What to do while out of town? And update...

[mduros]

We are going out of town for 4 days, leaving Thursday, coming home Sunday... Was wondering, a) fish are in a room with loads of sunlight, can I leave the aquarium lights off and just rely on the daylight from outside for those days, or do I have to get timers for the lights? b) should I worry about a vacation feeder block? My fish are used to being fed twice a day, though I know they can go awhile without food. Same with my newts, they get fed every other day, but I know that they can healthily go alot longer without food.

The update for those who followed my bacterial disease. The final victim of the disease was my ADF that I posted about. I never did find out what it was, but it wiped out half of my fish one by one, the ill fish would linger for 5 - 10 days and another would fall sick around the time the other one died. It didn't matter whether the ill were in quarantine or not. Very strange. It ran it's course though.

I had to add two bloodfin tetras right away because my sole remaining bloodfin was absolutely insane. He was zipping back and forth in the tank non-stop day and night, and wouldn't stop to eat or sleep. I was worried about his well-being. Upon seeing the two new bloodfins he just stopped. It was truly amazing.

And upon Roan's advice I added two more Boesemanis and one more Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish, and again, my original's are like different fish. And they are all shoaling together, too. But my original Dwarf Neon still likes sparring the best with the Boes. But hey, no one looks left out or wanting. I still have to move some fish from my 55 gallon into my 29 gallon, but all has turned out pretty well.

And thanks again for everyone's advice about everything!
Take care,
Mary.

 

[Lauren]

I would highly recommend getting a timer anyways, it ensures that your plants get the same amount of light every day, and you don't stress about forgetting. Honestly, its one of the best ways to spend 20 bucks. I would also not allow sunlight to hit the tank, that is a good way to get a lot of algae really quick.

As for feeding, dont' worry about them. I never leave food for my fish when I go away. They've gone for two weeks without food no problem. I just feed them a little bit more before I go.

 

[mduros]

I would highly recommend getting a timer anyways, it ensures that your plants get the same amount of light every day, and you don't stress about forgetting. Honestly, its one of the best ways to spend 20 bucks. I would also not allow sunlight to hit the tank, that is a good way to get a lot of algae really quick.

As for feeding, dont' worry about them. I never leave food for my fish when I go away. They've gone for two weeks without food no problem. I just feed them a little bit more before I go.

Thanks Lauren,
Yeah, I know what you're saying. Algae is a battle right now in my newer setup, 29 gallon. The algae in my 55 gallon dissipated once the plants got established. Not sure what it was, but it's not a problem anymore except having to remove spot algae every now and then from the front.

Okay, I'll pop for the timers now, I'm going to have to get fancy ones since I run one filter with the lights on during the day and another with the lights off at night. I was just going to forego my filter nonsense and run the night time filters the whole time, but if I'm going to pop for it, I might as well get what I ultimately want.

And good, I won't worry about feeding anyone. That way they'll be happier to see me when I get back...
Thanks,
Mary.

 

[Lauren]

I am very currious as to why you are running your filters like that. Care to inform me?

 

[mduros]

I am very currious as to why you are running your filters like that. Care to inform me?

Simple... UGFs... Originally I ran two jet heads, one side during the day and the other at night just to give my fish different currents, and to keep the bacterial growth and waste deposits more evenly distributed throughout the tank. However, recently I switched to one reverse flow head in each tank, so I run those during the day (provides little if any current) and the regular jet side at night for increased surface disturbance and tank aeration. Make sense?

 

[cyberbeer65]

Simple... UGFs... Originally I ran two jet heads, one side during the day and the other at night just to give my fish different currents, and to keep the bacterial growth and waste deposits more evenly distributed throughout the tank. However, recently I switched to one reverse flow head in each tank, so I run those during the day (provides little if any current) and the regular jet side at night for increased surface disturbance and tank aeration. Make sense?

No,that dosen't make sense to me?

 

[joephys]

Doesn't make sense to me. There really isn't a need to change the currents for your fish, but what ever floats your boat i guess.

I was gone for a week and didn't have timer for my tanks. They weren't planted at the time, but they fish were fine. A little pale for the first few hours the light was on, but other than that they were ok. Don't use feeder blocks, they just add stuff to your water that doesn't need to be there. Cold blooded critters don't get hungry like we do every few hours. After a week of not eating they will be hungry, but not starved.

 

[squall_japan]

Thanks for mduros for asking the question and for all of you who answered it. I will be gone for 9 days so was thinking of getting those feeder blocks too. Good thing i checked here first. But yeah it makes sense better for them to go hungry than to pollute the water suffocating them eventually. I found one of those automatic feeders though any success with those?

 

[mandimoron]

I've heard plenty of horror stories about auto-feeders going nuts and dumping their whole loads in tanks at once. >_o I'm sure some of them are fine, but it's not something I'd risk, personally. I'd just be worried about it the whole time I was away.

 

[mduros]

cyberbeer65 & joephys
Thanks for your replies. I need to know if what I'm doing doesn't make sense and is excessive. I've always done it this way, having a stronger current one way during the day and a gentler current at night with the other jet... However, this time around I have a whole different element of the tank being planted, and outside of what I've read about adding oxygen at night because the plants use oxygen instead of c02 when the lights go out, I have found that my fish seem more listless in the morning when I haven't run the jet at night. That is why I was considering only running the jet and not the reverse flow while I'm gone. But since some of you recommend having the lights on timers, I might as well have the whole set up on timers.

But please by all means let me know if what I am doing with the filters is unnecessary. My fish experience is from 20 years ago, and picking it back up last year, so I still need and appreciate all of the suggestions and help I can get.
Thanks,
Mary.