Going on Vacation

[pisces11]

It's me agian, the inquisitive one

My family and I are going on vacation for about two weeks and will be out of the country. We wont be leaving until August 3rd, but I was wondering what I should do with my three week old aquarium. I intend to purchase an automatic food dispenser and a timer for the light. I also have someone who can come and check on the aquarium every few days. I believe my aquarium has a colony of beneficial bacteria, and I treat the water with Aqua Plus, Cycle and Waste Control. Does anyone have any other suggestions? What do you do with your tank when you go away??

Thanks

[mcps95]

Be sure to test the feeder before you leave. I generally test it for a couple days before I leave to make sure the amount of food it dispenses is appropriate. Remember, it's better to underfeed than overfeed.

If you don't have live plants, the light timer is unnecessary.

Assuming you have fish in the aquarium and it is still cycling, make sure the person checking on the aquarium will test ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, and is able to take appropriate action (do a water change) if any of the levels are too high.

Stop buying and using Cycle. It doesn't work as advertised and is a waste of money.

Mike

[JSchmidt]

Leaving a cycling tank alone for two weeks is almost certainly going to result in some dead fish; adding food while you're gone will compound the problem because there will be no one to change water as the unoxidized waste products build up.

The best bet would be to see if you can return the fish and start over when you return. Next best would be to see if you can find someone to do water changes while you're away. In any case, I wouldn't feed the fish at all while you're gone, unless you have fry. They can easily live 2 weeks without food, and they'll stand a better chance of surviving if the ammonia/nitrites are controlled (withholding food will definitely help there).

I agree that Cycle is junk and won't provide any long term insurance. The ammonia-eating bacteria in Cycle, if there are any at all, are not the kind that establish permanent residence in our tank. (That's why you have to keep adding more for it to work.) If you stop adding Cycle, you'll see a spike in ammonia after several days. Another product, BioSpira, does seem to work, but it is in short supply these days.

The easiest solution would be to return the fish. The last thing you need is to have a fish or two die due to ammonia or nitrite poisoning, only to have them add to the problem as their bodies break down and add to the ammonia load.

Good luck,
Jim