Going Away????

[susantroy1]

Hey folks:)

I'm trying to figure out how to take vacations and still maintain my WCs... Currently I have to make sure I'm gone no more than 3 days total or I start to freak out about my WCs (making my time off to worrisome) for my grow out and display tanks... I really can't rely on family members as they think I'm a bit off center, as far as the care I give my Discus, so I feel that their heart is not in it as mine is:o How do you all get around this as I have until April to come up with something as I'm scheduled to be in Gatlinburg for 7-10 days:confused: I've been really thinking of hard piping lines to auto fill and drain my Grow out tank But have not really come across a pictorial of any systems out there. any help would be great...

All The best

Troy

[dishpanhands]

How big are they? If you don't feed them and they are big enough they will be fine...

[YSS]

As for the display tank, they should be fine. I just went on a 5 day vacation and didn't feed the fish. I did a water change on Sunday, left on Monday, came back on Friday, and did another water change on Saturday. Everything was fine. As for your grow out tanks, I am not so sure.

[susantroy1]

I love it when people ask about my discus ( like a proud papa):) this is my grow out a 55g these all are from Kenny's Sept,08 Shipment

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd310/susantroy1/updateddiscuspics001.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd310/susantroy1/updateddiscuspics005.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd310/susantroy1/updateddiscuspics008.jpg

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd310/susantroy1/updateddiscuspics010.jpg

they are all about 8 months old (I like to call em my teenagers):D

This is my Display that currently has my 4 blue turqs. (almost 2 years old)

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd310/susantroy1/updateddiscuspics011.jpg

I was thinking of simply setting a 50 gal Brute barrel next to the 55g and use timers for power head H20 removal and another for fresh H20 replacement...

I think that way I could get another 2 WCs while I was away. My kids can check to see if all is well mech. wise. I trust them with feeding just not the tasks of WCs

Anyone with options??/Suggestions??

All The Best

Troy

[Darrell Ward]

If it were me, I'd just feed them well up until time to leave, do a very large water change, and leave it until I got back. They look old enough to handle a few days without eating and water changes.

[calihawker]

I had to deal with the same issue recently and I did setup an auto water change system in my grow out tank. There's quite a bit that goes into it to make sure it's relatively fool-proof (don't forget, murphy's always lurking in the shadows:mad:)

Sounds like you have some time to get it going. If this is the direction you want to go then I can shoot some pics and post them here. I can tell you the biggest hurdle is the sequence and accuracy of the timers and to be really safe there needs to be some kind of overflow just in case of an oops with the timer.

Once it's setup though it actually makes it way way easier to do water changes manual or auto:)


btw beautiful fish!!!


Steve

[John_Nicholson]

I would stop feeding them a couple of days before you left, do a big water change right before you left, and then enjoy your vacation.

-john

[LizStreithorst]

I'm with John. At that size they won't be adversly affected. And think of how glad they'll be to see you when you get back!

[susantroy1]

I'm with John. At that size they won't be adversly affected. And think of how glad they'll be to see you when you get back!

Liz,

I gotta tell ya, I'm a wreck if I spend any length of time away from them:wasntme: I guess its just that I know how much hard work goes into keeping them healthy and they are always in the back of my mind when I'
m on a weekender. Again, I plan no more than 3 days away right now. (been this way sense I began keeping Discus for the last 2-3 years:o
I'm looking to move them into the display in another 3-4 months, and remove a pair of my Blue Turqs as they finally have been getting wigglers every other week and I'd like to try my hand at raising a few but Geezzz I can't even imagine a weekend away with that routine. How do you folks do this with younger fish??
Calihawker...I'd love to see your setup if you could spare the time:) Thank you all for the inputs, I'd really love to hear from folks that have went automated and would like to share your experiences

All The Best

Troy

[rickztahone]

hey Troy how big is your display? and what type of filtration do you have?

[calihawker]

No Prob Troy, I'll snap some pics when I get home and go over all the aspects of it, pros and cons.

I know exactly where your coming from though. We live on a small farm with lots of animals and the only ones I really worry about when I'm away are the discus;)


Steve

[susantroy1]

Thanks for the time Steve looking forward to it:)
Rick, My display is a 140 Oceanic with a Tidepool II sump and an Eheim 2217canister. I also run a Vortex XL DE filter 24/7.

All The Best

Troy

[DonMD]

I've had great luck with a local teenager in the neighborhood. They love to make some money! I wrote down a detailed step by step list of the procedure, and she came over TWICE before I left. The first time to watch me do it, and the second time for me to watch her do it.

She's done a great job for me several times, and she REALLY likes the extra cash. But, she's getting older, I'll have to find another . . . :angry:

Good luck!

[Ardan]

I agree with not feeding while gone. My only concern is 8 in a 55 gal is a bit more crowded than I like to keep if I can't keep up with wc's. Maybe they will be in a larger tank by vacation time?

hth
Ardan

[susantroy1]

I agree with not feeding while gone. My only concern is 8 in a 55 gal is a bit more crowded than I like to keep if I can't keep up with wc's. Maybe they will be in a larger tank by vacation time?

hth
Ardan

Ardan,

I just posted a thread about my concerns for setting up a second 55g but as I think about it more, I think by April I may move the white butterfly and the eruption into the display. Last week the eruption laid her first batch on the up-tube of the filter;) I'm thinking she must be around 9 months or so. funny.... she laid and the others ate:o that may ease the population a bit.

All The Best

Troy

[calihawker]

OK, so here is how my auto-water change system is setup. Starting with the first pic is a 55 gallon food grade drum for aged water. The little red box with wires coming out of it is a solenoid valve for tap water coming into the barrel. These solenoids are fairly cheap and so far very reliable. I use several of them with my auto fertilizer dosing system.

From the solenoid it goes into a mechanical float switch on the inside of the barrel. A timer is set to fill the barrel and the float switch stops the fill for overflow protection. Inside the barrel is a heater, an airstone and a magdrive pump. The magdrive pumps from the barrel to either the grow out tank or the display depending on the valves located along the top of the display. A magdrive pump is also in the grow out tank and would usually be plumbed to drain. Right now as you can see I have no babies growing:o

The last pic is the aqucontroller. I can't imagine any other way to time the pumps accuratley enough without it.

So the sequence of events is, pump about 75% of water out of the grow out tank, I think it took about 8 minutes. Then the next timer would pump from the barrel into the grow out tank. That takes longer because it's going uphill, I set the timer to fill to just above the bulk head and any excess would gravity drain back to the barrel. Then the last timer trips the solenoid to refill the barrel.


I honestly don't think you need to go to this extreme with your current situation, being gone just a few days I think that the other suggestions made here make more sense, but It really is a cool way to maintain water quality with the least amount of work:D

Good luck!!


Steve

[MostlyDiscus]

Dont feed them for a few days before you go away. Do a major WC before you go. Get a laptop with a cam on it and run it like my buddy Jonboy does. Have a phone number handy.

Don,

I am 10 minutes from you. I go on vaction for one week during the summer.... lets talk..:)

Ed

[Eddie]

Dont feed them for a few days before you go away. Do a major WC before you go. Get a laptop with a cam on it and run it like my buddy Jonboy does. Have a phone number handy.

Don,

I am 10 minutes from you. I go on vaction for one week during the summer.... lets talk..:)

Ed

Thats the way to do it Ed....get yourself a Discus Wingman!!!!! I need one of those...:D

[susantroy1]

OK, so here is how my auto-water change system is setup. Starting with the first pic is a 55 gallon food grade drum for aged water. The little red box with wires coming out of it is a solenoid valve for tap water coming into the barrel. These solenoids are fairly cheap and so far very reliable. I use several of them with my auto fertilizer dosing system.

From the solenoid it goes into a mechanical float switch on the inside of the barrel. A timer is set to fill the barrel and the float switch stops the fill for overflow protection. Inside the barrel is a heater, an airstone and a magdrive pump. The magdrive pumps from the barrel to either the grow out tank or the display depending on the valves located along the top of the display. A magdrive pump is also in the grow out tank and would usually be plumbed to drain. Right now as you can see I have no babies growing:o

The last pic is the aqucontroller. I can't imagine any other way to time the pumps accuratley enough without it.

So the sequence of events is, pump about 75% of water out of the grow out tank, I think it took about 8 minutes. Then the next timer would pump from the barrel into the grow out tank. That takes longer because it's going uphill, I set the timer to fill to just above the bulk head and any excess would gravity drain back to the barrel. Then the last timer trips the solenoid to refill the barrel.


I honestly don't think you need to go to this extreme with your current situation, being gone just a few days I think that the other suggestions made here make more sense, but It really is a cool way to maintain water quality with the least amount of work:D

Good luck!!


Steve

Steve,:bounce: Awesome man!!!

I love the design. Is your grow out next to your display tank ?? I found one of the Neptune controllers with an direct connect 8 bank which I believe would eliminate the need for the solenoids.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200304612601&category=117435&_trksid=p2773.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSI%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D 40%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D54
I still believe in the manual shutoff float switches though. I'm going to try and design my storage barrels and all my pumps in the garage and plumb all the way to my fish room grow out and my display tank. That way I could manage all H20 requirements from the garage and not load up the house with excess exposed plumbing (saving the evil eye from the wife for other issues;)). I was thinking of putting in those clothes washer in wall valve connector boxes and extend from there to the tanks thereby giving a finished look. because I'm in central Fl. I could run all Piping to my fish rm from my garage outside and reenter from the exterior wall which my grow out tank is set up on. My display tank back wall is the garage wall as well, so plumbing for that is very straight forward. Both Washer H20 connection boxes would be mounted at receptacle hight. I will try and design this with Google sketchup and get a better insight as to how this might come together. The only thing I'm not sure about is the fact that I use a 50/50 RO/Tap mixture and I may still have to do that part manually and just insure that the storage barrel is filled for tank distribution:confused: Anybody else please feel free to offer suggestions and advice.

Thanks again for the ideas Steve. Now where is that Sketchup Program....

All The best
Troy

[calihawker]

No problem Troy.

The direct connect is the only way to go. X-10 modules are notoriously unreliable. You will need the solenoids though. Thats the valve that the controller opens and closes for the tap. You can use 2 solenoids, one for the tap and one for the RO then it's just a timing thing. Obviously the RO is going to take 10 times longer than the same amount from the tap. The solenoids are only like 25 bucks a piece.


Let me know how it goes if you end up doing it:)


Steve