Crazy Method To Keep A Filter Cycled While Away From Home

[eaglesaquarium]

So, I am currently cycling two filters in a 10 gallon tank. I will be getting a 56 gallon tank soon (a week or so, depending on when it comes in to the LFS). Anyway, here is the reason for the question... I will be going away for several weeks over the summer and I'd rather not put someone out to dose my tank with ammonia daily. That just seems like a bother. Secondly, I don't want to lose the bacteria colony that I've been able to grow in my filter. So, I need a way to "feed" them while I am away. I've been wracking my brain about this since I started the cycle, and I believe I've come up with a reasonable, albeit "outside the box" solution.



What if I were to use an acclimatization process on my tank to slowly drip ammonia into my tank for the weeks that I am away? Obviously I would need to do some serious experimentation to get the drip rate just right for the tank, so that:

a) it doesn't add too much, too quickly... (Kills the bacteria due to a loss of food later in the trip)
b) doesn't add it too slowly (could lead to a big die off, but at least I would have some bacteria when I return.)
c) Make sure it doesn't spill all over the floor (or overflow the tank)


Does it sound feasible that I could add ammonia slowly over the course of about two weeks by doing a drip acclimation on the tank. I have a 5 gallon bucket that I could set-up above the tank and use airline tubing to slowly drip ammonia into the tank.


I figure that I could just multiply the amount of ammonia I need to use for two weeks (1.5mL * 13 days), then add extra water to the bucket based on the amount needed to create an appropriate flow rate. I am thinking that I could test this out ahead of time to make sure it is all working, but what does everyone think? Could it work the way I think? What are the potential pitfalls and dangers?


I figure, worst case scenario, the bucket spills water/ammonia all over the place, and the filter ends up without viable bacteria. No big deal, really. It's not like I am risking any fish here. Just a thought that would only inconvenience me, not anyone else.

 

[golfzzin]

Im not sure how they work but what about using an autofeeder?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I thought about that... but A) it is expensive, B) I've heard they are unreliable (condensation gets inside and spoils the food), and C) I don't think they work for liquids (I don't want to just dose it with fish food, although I guess I could just do that, D) I don't think any are programmable to work for up to three weeks without a refill.


If someone knows of one to the contrary, I'd be happy to check it out.

 

[Gelt]

The old fashioned way would be easier and slower. Stick a couple of prawns in a net filter bag and tie it if so it stays submerged, the prawn will rot, bacteria will eat away at it and produce ammonia, you filter will do the rest.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I think I'd rather go the fish food route than this... Ultimately, I'm looking for a "cleaner method" although this could certainly work. I was also hoping for something a little more sanitary and quantifiable. It may not be possible though...

 

[jkilby]

I thought about that... but A) it is expensive, B) I've heard they are unreliable (condensation gets inside and spoils the food), and C) I don't think they work for liquids (I don't want to just dose it with fish food, although I guess I could just do that, D) I don't think any are programmable to work for up to three weeks without a refill.


If someone knows of one to the contrary, I'd be happy to check it out.

Eheim do a liquid auto-feeder (link below) that is aimed at dosing liquid plant fertiliser into your tank over a long period of time, so this would work if you went that route, but the big down side to the better auto-feeders is that they are expensive (£70+), especially if you are planning on just using them for this task alone. Personally I think that the 'bag of prawns' idea is a good one.

http/www.eheim.de/eheim/inhalte/index.jsp?key=liniendetail_27669_ehen

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Yikes! $60 for this is a little more than I am willing to do...


I appreciate the suggestions, but I think I will try to find another option besides the prawns. I'm not sure how the wife would feel about that (and to be honest, I'm not sure that I am entirely pleased with the idea either.) How would I know the ammonia levels it would produce during that period? Would it create too much, or not enough to keep the "good" bacs alive and thriving?

 

[This Old Spouse]

I personally don't see what's wrong with your idea! I think it's very clever, actually, and doesn't use anything as disgusting as rotting prawns. Shouldn't be any reason it would spill and cause a disaster, as long as you're careful with the placement.

An alternative but the same idea ... what about an I.V. drip bag from the hospital supply? I don't know if they're readily available, but shouldn't be too expensive.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

I use a method to drip liquid calium in a snail tank no reason it wont work with ammonia. Small 500ml water bottle drill a small hose near the base, a valve that reduces air flow on a air pump siliconed into the hole, bit of hose from the vave into the tank place bottle on hood of tank to gravity feed and just adjust the valve for flow i do 1 drop every 3-4 sec for calium happy days

 

[StandbySetting]

You could dilute ammonia down into a solution and calculate how concentrated it would need to be based on a constant dosage, you could have a reservoir with the solution in and an air line with a knot in it providing a constant siphon, you could then record the volume it delivers per day, and then make up your ammonia solution.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

You could dilute ammonia down into a solution and calculate how concentrated it would need to be based on a constant dosage, you could have a reservoir with the solution in and an air line with a knot in it providing a constant siphon, you could then record the volume it delivers per day, and then make up your ammonia solution.

That's basically what I was thinking... I would have up to about 5 US gallons of available volume for the solution, so I should be able to make quite a large amount... I've never done any kind of drip acclimation... how many drops per minute would be recommended? I'm thinking that I want to keep the number of drops per minute very small, like 6 or something. I suppose I am going to need to calibrate that.

IF 20 drops = 1mL, then 6 drops per minute would mean that I would need a little over 8 liters of solution for 19 days. If the amount is actually that small, I might just make up double, since I have the room for it, just to make sure I don't run out. The next question would be about evaporation... Do I need to worry about the level of the tank before I leave being too high, or will the tank have enough evaporation to make up for the amount being added by the drip process?

 

[StandbySetting]

20 drops doesn't always = 1ml, as it depends on the density and viscosity of the solution, there's no need to even take drops into account, fill up your 5 gallon reservoir and siphon water out of it with air line that has a not tied into it, aim for 1 drip every second, and place the end into a jug, and see what volume of liquid comes out after exactly 24 hours.

as long as your tank has a lid evaporation shouldn't be too much of a problem.

 

[roadmaster]

Several weeks would I fear take quite a bit more than five gallons at even very slow drip.
You could as mentioned set up drip and see how long five gallons would last?
I might consider placing a small goldfish in the 56 gallon with a hand full of floating plant's.Goldfish would feed on the plant's and produce enough ammonia to keep biological filter ticking.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That's an interesting suggestion, but what do I do with the goldfish at the end of that time?






Secondly, I am planning on getting a drip acclimation kit from Foster and Smith like the one below:

I figure that the little knob should give me better control over the drip rate. If I can get the drip rate to somewhere around 6-10 drips per minute, then I wouldn't need more than 5 gallons total to be added, and I can adjust the ammonia concentration based on how much actually is added per day.





An alternative could be a very small shoal of fish I do intend to keep (maybe 5 or 6 harlequin rasboras), and add an autofeeder to the tank... but does that feed slowly enough to last a few weeks? Or, instead of adding prawn in a net, what about just adding some shrimp pellets to the tank instead? Still not as "clean" as I am looking for, but still less complicated. Or adding brine shrimp eggs to the feeder instead of shrimp pellets. I don't know... I'm just trying not to inconvenience anyone in this whole process, without coming home to a mess in my tank...

 

[roadmaster]

Good point with regards to goldfish. I have a 40 gallon tub on the patio that I keep a few in with some pond lillie's for the grandchild .
Most times I use them for Flathead bait, but the grandaughter has become wise to this.She started naming the fish and became curious when fishes she named were gone, and new ones appeared.