Fert Vacation Question

drewsuf82 · 03-02-2013, 01:22 AM

Hey everyone!

Thanks in advance for looking at my thread. I will be leaving next Thursday for a 10 day vacation and I am wondering if theres anything I should do to prep my tanks for the time I will be away.

I plan on doing a big water change (50-60%) to make sure any and all levels are good in the tank, my lights and CO2 system regulate themselves automatically on timers.

My question is what if anything can I do about my ferting situation? Should I overfert the day before I leave or should I just let it go. I just dont want to come home to an insane amount of algae....

Thanks in advance!

Pix4c · 03-04-2013, 01:19 PM

Bump, I'm also interested

Zorfox · 03-04-2013, 04:33 PM

I'm not entirley sure. I would dose a little on the high side and decrease my photoperiod to prevent algae growth from the imbalance. Plants won't die in 10 days but algae will cover every square inch in 10 days if the tank is left with a lack of or excess of ferts and too much light. I think you should be more concerned with lighting.

**herns** · 03-05-2013, 04:37 AM

I would just decrease my lighting to 3-4hrs a day. If you are using multiple lamps, I would just use one lamp. Plants will be ok.
Do water change the night before you leave the next day.

sdbrewer · 03-06-2013, 04:11 PM

I went on vacation for a week this past January. I was worried about how to care for my high light/pressurized CO2/EI dosed tank while I was gone. After doing a ton of research and reading others testimonies I learned this was the best plan of action:

1. Do a 50% water change the night before you leave.
2. Dose your entire weekly regime before leaving, but dose your micros and macros separately. I did this by dosing the micros immediately after the water change, and then the macros the morning of my departure.
3. Cut back your photoperiod. I have a photoperiod of 8 hours, so I cut mine down to 5 hours for when I was away.
4. Adjust the duration of CO2 injection accordingly. You don't want to gas any of your livestock.

Another important thing is to adjust your timers and test them before you leave. I did this a few days before I left and am glad I did. It turned out one of my timers was malfunctioning. I was able to replace and test a new before I left.

I was nervous to see what condition the tank would be in when I returned. I was shocked to find it was in immaculate condition with a ton of healthy new growth. I did a 50% water change and the next day adjusted back to my regular regime. This method has been done by others with positive results. I'll be following it the next time I'm out of town. It was great to learn these beautiful but sensitive, maintainence demanding tanks we spend so much time on can be sustained without our guidance if proper planning is taken.

samee · 03-07-2013, 03:22 AM

I went on vacation for a week (7 days) and left everything as is. So I was dosing EI and on weekends I do the water change. I purposly did not do the water change for the whole week before leaving so all the nutrients that werent used, would get cleared by the time Id get back. When I got back, everything was fine.

Off course many things determine that, but I think the reduced photo period is a good idea.

03-02-2013, 01:22 AM	#1
drewsuf82 Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (23/100%) Join Date: May 2012 Location: Port Richey, FL Posts: 888	Fert Vacation Question Hey everyone! Thanks in advance for looking at my thread. I will be leaving next Thursday for a 10 day vacation and I am wondering if theres anything I should do to prep my tanks for the time I will be away. I plan on doing a big water change (50-60%) to make sure any and all levels are good in the tank, my lights and CO2 system regulate themselves automatically on timers. My question is what if anything can I do about my ferting situation? Should I overfert the day before I leave or should I just let it go. I just dont want to come home to an insane amount of algae.... Thanks in advance! __________________ My 55 Gallon Adventure \|10 Gallon PFR Tank \| 10 Gallon Wild Type Shrimp Tank \|Moss Growing Setup \| 20L - my newest work in progress RAOK Club Member #80

03-05-2013, 04:37 AM	#4
herns Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (160/100%) Join Date: May 2008 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2,454	I would just decrease my lighting to 3-4hrs a day. If you are using multiple lamps, I would just use one lamp. Plants will be ok. Do water change the night before you leave the next day. __________________ *#23* *VTS-253A-320, VTS 253A-1993* Eheim # 371 Ecco 2232 Classic 2213 "No CO2/poor CO2 & high light/ ferts = great way to grow algae" - Tom Barr**

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

03-04-2013, 01:19 PM	#2
Pix4c Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 33	Bump, I'm also interested

03-04-2013, 04:33 PM	#3
Zorfox Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 396	I'm not entirley sure. I would dose a little on the high side and decrease my photoperiod to prevent algae growth from the imbalance. Plants won't die in 10 days but algae will cover every square inch in 10 days if the tank is left with a lack of or excess of ferts and too much light. I think you should be more concerned with lighting.

03-06-2013, 04:11 PM	#5
sdbrewer Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (11/100%) Join Date: May 2012 Location: San Diego Posts: 185	I went on vacation for a week this past January. I was worried about how to care for my high light/pressurized CO2/EI dosed tank while I was gone. After doing a ton of research and reading others testimonies I learned this was the best plan of action: 1. Do a 50% water change the night before you leave. 2. Dose your entire weekly regime before leaving, but dose your micros and macros separately. I did this by dosing the micros immediately after the water change, and then the macros the morning of my departure. 3. Cut back your photoperiod. I have a photoperiod of 8 hours, so I cut mine down to 5 hours for when I was away. 4. Adjust the duration of CO2 injection accordingly. You don't want to gas any of your livestock. Another important thing is to adjust your timers and test them before you leave. I did this a few days before I left and am glad I did. It turned out one of my timers was malfunctioning. I was able to replace and test a new before I left. I was nervous to see what condition the tank would be in when I returned. I was shocked to find it was in immaculate condition with a ton of healthy new growth. I did a 50% water change and the next day adjusted back to my regular regime. This method has been done by others with positive results. I'll be following it the next time I'm out of town. It was great to learn these beautiful but sensitive, maintainence demanding tanks we spend so much time on can be sustained without our guidance if proper planning is taken.

03-07-2013, 03:22 AM	#6
samee Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Canada & US Posts: 273	I went on vacation for a week (7 days) and left everything as is. So I was dosing EI and on weekends I do the water change. I purposly did not do the water change for the whole week before leaving so all the nutrients that werent used, would get cleared by the time Id get back. When I got back, everything was fine. Off course many things determine that, but I think the reduced photo period is a good idea.