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Going Out of town...feeding methods


momo3419

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Hello, Like the title says Im going out of town. I will be gone the 16-29 then home for two days then gone for another week. Luckily My apex will be able to keep mostly everything in check. The biggest problem Im having is feeding the fish. My grandfather and father will be stoping at the house to feed the dogs and fish. Now Heres the problem I'm trying to solve.  

 

1. How to prepare 3+ weeks of frozen food

2. Water change

 

For the water changes Im kinda lost. I was thinking maybe just do a larger one before I go? 

 

The bigger problem Im having is the food part. Ive pre made a weeks worth before. Will frozen food unthawed in the fridge be fine? Ive been adding garlic and bright well Vitamin c to the food. 

 

 

Also I was thinking about getting a PM2 and salinity probe for the tank. Does anyone have would they would part with? I do have a top off line running from the garage to the tank. Maybe a breakout Box and soilined? Then be able to Turn on a saltwater supply for five minutes after they remove a couple gallons? 

 

 

Thanks In advance!

 

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I would just do a larger water change before you go.

 

To make it easy on the people watching your tank, I would probably get pellet food and maybe get your fish used to eating it. I primarily use frozen food but when I'm away I have pellets and I measure it out and have them feed every other day to every 2 days. This will also help keep nitrites from building up. Less food and less fish poop less worry that you are not doing water changes as often.

 

I measure out exactly the amount because newbies tend to overfeed and don't realize how little food the fish need.

 

I was actually gone for 5 days and fish were fed half as often and everything looked great and the water actually looked clearer.

 

I have seen lots of problems with people overfeeding but rarely for underfeeding.

 

You could consider buying an autofeeder as well but those can be risky too. I had one in the Clackamas High School tank to make things simpler and it failed and dumped all the contents in the tank and killed all the fish. :(

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My suggestion would be to either hire or train someone to watch your tank while your gone. Anything can go wrong regardless Apex or not, automation still needs to be observed for redundancy. Do you not know anyone in the Area? Or possible anyone you trust enough to feed and do a little maintenance while your gone?

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Like Kim said pellets measured out would be a good bet then, Also you can Take the frozen food cut exact daily amounts and drop it into an Ice cube tray to separate the days and keep it frozen. For a water change either get that out of the way or pick a day and make sure they know what day that is, get 2 buckets mark a line in 1 bucket and have the other bucket capped. Instruct them with a Vacuum , siphon, or pump with a hose to fill the bucket to the line, then toss the pump into the pre made salt and pump the fresh salt into the tank. I would also take the time to show them how to read a refractometer its really simple, and just right the number down next to it so maybe after they are done with the water change they can check to make sure its still the same as the number written down. No sense in paying over $200 for a PM2 & conductivity probe when it takes less than 5 min to figure out how to use a refractometer. Also be sure its calibrated before you leave.

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Not to hijack, But I'm in the same boat. I have a seven day trip to go on in about three weeks. I already feed New Life Spectrum pellets along with frozen. I've been feeding in the same spot of the tank for weeks already. So now my question. Out of all the auto feeders which one to trust?

 

Dave

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I like the cheaper Eheim too. The big fancy one feeds too much even on the lowest setting, I have one for sale if you wanted it because it feeds too much even for my 150gal.

IMO skip the frozen and just feed pellets, they will be fine. I feed about 99% pellets and even my PBT does great on them.

If you're in Vancouver I am happy to be on call of you have issues while away and need a seasoned person to help. (Been a professional aquarist for 10 years).

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Here's what I did for feeding...

Buy this:
http://www.marinedepot.com/Innovative_Marine_AUQA_Gadget_Gourmet_Defroster_Fish_Food_Clips_Feeding_Stations-Innovative_Marine-0I05093-FIFDFECF-vi.html

Seperate daily food into ice cube trays so they know only one section a day.  Or a pill box works too.  Keep that feeder in the tank and then they just have to drop one chunk of food in a day (or twice a day depending on what you do)

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Im In Gresham. Im thinking between pellets and maybe frozen once a week they should be fine. I think I have it handled if anything goes south. I will have internet where Im at. I should be able to post if I need any help.

Thanks for the advice.

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Im In Gresham. Im thinking between pellets and maybe frozen once a week they should be fine. I think I have it handled if anything goes south. I will have internet where Im at. I should be able to post if I need any help.

Thanks for the advice.

I work in that area and usually have a couple hours to kill in the mornings. Let me know if you want me to do a water change or something. It ain't a thing.
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