George Farmer
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I’m away from home (going to Tucson, Arizona) for 4 weeks soon and my planted tank will be left alone for 2 weeks until the wife gets back from Malta. I’ve got the trusty neighbour feeding the fish (she’s performed well in the past) but I’m unsure of how to go about maintenance just before I go away. I’m come up with the following plan; any other suggestions would be welcome.
1. Day before I go do big (30%) water change, clean filters (no too clean obviously), add fertilisers as normal.
2. Refresh my co2 (yeast, sugar) bottles.
3. Prune plants back A LOT, especially fast growers (I normally prune twice a week)
4. Alter timer for lights from 10 hours to 8 (4 on 4 off 4 on).
5. Prepare RO/tap/fertiliser water mix in bucket with air-stone running so the wife can perform water change when she gets home.
6. Give her a crash course in plant pruning, water parameters and testing (she takes no interest in the maintenance side, just likes showing the tank off to friends!)
My main fear is that I’ll come back to a massive algae infestation as has happened before. I’m fairly confident though if the co2 stays running then the plant growth will stop this.
Have I missed anything?
1. Day before I go do big (30%) water change, clean filters (no too clean obviously), add fertilisers as normal.
2. Refresh my co2 (yeast, sugar) bottles.
3. Prune plants back A LOT, especially fast growers (I normally prune twice a week)
4. Alter timer for lights from 10 hours to 8 (4 on 4 off 4 on).
5. Prepare RO/tap/fertiliser water mix in bucket with air-stone running so the wife can perform water change when she gets home.
6. Give her a crash course in plant pruning, water parameters and testing (she takes no interest in the maintenance side, just likes showing the tank off to friends!)
My main fear is that I’ll come back to a massive algae infestation as has happened before. I’m fairly confident though if the co2 stays running then the plant growth will stop this.
Have I missed anything?