coming home to a mess

I have had to leave town unexpectedly, and hubby has tried his best to " HELP ME" while I have been gone, by feeding my tank. It never occured to him to check water etc. that in its self is a mess, but I came home last night to find that ALL of my corals are not looking so great. I think due to low lighting while I was gone. Do you think they will come back with the return of the lighting schedule????

I am going to have to leave again later this after noon to go back. Only home for a few hours to clean up and get more clothes.

 

Hi Catz

difficult to say - should be OK
what corals are they?
what was the reduced lighting ,was it in terms of QTY or duration?
how long where you away?
how long will you be away this time?

have you run all your water parameter tests?

you might want to put lights on timer , that way its automatic
Top off - if the water level drops the SG increases as you know so either ask your Husband to add X amount of water per day to keep level up (a felt tip mark may help so he can see when water level has dropped) or consider auto top off system, if your being away is going to be a frequent occurance

There is a good chance your corals will return to former glory but to ensure they stay there you need to ensure stability for them and I know from a previous system that reef tanks can go down hill fast when they are left in willing but inexperienced hands

Steve

 

Highly recommended.....

 

I just got up, ( in 5 days I have had less than 3 hrs of sleep) They are looking a bit better this morning. I have all my ro/di water ran. Robman is my neighbor and had said he would come every night and take care, but of course I said no, my hubby can handle this. ha ha ha. needless to say after seeing what I saw when I got home, robman will definately be coming to take care til I get home.

I was gone 5 days, I will be leaving in a few hours again until Monday ( at the least)
My neice was in a bad car accident and I am staying at the hospital. I can't leave. It is very grim. Lots of brain damage and whole body damage.

Tested water, all is good there. It was just the second set of lights that I put in. I have put them on a timer now, won't happen again............. I have way to much money in there, not to mention time...lol

 

sorry about your niece Catz - hope you got some decent rest, your going to need all you can get under these circumstances .

I hope it works out well for her and all the family and that a full recovery is achieved.

but as its only been 5 days then I reckon all will be fine (some people with algae issues blanket the tank for a week and the corals survive )

with Robman doing the honors on the tank, thats one thing you dont have to worry about
anyway


Steve

 

Your tank will be fine with top offs and automatic light schedule. You really don't even need to feed the tank (unless you have anthias). Let Rob take care of the tank. I would. In a heartbeat. Dude is good.

 

I got it Catz!--Go be with the fam.

 

I got home a couple of hours ago and my tank looks great. Thanks Robman....... I owe you one...