# Away for 2-3 weeks



## absun (Aug 28, 2011)

I am planning to be away for 2 to 3 weeks in the next two months. I have a autofeeder, but still a little worried about how water quality as i know it can turn nasty after a week or so. any good idea of how to keep the water clean. 

thought about automatic water change. not interested in sophisticated plumbing, but there is a video about using airtube to siphone out old water and siphone clean water back in. not sure if that would work

any suggestions are welcome


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## chriscro (Dec 3, 2010)

what size tank and how big is your bioload?


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## absun (Aug 28, 2011)

31 gallon with 2 convicts, 1 parrot and 1 juvenile green terror and 1 Bristol nose


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## cichlidspiro (May 11, 2011)

I have room in my 55 gal. For like 20-25$ I could keep them here. When you come back from your trip just drop buy and get them


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## ThaChingster (Feb 25, 2011)

Grab a neighbor to change the water once or twice. That's what I did last time I went on vacation

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

ThaChingster said:


> Grab a neighbor to change the water once or twice. That's what I did last time I went on vacation
> 
> Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk


agreed, to make it even easier, before you leave, fill 2 5 gal buckets with conditioned water. So when the friend/neighbour comes, all they have to do it suck out some water and refill.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

You could also feed very sparingly in those 2 - 3 weeks, and not have anyone bother with a WC. May be easier on the mind and easier on a potential tank sitter if they've never done a WC before.

Personally, I'd go this route. 2 -3 weeks of lighter than usual feedings won't do much harm to the fish if they're already in good health.


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## absun (Aug 28, 2011)

Thanks for the advice. I like the light feeding idea, but the lowest frequency of auto feeder is once a day. How to feed more sparingly than that?


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Just feed once a day and just a little each time. Is the minimum amount still too much per feeding?


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## chriscro (Dec 3, 2010)

most auto feeders have a physical adjustment for the amount of food which is distributed.... just adjust that, but just a couple fish can survive on almost nothing for 2-3 weeks....


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## absun (Aug 28, 2011)

Minimum amount will work though, i think the autofeeder is flexible in terms of a lot of food and none, but the question is should i use pellet or flake. I am afraid the flakes will eventually clog up the outlet if opened up too narrowly


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Set it up now and just monitor it before you leave. If you're finding it clogs, adjust accordingly.


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## absun (Aug 28, 2011)

Good call. Thanks guys


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Is the filter clogging after 1 week because you are feeding too much? If not, or even if so, might consider an extra good full size filter.


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## absun (Aug 28, 2011)

zfarsh said:


> Is the filter clogging after 1 week because you are feeding too much? If not, or even if so, might consider an extra good full size filter.


Recently added two additional intank corner filters. Hope that would give added filter power.

Tried the autofeeder last weekend and found regular pellets and flakes are too big for the lowest setting. Will try the smaller pellets form NLS to see how it works out.


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## absun (Aug 28, 2011)

First test run failed short of my expectation. only lasted for 10 days. yesterday my parrot turns cloudy eyes, which suspect due to dropping PH caused by plants, wastes, low buffer and driftwood. Remove one driftwood, one plant and add two more rocks and reduced autofeeder amount. Planning another test run for this weekend after the change and a couple PWC...


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