with equipment or changes to equipment. I repeat: DO NOT make any changes or additions.
For some reason, the reef gods do not like change right before we leave and feel the need to punish us for doing this. Yes, I am paranoid, and yes I have made changes or additions right before leaving and yes I have returned to horrible consequences for having done so. And it is not just me, I have heard numerous horror stories from others who have tempted fate so again no changes of any kind before being away.
I am not just saying do not add any new fish or corals to the tank, but also no new lights, pumps, filter media, additives, heaters, or anything new. The reason for not adding any new fish or corals is obvious as it can bring in new pests or diseases, which if left unchecked while you are away can have disastrous effects.
When we are going on vacation, we also tend to rush things right before we leave, so we may not be as diligent in dipping and quarantining new arrivals as we are when we have time, so it is my recommendation that nothing new should be added before we leave.
Avoid fitting new equipment
In the same vein, even though new equipment is new and thus should work perfectly, there is still a chance that a new piece of equipment will malfunction. I have had new pumps, powerheads, and heaters all fail soon after I added them to my tanks, fortunately, I was around in most instances to notice when this happened. If I had been away, the results could have been very bad, luckily this does not happen often.
However, an even greater problem I have found is that when you add something new like a pump or light, etc, it may cause a slight disruption in the tank, and even though this disruption may be small in and of itself, it can be enough to cause big problems if you are away and not see what is happening.
Make fish friends
The next part of the plan is to make fish friends as I call them. That is try to find people who live close by and who share your interest and become friends, so you can look after one another’s tanks when you are away. Almost nothing has reduced my stress level as much as knowing that if something goes wrong the people who I have watching my tank can call should something major happen.
By the same token, these friends have conveyed the same sense of relief when they go away, that I am there as a backup should things go wrong. This is such a good idea that now I have several friends I trust, who I can call if a light or pump malfunctions or even if a coral just falls into another coral. So as with most things you enjoy, it is always better if you have a friend to enjoy it with.
But these special reef friends can only help if they know there is a problem and most of the people that we have help us, like our kids, or spouse, do not really know when something is wrong, so that makes it difficult to know when to call them. Fortunately, it is now rather easy and inexpensive to get an online camera that will monitor a tank 24 hours a day.
Just as having a friend who can manage my tanks has reduced my anxiety about being away, so too is having a camera on which I can look at my tank and controller values any time and see what is going on in my tank reduced my concern even more. A camera to monitor a tank costs approximately as much as the price of a nice frag, so it is well worth it.
One thing I should note is that if a tank has a lot of blue light on it, the images from these cameras will not be as clear as we would like. To lessen this issue an orange filter can be placed in front of the lens so that the image will be much cleaner. This took a while to rig up but was well worth it.
Use an aquarium monitor
Additionally, I have monitoring equipment, I use a Hydros monitor, that keeps track of the key parameters in the tank like Temperature, pH, and alkalinity. You can get monitors that will do more, and the decision of what you need is up to you. I like that I can monitor it anywhere in the world at any time.
You can also have it send you an email or text alert, should something be out of whack. In the same vein, I also use Kamoer pumps to adjust alkalinity and pH, and I can turn them on or off as need be to keep the parameters steady. This is a lot of technology for me, but it is well worth it for the peace of mind it provides.
Fit leak detectors
The last piece of technology that I have also found incredibly useful for reducing anxiety is having leak detectors attached to this monitoring system. Few things can lead to issues like water dripping from a tank can. As with the other alarms when a leak is detected a text or email alert can be sent. When this occurs the camera can be used to determine what is going on or a quick call to a reef buddy.
I have been fortunate in having a leak detected early and managed so that a major issue was prevented. A leak detector can either be attached to a monitoring system or separate, and either way, these are available at a reasonable price for what they provide.
The above suggestions are some ways of reducing separation anxiety. Some other things that can be done in preparation for a trip are also helpful. First, is that extra saltwater should be mixed up so that if there is a loss of water or a water change is necessary when you return it can be done easily.
A tank buddy can fix just about any problem if it is noticed early, but if there is a leak or an overflow problem and a tank loses some water or runs dry, there is nothing they can do without having good saltwater on hand. So mix up as large a batch as possible.
Similar preparation should occur for anything else that may run out while you are away as well. CO2 tanks for calcium reactors should be checked and filled as should the media in the reactor. The same holds if 2 or 3-part supplements are being filled, with adequate replacement solutions being on hand.
Similarly, water for evaporation replacement should be adequate with even extra being available just in case. It might even be a good idea to have two ATOs in operation just in case one fails. And even though it is summer, the heaters should also be checked just in case they are needed, to make sure that they do not overheat the tank.
Lastly, any points where clogs or blockages could occur in a tank should also be inspected and cleaned. One thing that is often overlooked is the overflows on a tank, especially if they are an over-the-side type of overflow. These can often be a major problem as despite our best efforts they become clogged or lose their siphon leading to major issues, so they should be inspected and cleaned before any trip.
How to feed fish while on vacation
Another thing that can be done ahead of time is measuring out and preparing any food or additives that you want your tank sitter to add to the tank in your absence. I no longer leave to chance how much of anything is going to be added to my tank as one thing I have found that many tank sitters seem to say is “The fish looked hungry so I just fed them a little more”.
Since I use a lot of frozen foods I cut the frozen blocks and place them in small cups in the refrigerator where they stay relatively nutritious and where they thaw gradually before they are added to the tanks. But if no one is going to be watching or feeding the tank on a daily basis, automatic feeders are the ticket. If you are going to use these, don’t get them ready the night before.
Instead, start using them the week before so that you know exactly how much food is going in and how often. You will know that they are working well if just the right amount of food is going in and the fish come to the feeder when they sense the vibration. Having this work properly can go a long way in reducing the likelihood of nutrient overload from overfeeding.
One more aspect that is often overlooked is what the weather will be like at home when you are away. Summer often brings two things: thunderstorms and heat, either of which can disrupt your tank. Also, have the sitter prepared if a thunderstorm occurs and knocks out the power.
I try to prepare the tank sitter for what to do if the power goes out for even a short time. In this case, the main things I have them look for are sump overflows or changes in times on the timers and controllers. I have one battery backup, for my main tank, and this works well for keeping any time shifts from occurring.
To ensure that there aren’t any overflows that they missed I use the above-mentioned leak detectors around all of my tanks that start shrieking should any moisture get near them. They are irritating, but they keep water leaks from becoming big problems and alert the sitter that there is a problem before they see it.
Final checks
Some other things that I do before heading off are to clean all of the glass thoroughly inside and out to ensure that I can see what is going on with the camera. All of the algae scraped off is siphoned out during a water change to slow its regrowth on the glass. All of the skimmer cups are cleaned thoroughly as are the lights.
If any corals seem to be moving or seem likely to fall I try to remount them at least a couple of days before I leave and I also try to make sure that all of the covers on my tanks are tight so that nothing can easily jump out.
Lastly, for a week or so before leaving do daily water tests to make sure things are not trending down in any way. I also do one full set of tests the day before just to make sure.
Finally, make a precise list of when and how everything that your tank sitter needs to do. List which food or additive goes where, when the tanks should be fed, and when the lights should go on and off. List which circuit breakers are for the tanks, and have them marked in the box so that if one should go the tank sitter knows which ones might need to be flipped back on. And have all of the phone numbers for all emergency tank friends listed should they not be able to get you…
Going on vacation should be fun and relaxing, but knowing how many things can go wrong with our tanks when we are away can anxiety and detract from the trip. Considering how much time, effort, and expense we put into this hobby I think I have gotten better at reducing the fear of a catastrophe occurring while on vacation. If you take these steps I’m sure you can reduce your anxiety and have the fun vacation you deserve.
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