Holiday Lighting

[M4ndy]

I have 60 L planted tank with 4 danios, 2 mollies, 5 bandit corys and 3 mollie babies (about 2 weeks old)

I'm off on holiday for 8 days. My tank is a complete unit and the light doesn't have a timer. Should I leave it on or off. I'll get loads of algae if I leave it on but will the plants die if I leave it off?

Also will the fish be alright without food? I think the grownups should be okay but I was a bit worried about the fry. I could get a neighbour to come in half way through the week and feed.
Has anyone tried those tetra gel blocks yet?

 

[lym]

Why don't you just go buy a timer from Argos? They only cost a few pounds. It won't do your tank/plants any good leaving the lights on or off for a full two weeks.

 

[dthoffsett]

My tank is a complete unit and the light doesn't have a timer. Should I leave it on or off. I'll get loads of algae if I leave it on but will the plants die if I leave it off?

Also will the fish be alright without food? I think the grownups should be okay but I was a bit worried about the fry. I could get a neighbour to come in half way through the week and feed.
Has anyone tried those tetra gel blocks yet?

If your tank is situated where it will get some natural sunlight, I'd take a chance on the plants dying back a little and leave the light off. Your fish need down time too, and algae once established can be a bear to get rid of.

I think having your neighbor stop by and feeding the fish is your best bet, I've never used the tetra gel blocks, but all the "vacation feeders" I've come across are rubbish. Besides, food sitting in your tank will add to the bioload.

If you have your neighbor stop by, make sure you put the amount of food you want your fish fed in a twist of foil, or a baggie or something, then hide all of your fish food, so nobody gets accidentally overfed.

And finally, enjoy your vacation!

 

[mark.w.jones]

If you are only going away for 8 days then you don't need to worry about feeding your fish at all. They can easily cope by scavanging around the tank for leftovers for that length of time. I regularly leave my 45litre tank for a week when I've been away in the past and there have been no problems.

The timer is probably your best bet for your light or just leave it switched off for the 8 days. Don't be tempted to leave it on the whole time. You'll get loads of algae, probably over heat the water a degree or two and may well lose some water due to evaporation.

 

[Birdie]

Perhaps the OP has a tank like my 6g betta tank. Idiotically, it is made so that the heater is on one plug, and the *filter* and light are connected together so that one wire goes into one other plug . therefore putting it on a timer would mean that the filter would also be on the same timer . As this was my first tank, I didn't think to check for such a ludicrous arrangement before I bought it.

I decided that it would be better to leave my light off rather than on. As it turns out, my neighbour is an ex-fishkeeper with many years' experience, and was kind enough to give my fishie/plants a blast of light for a few hours a day once or twice when I was away. I wasn't about to ask him to fiddle about switching lights on and off (and feeding) *every* day for my entire holiday.

 

[M4ndy]

I'm afraid I was a bit stupid when I bought this tank! It is a complete unit with heater, filter and light all on one plug, you can get the same tank with a built in timer but I didn't realise it would be a problem at the time!
Thanks for all the advice, I think I'll have to leave the light off and hope for the best. If I make sure all the doors are open the tank will get a bit of sunlight.
Still unsure about feeding, opinions seem split, either don't feed at all or get the neighbour in! Maybe I'll just ask her to come in once mid week!

 

[vinylman]

The week before you go away, just give them one small extra feed daily. The week away will be no problem. Oh, and do a water change the day before you go.

 

[kewskills]

The week before you go away, just give them one small extra feed daily. The week away will be no problem. Oh, and do a water change the day before you go.

i agree with vinylman

 

[Birdie]

I read several threads on this forum about holiday feeding before I left my fishies.

I was left in no doubt at all, having read the posts of several people round here whose opinions I have come to trust ,that on the whole, fish will be absolutely fine for a week or even ten days with no food. Absolutely fine. ( unless they are fry, and the other exception I noted was if you were pushing your luck with compatibility you might just come home to fewer, but fatter and smugger fish.... )

Far too many people expressed doubt about/bad experiences with holiday food-dispensing thingummyjigs for me to trust them with the well-being of my fish

Having a neighbour come in to feed your fish has its dangers. Non fish-keepers are wont to over-feed (in which case you might come home to fewer, fatter, *dead* fish) . One suggestion is to leave out pre-dispensed food, labelled with each day/tank - *and hide everything else*

I am really lucky in that my neighbour, as I mentioned in my previous post, is a very experienced tropical fishkeeper himself - *far* more experienced than me - and as he was feeding my cat anyway, didn't mind doing a bit of fish-feeding too .

 

[martyn21uk]

Just on a note about the electrics for your tank. I have the same set up with filter, heater and light all off of the same plug. I have now re-wired it so I have the light off of a seperate plug with a timer. It takes a little basic knowledge to undertake such a task as you do need to be careful with electricity and water (so I'm told) but a 3amp connecter block, 3 amp flex and 3 am plug, all from B&Q was all I needed. Then it was just a case of opening the casing on the lid, trace back the wires that are for the lights and connect them seperately rather than through the main unit. I then fed the wire though where the switch for the light was previously and job done. pm me if its something you think you could do and I'll happily talk you through it in more detail and answer any detailed questions you have?

 

[ziggyboy]

Just my 2c on leaving the lights off...

Why don't you leave your house lights on instead or get a fluorescent desk lamp, leave it in an acceptable distance from a tank such that the plants get 25% of your tank light. That way, you can leave the lights for 24 hours and not worry about getting algae too much. I think 25% of your tank light is much better than pitch dark for 8 days.

 

[M4ndy]

Thanks so much for all the help. I've been feeding them a bit extra this week and will clean tank before I go then just leave them for a week. The mollie fry are looking a bit bigger so hopefully they'll be okay. (Mrs Mollie is starting to look fat again so I may come back to more fish than I left!)
I haven't got time to fiddle with the electrics before I go so I'll set up a lamp as suggested. When I get back I will look at separating the wiring for the lights. Thanks Martyn thats a great idea!
Bye for now, off to sunny Cyprus!