Brolly33 Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 I am headed out on vacation for 15 days and thinking about options for feeding the CRS tank while I am gone. It's a mature 12 gallon long. I have solid filtration (Eheim ecco pro 130) with dual sponges on the inlet. The CRS seem pretty happy and breed quite often. In a typical week I feed 2 pellets of snowflake + 3 matcheads of Bacter AE + 1 little stick of Azoo Max Breed. My trip is a few months away, so I have time to experiment. I was thinking of just dropping a ton of snowflake in. (or slighly less than a ton... maybe a metric ton?) I considered one of those little feeder pyramids for about 30 seconds, but I think it will mess with my GH and TDS too much and would overfeed terribly. Considering one of the rotational daily feeders with just a small amount of BacterAE in it. Maybe I can solder a resistor in to make it rotate once every 3-5 days instead of once a day... I could just let them graze and hope for the best. Other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlantDude Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Snowflake option is good or also dropping in some mulberry leaves/natural products they can graze on over time. Shrimp Life, sarah, Mr. F and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Yeah i'd avoid a large amount of snowflake and go the more natural leaf or similar route. I'd be more concerned with water evap. Brolly33 and sarah 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokeshrimp Posted February 19, 2016 Report Share Posted February 19, 2016 Maybe use a feeding dish and drop about half a metric ton in there. Also add a couple of IAL and you should be good to go. Brolly33 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brolly33 Posted February 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 @plantdude I have never tried Mulberry leaves before, do you have a favorite supplier? Do you use them the same as Indian Almond leaves (IAL) - boil and drop in? @bostoneric I have some IAL that I have used from time to time in my shrimp tanks. Thanks for that reminder. I will go that route. Water evaporation will be substantial, and will push my parameters out of whack as TDS and GH will rise slowly. I loose about 1 gal/week, so 1/6 of total volume loss. I have some float valves around here somewhere and could rig a 5gal on a gravity feed ATO but I worry about the float getting stuck open and coming home to a ruined floor. If I water change just before leaving and drive my TDS down to about 140, I should still be under 180 in 15 days from evaporate + food. Hmmm. Need to run the test @pokeshrimp sounds like a double snowflake + grazing on IAL is the popular idea. Thanks for the suggestions. Any others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brolly33 Posted February 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 OMG. I just found this DIY feeder design on U-toon that has me laughing and impressed at the same time https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CgfZN8JOuxo Too much food, so I cannot use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daneland Posted February 20, 2016 Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 OMG. I just found this DIY feeder design on U-toon that has me laughing and impressed at the same time https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CgfZN8JOuxo Too much food, so I cannot use it. Maybe it is not for shrimp but will certainly use for my main tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokeshrimp Posted February 20, 2016 Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 Buypetshrimp sells these cinnamon sticks wrapped in a bunch of different leaves. I've read they're perfect for vacation food. svetilda, Mr. F and Trotwood 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah Posted February 20, 2016 Report Share Posted February 20, 2016 I'm a huge fan of Tantora amaranth and ready mulberry leaves. No need to boil either of them. Just drop in the tank. They will float for a while, then sink. My shrimp start eating them upside-down before they've even sunk, but they really swarm them once they're down and a bit softened. They won't foul your water, and you could drop a bunch in before you leave. That along with snowflake should really help. You could also drop in a couple cholla pieces. Shrimp love those too. As for evaporation, you might be able to rig up a slow drip system, or even just cover most of your tank with a piece of plexiglass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
californiashrimp Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 I would go with leaves. Add some snowflake when you leave too as a kind of booster. If it is an established tank then between biofilm and leaves I would be confident they will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vpier Posted February 21, 2016 Report Share Posted February 21, 2016 @plantdude I have never tried Mulberry leaves before, do you have a favorite supplier? Do you use them the same as Indian Almond leaves (IAL) - boil and drop in? @bostoneric I have some IAL that I have used from time to time in my shrimp tanks. Thanks for that reminder. I will go that route. Water evaporation will be substantial, and will push my parameters out of whack as TDS and GH will rise slowly. I loose about 1 gal/week, so 1/6 of total volume loss. I have some float valves around here somewhere and could rig a 5gal on a gravity feed ATO but I worry about the float getting stuck open and coming home to a ruined floor. If I water change just before leaving and drive my TDS down to about 140, I should still be under 180 in 15 days from evaporate + food. Hmmm. Need to run the test @pokeshrimp sounds like a double snowflake + grazing on IAL is the popular idea. Thanks for the suggestions. Any others? Do you have any friends or family that can add water once a week for you? Have a few gallons of RO water ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shift Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 If your tank is mature they should be fine while your away If your worried about evaporation buy or build a cheap auto top off. I have them on all my tanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenteam Posted February 22, 2016 Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 Feeding is not a big deal I have gone a month without feeding a single thing and 0 issues. The real issue is evaporation so I would recommend you find a cover for the tank. I would think about going to Lowes and get picture frame glass since it's ultra cheap and they cut it for you. The glass cover even if just temp will cut back on evaporation big time. Or you can be lazy like I was before and toss some saran wrap. Was gone for 2 weeks and had almost no evaporation lol. Brolly33 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brolly33 Posted February 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2016 I boiled up an IAL and tucked it away in the corner. So far the shrimp have been unimpressed with it, but I think that will do the trick for my 2 week vacation. Thanks for the wide consensus and suggestions on that topic. Evaporation is an important part of my overall shimp-ecosystem due to it's cooling effect on the tank. My AC runs 78F and my tank runs about 75F. Covering the tank will effectivly raise the temprature while maintaining water level and mineral concentrations. If I cover the tank, I think I should also shut off the CO2, due to much lower O2 exchange (especially if I used saran wrap) If I add an ATO (overall it's an attractive idea) I increase risk of flooding (depending on how sophisticated I get) If I ATO, I will need an additional reseviour of pure RO for top offs. If I were to drip ATO with overflow, I would need to drill a hole in the wall for the wastewater. This would have to be done in top secrecy to avoid the wrath-of-spouse. I typically do not top off but instead do a 10% water change once a week. Start of water change is typically about 150-170TDS Incoming water is 110-120TDS reconstituted RO (with ferts for the plants) Post change TDS is usually around 140-150. There are no neighbors close that I would trust with my tank. I am leaning heavily towards KISS and not do anything about evaporation and simply water change when I get home. (Tank with IAL tucked away) Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarah Posted February 23, 2016 Report Share Posted February 23, 2016 I think you should shut off the CO2 either way, and maybe turn down light times or intensity a bit to limit evap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brolly33 Posted May 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 I dropped the CO2 3 weeks ago. Plants still happy. Temperature stable. IAL in place. Filter changed. I did a 14 day stretch without feeding or topoff. Water parameters crept up but well within happiness margins. Not even the berried ladies seemed to mind or notice. All set for my trip. Thanks for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpie123 Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 6 minutes ago, Brolly33 said: I dropped the CO2 3 weeks ago. Plants still happy. Temperature stable. IAL in place. Filter changed. I did a 14 day stretch without feeding or topoff. Water parameters crept up but well within happiness margins. Not even the berried ladies seemed to mind or notice. All set for my trip. Thanks for the advice. I do not have near the advanced tank as yours and I'm going on a week long trip and was wondering what to do. Good to know all is well. Part of my evaporation problem is my cat likes to drink out of our tanks. Luckily, they won't be here while we are gone. fernselvis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brolly33 Posted May 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 After extensive consideration, and a bit of testing, the consensus is to remove the CO2 (done 3 weeks ago) and add an Indian Almond Leaf (IAL). The IAL grows bio film yumminess for the shrimp to eat. The sponge filter will provide the rest of the "food" while I am gone for 2 weeks. The filter is mature, so no worries about water. My evaporation test showed no ill effects from a 2 week stretch of "do nothing" Good news: "do nothing" seems to work. Mr. F and oem 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brolly33 Posted June 19, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 Plan executed - results successful. I returned from 15 days away to a happy colony and acceptable water parameters. 2 IAL in the tank 2 nuggets of snowflake Started TDS of 145, ended with 175 due to evaporation. pH unchanged (thanks control soil) Nitrates unchanged (thanks plants) seaj, 35ppt, Shrimple minded and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimple minded Posted June 19, 2016 Report Share Posted June 19, 2016 Brolly, just to confirm, 15 days uncovered? How much (in cm or inches) did the water level drop in this time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35ppt Posted June 30, 2016 Report Share Posted June 30, 2016 very nice that you measured stuff and posted your results Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brolly33 Posted July 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) 15 days totally uncovered - water loss about 15% of total volume. I started with full (1/16 inch from top) and ended as you see in the screenshot. Here is a closer shot. I did not measure inches, but I would guess between 2 and 3 inches loss. House temp was sustained 78, as we left the AC on for our trip. Edited July 2, 2016 by Brolly33 Added before pciture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimple minded Posted July 2, 2016 Report Share Posted July 2, 2016 Good to know, thank you. Glad things worked out. Love 12 longs, and yours looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplepanda Posted July 3, 2016 Report Share Posted July 3, 2016 Mulberry break down relatively quickly so will last a week max, catappa is your best bet as that will go for at least two weeks. I would suggest you leave a mixture of leaves including loquat and guava the latter can last over a month together with cholla wood. Of course do a water change just before your leave, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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