Going on vacation.

barneythecarney · 06/20/2011, 09:28 AM

So my 24gal tank has been running for about two months now but since I knew I was going on vacation for a week at the end of June I have yet to put any fish in my tank and my corals are limited to a frogspawn, some GSP and a small frag of zoas. So my question is would it hurt/kill my corals to not run my lights for the week I am gone? Reason i ask is because I live in a studio apartment and would need to run the AC 24/7 while i'm gone to keep my place cool enough.

aquaman05 · 06/20/2011, 09:49 AM

I would put the lights on a timer, you can get a cheap one from a hardware store for now,
as far as the a/c I guess your talking about your temp getting to high. What was you going to do just shut everything off? You can't set your ac to 80?

barneythecarney · 06/20/2011, 09:59 AM

My lights are on a timer and the ac unit I have I a crappy wall mount type that is either on or off. I was thinking since my apartment gets a fair amount of natural sun light and my corals slightly open it would not be an issue to not run my MH lamp for a week.

briankmarsh1980 · 06/20/2011, 12:04 PM

I ran my tank once for 4 days with no lights once (algae issues) and everything was fine. if you have enough light coming in a window I would think you should be ok, just guessing never tried that, my halides don't effect my tank temp though.

Dazed1 · 06/20/2011, 01:59 PM

Get a small clip on fan pointing at the water. Run it with the lights on a timer. Starting at the same time the lights start. Its a 29G. cooling it with a clip on fan is easy (available at home depot)

To help evaporation, top off before you go. Run the lights for less than the normal time.

barneythecarney · 06/20/2011, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dazed1

Get a small clip on fan pointing at the water. Run it with the lights on a timer. Starting at the same time the lights start. Its a 29G. cooling it with a clip on fan is easy (available at home depot)

To help evaporation, top off before you go. Run the lights for less than the normal time.

I do have a fan running off my aquacontroller jr as well as an osmolator for ATO. My issue is more with not wanting to have to run my AC 24/7 for a week.

Dazed1 · 06/20/2011, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barneythecarney

I do have a fan running off my aquacontroller jr as well as an osmolator for ATO. My issue is more with not wanting to have to run my AC 24/7 for a week.

Is the fan pointing directly on the water of the main tank?
I had a 10G running with a 250W MH (DE) and it cooled it fine with the fan. Ofcourse, I had 1g/day evaporation, but that was a different issue.

aquaman05 · 06/20/2011, 04:21 PM

Put that ac on a timer..lol

barneythecarney · 06/20/2011, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aquaman05

Put that ac on a timer..lol

I would if it wasn't hard wired in the wall. I think I may reduce my light schedule, not run AC and just make sure my ATO bucket is full before leaving.

gweston · 06/21/2011, 10:08 AM

A few days without lights, the corals should be fine. If it is like 7 days, the corals will prob survive. Don't know if they'll be that happy though.

For my 30 gal. I don't have an AC in the house.. but I am in New England... so days consistently over 80-90 are rather rare.

When on vaca, I take a big room fan and point it at the tank. I have a small fan on the tank that blows across the water's surface. I program the controller to kick on the fans when the temp passes 80 degrees, and shut off when at 79. My heaters maintain to 78. My lights are on a timer for ~10 hours a day.

The fans do great to keep the tank temp down. You can also set up a controller to automatically shut the tank lights off if the temp breaks a threshold. My lights shut off it the tank hits 82 degrees.

An ATO keeps the top-off going. Autofeeder runs 2x a day. I feed a bit more sparingly when on vacation. The fish do just fine. I sometimes have a neighbor stop by every 3 days to feed some pre-portioned frozen that I set aside if I am on an extended vacation. A week, I don't worry. Two weeks, I have someone check on the tank.

My tank temp has been as high as 84 degrees during a rather unusual heat wave we had the other year. The lights stayed off (automatically) and the fans and ATO kept things in line. I'd get worried if the temp gets much higher than that. The critters certainly seemed a tad annoyed at the 84 deg temp. But not in a bad way.

disc1 · 06/21/2011, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barneythecarney

I do have a fan running off my aquacontroller jr as well as an osmolator for ATO. My issue is more with not wanting to have to run my AC 24/7 for a week.

The 24/7 AC thing is just part of having a tank. Think of it as somebody is staying behind.

pwreef · 06/21/2011, 02:13 PM

They do sell AC timers you know, right? :-)

tlo25 · 06/21/2011, 02:22 PM

Change your light schedule. Run the lights at like 2 to 7 AM. Not sure where you live but that would work here in Colorado.

06/20/2011, 09:28 AM	#1
barneythecarney Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 12	Going on vacation. So my 24gal tank has been running for about two months now but since I knew I was going on vacation for a week at the end of June I have yet to put any fish in my tank and my corals are limited to a frogspawn, some GSP and a small frag of zoas. So my question is would it hurt/kill my corals to not run my lights for the week I am gone? Reason i ask is because I live in a studio apartment and would need to run the AC 24/7 while i'm gone to keep my place cool enough.

06/20/2011, 12:04 PM	#4
briankmarsh1980 I'm a member of **!!!!!! Join Date: May 2010 Location: Maricopa, Arizona Posts: 2,127	I ran my tank once for 4 days with no lights once (algae issues) and everything was fine. if you have enough light coming in a window I would think you should be ok, just guessing never tried that, my halides don't effect my tank temp though. __________________ My skim don't stink _______________________________________________________________ 210 gallons with stuff!!!!!!!

06/20/2011, 01:59 PM	#5
Dazed1 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,376	Get a small clip on fan pointing at the water. Run it with the lights on a timer. Starting at the same time the lights start. Its a 29G. cooling it with a clip on fan is easy (available at home depot) To help evaporation, top off before you go. Run the lights for less than the normal time. __________________ New DT: 57G Oceanic illuminata, reef ready, rimless. Kessil A350W, Apex lite + few other goodies.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Vacation!	clownfreak	Reef Discussion	7	02/09/2010 07:42 PM
Reef Vacations in the Carribean?	Christine	Reef FAQ's	5	12/13/1999 10:15 PM

06/20/2011, 09:49 AM	#2
aquaman05 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: indiana Posts: 722	I would put the lights on a timer, you can get a cheap one from a hardware store for now, as far as the a/c I guess your talking about your temp getting to high. What was you going to do just shut everything off? You can't set your ac to 80?

06/20/2011, 09:59 AM	#3
barneythecarney Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Southern California Posts: 12	My lights are on a timer and the ac unit I have I a crappy wall mount type that is either on or off. I was thinking since my apartment gets a fair amount of natural sun light and my corals slightly open it would not be an issue to not run my MH lamp for a week.

06/20/2011, 04:21 PM	#8
aquaman05 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: indiana Posts: 722	Put that ac on a timer..lol

06/21/2011, 10:08 AM	#10
gweston Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Gardner, MA Posts: 961	A few days without lights, the corals should be fine. If it is like 7 days, the corals will prob survive. Don't know if they'll be that happy though. For my 30 gal. I don't have an AC in the house.. but I am in New England... so days consistently over 80-90 are rather rare. When on vaca, I take a big room fan and point it at the tank. I have a small fan on the tank that blows across the water's surface. I program the controller to kick on the fans when the temp passes 80 degrees, and shut off when at 79. My heaters maintain to 78. My lights are on a timer for ~10 hours a day. The fans do great to keep the tank temp down. You can also set up a controller to automatically shut the tank lights off if the temp breaks a threshold. My lights shut off it the tank hits 82 degrees. An ATO keeps the top-off going. Autofeeder runs 2x a day. I feed a bit more sparingly when on vacation. The fish do just fine. I sometimes have a neighbor stop by every 3 days to feed some pre-portioned frozen that I set aside if I am on an extended vacation. A week, I don't worry. Two weeks, I have someone check on the tank. My tank temp has been as high as 84 degrees during a rather unusual heat wave we had the other year. The lights stayed off (automatically) and the fans and ATO kept things in line. I'd get worried if the temp gets much higher than that. The critters certainly seemed a tad annoyed at the 84 deg temp. But not in a bad way.

06/21/2011, 02:13 PM	#12
pwreef Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: New York Posts: 585	They do sell AC timers you know, right? :-)

06/21/2011, 02:22 PM	#13
tlo25 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 124	Change your light schedule. Run the lights at like 2 to 7 AM. Not sure where you live but that would work here in Colorado.