What to do when going away?

[Jen]

I'm going away for 2 weeks. What should I do before I go.

I will be doing a water change tonight. Should I clean the filter right before I go (2 days from now)? I will be cutting the lights in half (1.2 wpg). My co2 isn't working right now, so I'm not gonig to worry about it until I get back. And the EI will have to wait as well. I don't have a good enough I idea of what they need, so I don't want to over dose yet.

Does that sound good, or am I missing something?

 

[paulioo]

I'll be interested in knowing this too, what happens in the summer when we go away for 2 weeks with regards to the EI method.

Sorry i cant answer your question but i'd probably do the same thing your doing. Cut off Co2, reduce light and get someone to feed the fish every 2 days.
Paul.

 

[zig]

Hi guys

Canoechiq if the filter is dirty i would clean it, but its not, then i wouldnt clean it.

If you are having problems with the pressurised co2 you could allways make up a DIY mix and this should last 2 weeks, i guess some co2 is better than none.

Reduce the photoperiod and reduce the intensity of light, if you do this the growth will be slowed and so will the potential problems, use a maximum of 8 hours of light per day.

Overdosing with EI is pretty hard to do unless you administer a massive dose before you go, it should be easy to dose a weeks worth of fertiliser before you go and with the reduced light and photoperiod this should last for 2 weeks as the uptake will be much slower by the plants, you might not even need a full weeks dose of ferts to ensure you have enough, but you better than anyone will know how much the plants have been useing since you started EI, and this will really be your guide as to how much you should dose before you leave for the 2 weeks .

But there is no magic bullet unless you get automatic dosers, which are expensive.


I guess its down to common sense, unless you can trust somebody else to dose for you, but dont let it spoil your holiday, and hopefully the tank will be ok when you come back.

 

[Jen]

Awesome. Thanks Zig