Going away

[elmo]

I going away for 2 weeks in September and after reading some of the topic's about 3 day feeders etc I’m not sure about feeding them. I’m also unsure on what I should do about the light as it isn’t on a timer and I don’t want to leave it on for to long. i have someone who was going to check on them 3/4 times whilst i'm away.
Grateful for any advise

 

[Bloo]

This recent thread should help you out. There is also an excellent link in there by rdd1952 on holiday planning (right to the bottom of the thread). Hope that helps.

 

[The-Wolf]

I'll tell you what I did, and you can make your own judgments as to suitability for you.

1 week before departure
started feeding half the amount half the numbers of days
(so instead of feeding every day every other day)
day before departure
performed a 50% water change (no feed)
day of departure
fed very small amount
day of return
50% water change (no feed)
day after small feed
for the next week I built back up to regular feeds and amounts.

I didn't lose a fish doing this and I was away for 8 days. At the time I had 4 tanks, in various sizes, running.

as for your lights, unless you have a heavily planted tank
leave them off. If your tank is planted, I suggest investing in a timer for them.

 

[ncjharris]

for anything over 8 - 10 days I would always want someone to come in and feed the fish, once every 3 - 4 days is fine,

Went we went away for 3 weeks, I followed pretty much the same regime as wolf, but set aside food pots for my folks to feed the fish. Then on return a 50 - 70% water change, and everyone was hunky dory.,

I too would reccomend a timer for the the lights, They are invaluable, not only for holidays but if you are a little lazy or forgetful! you dont say where you are, but here in the UK you can get them for under a fiver from places like Robert Dyas