Fishies and Friends: How many friends do you have in reefing that you trust to care for your reef while you're away?

[AlyciaMarie]

One major perk of being a reef keeper is the sense of community that it brings and the opportunity to relate to different people who share your passion. But how many of those people that you've become acquainted with do you actually feel would be able to keep your tanks safe and sound if you left it in their care? Let's discuss it!

How many friends do you have in reefing that you trust to care for your reef while you're away?

 

[edsbeaker]

We are newer to Indianapolis, and it’s probably my fault, but I just haven’t reached out to be actively involved in our local club. (I’m an introvert). The only one I know and do trust is the owner of my LFS.

 

[JayM]

I have zero friends that know anything about reefkeeping. None that I'm aware of anyway. Maybe there's a closet reefer somewhere?

 

[Crabs McJones]

Never had to do it. But there aren't many reefers near me. If needed I would have probably asked @vetteguy53081 he'd be the closest to me at the time

 

[Dburr1014]

I should say 2 but voted 1.

My brother-in-law came to mind and he lives 7 miles from me and has a reef tank.

The other is myself. I trust myself over everyone else. I have a battery backup and a generator. The only thing I can't do is throw a heater on if I lose power and out of state. But I can call my B-I-L.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Ive mentioned in the past - I have for long trips, two very experienced people I can have come over to feed and check tank , but i dont rely on that as I was Just in Jamaica over Christmas for 5 days and let the auto feeder do the work until i came back to what was a very clear tank and controller system which dd its job

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

though not friends as in we hang out, there are 2 people at least on this forum that I would trust to help me out if I was in a jam. People that have brought a total stranger into their home to see their tanks.

 

[sfin52]

The friends I have don't live close and makes it hard for them to care for thr tanks.

 

[exnisstech]

I have no friends.

 

[kenchilada]

Who has time for friends? I do need to find a tank sitter though, which seems equally impossible.

 

[Reefer Matt]

I have many acquaintances in reefing, but no one I’d allow in my house by themself. I just don’t take vacations. Most Reefers are hermits who hoard their tanks, from my observation. Lol.

 

[design.maddie]

I have 3. One is actually local and the other two are within a couple hours away. I would trust all of them with my tanks. I don't expect them to be experts in everything but as for as daily maintenance and notifying me if an emergency happened? Absolutely.

 

[Tamberav]

Zero but my mom knows nothing about reef tanks or fish but took care of it two weeks when I was on vacation and it never looked better. She’s a meticulous person and a bit of a perfectionist so she followed my directions to the T and didn’t get lazy like I do sometimes *eek*

 

[Beruka]

Everything will go wrong while you are away.

I had bubble algae clog intake backpacking in Japan. It would literally be 30 seconds to realize obstruction and 30 seconds to remove it. Explaining this over a phone took 30 minutes. Imagine of something complex happened.

Only thing I automated is kalk dosing. Of course Apex wants to push an update while you are away. heck no!! I did not do it.

 

[KrisReef]

I have zero friends that know anything about reefkeeping. None that I'm aware of anyway. Maybe there's a closet reefer somewhere?

Lots of folks in the general Los Angeles metropolitan area, but I worry about what else they might have in the closet that I might learn about if I let them into my castle.

It's a sad commentary on society that with so many people there are only a very small fraction of modern people who are available to trust with the keys to the castle when the fan gets messy.

 

[Reef Puncher]

Everything will go wrong while you are away.

I had bubble algae clog intake backpacking in Japan. It would literally be 30 seconds to realize obstruction and 30 seconds to remove it. Explaining this over a phone took 30 minutes. Imagine of something complex happened.

Only thing I automated is kalk dosing. Of course Apex wants to push an update while you are away. heck no!! I did not do it.

lol thats me. i have a roommate, i trust him to maybe feed the fish but i couldnt imagine explaining how to unclog something like that, or explaining how to fix my dosing pumps, or turf scrubber.

 

[FernBluffReef]

You guys are scaring me. I was already reluctant to have anyone cover for my tank. Vacation or tank. Should not have to be.

 

[LiquidSpace]

You guys are scaring me. I was already reluctant to have anyone cover for my tank. Vacation or tank. Should not have to be.

Just wait until you watch your cat knock over all the fish food on the camera.

 

[PharmrJohn]

With my old 90g, back 15 years ago, I needed someone last minute and my 16 year old niece was able to actually house sit and take care of the two cats, the dog and my fish. She was AWESOME! I told her she'd get a $100 bonus if we came back to no fish deaths. Came back, paid the young lady (bonus included!) and performed a round if testing. Parameters were as I left them. Used her a few more times and never had an issue. She had a knack for following directions! If memory serves, she called me for instruction on some issue that came up. Told her what to do and she did it.

For this next tank, I'll have automation to help, a neighbor to keep an eye on things daily and an LFS come over a few times weeky to check it as well. It'll just become a part of the cost of an vacation we take.

 

[ksliech]

I just went away for 6 days, the longest I’ve been away from my tank. Had a zero reefkeeping experience friend come by a few times to feed, fill ATO, and dose some 2-part. Went without a hitch and she thought it was fun! I had 2 cameras on the tank, plus the Apex, so had excellent peace of mind. Hoping to ramp up more friends on it so I have options in the event of a disaster.