Tank care whilst away.

[fleetEWD]

Forum search showed a few away on holiday threads but i still have a some questions, I've got two weeks away with work and am leaving my HC carpet in the not so capable hands of the long haired general.
What is the best way to go with HC. i'm thinking reduce light period, intensity and co2 as the mrs will more than likely forget to dose ferts and a water change will def not happen. Will the HC suffer or just stop growing as quick. and should i give it a good trim before i go or just leave it?

thanks
James

 

[Jose]

Reduce light intensity and or photoperiod to a minimum of 5 hours daily. If you can reduce temperature to 22-23 degrees that would be a good idea too. Do not reduce co2. You want to keep all the plants in a sort of lethargic state where they don't grow much but also don't suffer.

 

[fleetEWD]

Sounds like a plan, will report back next year with hopefully an intact carpet. Happy new year everybody

 

[rebel]

It depends on the species but cutting down light intensity is a good bet. Some plants can suffer/flower etc etc. You can also cut down ferts/water changes by same ratio. Keeping CO2 the same is the key.

 

[Sudipto]

By keeping CO2 the same do you mean keep the bubble rate same but stop it in sync with the light? Or keep CO2 on for as long as it used to but switch lights off earlier ? Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question.

 

[rebel]

By keeping CO2 the same do you mean keep the bubble rate same but stop it in sync with the light? Or keep CO2 on for as long as it used to but switch lights off earlier ? Sorry if it sounds like a stupid question.

In theory, you can also adjust co2 but I would not change the co2 at all.

 

[fleetEWD]

I'm away now so time will tell, but with regards to co2 I adjusted the timings as I shortened the photoperiod by a few hours. So I didn't want four hours of gas in a unlit tank. But the BPS is still the same. back on the 15th so will let you know how it went.

 

[Sudipto]

Thanks Rebel and fleetEWD. Therotically, CO2 without light is just harmful gas for the fish that will also create some acid in the tank. Because no photosynthesis will happen in the absence of light. So I would tend to go with fleetEWD's strategy.

 

[fleetEWD]

Well the results are in.
My 11 nights away turned into 2 x 2 week stints with just a weekend at home. The first two weeks I reduced intensity and photoperiod with co2 adjusted around this but at same intensity. The weekend home I came back to Diatoms and poor growth but not too bad. No ferts or water changes in this period. At the weekend all I did was carry out a good trim to remove the diatoms, dosed a little all in one ferts and decided to put the lighting to full whack and 7 hours (my normal period).
After two weeks i came back to the healthiest it has ever been! no diatoms, really good growth and a nice deep green. The lack of ferts was what I was really worried about. So now i'm back i will keep it the same but will now be following the EI dosing regime. really interested as to whether i will get algae with the extra ferts as it has not had this element as of yet and has seemed to thrive without. Please see attached some photographic evidence of my success and please forgive my ghetto flow arrangements.

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