brownietrout

I just started my Sachaem dosing yesterday and we will be leaving Saturday and gone for two nights. I can fertilize before I leave on Saturday but wont return till late Monday afternoon. I do not have anyone who can come do this for me. How would you handle it?

miles

i suppose you could leave your lights off for the 2 days you are gone. no need to fert. it will also do wonders if you have some problem algae (keep lights off for an additional day, do a major wc before you leave and after you return).

freydo

unless you have an auto-doser, the simplest is to have a friend do it for you. just go through with them how much of each fert to put in. make sure it's someone who understands simple instructions.

i've have friends who are way smarter than me, but have the intelligence of a bag of wet hair when it comes to following verbal instructions.

and when they're there, they can feed the fish as well.

brownietrout

Well I wish I had friends that live close enough to ask for help but I live in such a remote area it would be too long of a drive. I guess maybe i have to go back to short hours of light and no fertz until I get home. Hate to have to do that but I don't know what else I can do.
what is an auto doser and where can I get one? I wont be able to use this time but when I go back to work it would be nice to have since I work 12 hour days and the only time I will see my aquarium with the lights on would be on weekends unless i set the lights to come on several hours after I leave for work which means i need to dose a few hours after I leave for work.

jmhart

I run 2 96w bulbs....when I leave for a weekend, I just turn one off and don't dose.

No complaints.

Freshwater

Hi Brownie,

I agree with both miles and JMHart - you can always cut back lighting and fert's for a couple of days with no harm done to most tanks. Once you get into High light, High Co2, and difficult plants it can become another matter. But still, a couple of days is not the end of the world.

Are you growing any high light plants? Any HC? (I've found HC can melt after a couple few days of no light

As Miles said, If you are having any trouble with algae just turn the lights out for the time you are gone, you will come back to amazingly clear water.

Any large fish? anything that can't go for a couple of days without food?

Todd

davemonkey

When I go out of town (even for 5 days), I dose the ferts for the time I'll be gone on the day I leave and have not had any major issues. If your lights are on a timer, that helps LOTS. You can get a timer for cheap at a hardware store (like Lowe's), or even WalMart.

If you don't have a timer for the lights, I'd leave them off for the 2 days and not worry about the dosing.

-Dave

Forgot to mention: if you dose all at once, dose the micros a couple hours apart from the macros to prevent precipitation and cloudiness.

brownietrout

wow Dave monkey! You can fertilize that much ahead with no problem? I really like that idea, will give it a try
Thanks

Zapins

Plants can stockpile nutrients. They can store much, much more than they need to use in a single day or even a week without dosing.

Your plants won't have a problem with nutrients if you don't dose for the weekend.

On the other hand, plants can't live without light for very long. A week is about the longest you can keep most plants in the dark without harming them. Two days of darkness won't kill your plants, but it isn't doing them any good. The best choice would be to hook a timer up to the tank and set it for 8-10 hours a day. That way you won't have to worry about problems now or months into the future.

Freshwater

Hey Brownie,

Just looked at your profile, is this specifically for your 55 gallon? Looking at what you have in there I would just cut the lights in half, does your regular dose on your way out the door and forget it. Your plants and fish should be fine.

Referring to this tank - http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...ggestions.html

Todd