Would you even try? (1 Viewer)

[stdreb27]

So to make a long story short, I'm going to be moving to Corpus. The deal with work is going to make it where I'm going to be gone 6 weeks out of the year 2 weeks at a time. And I'll probably be down there for around a year maybe 2.

Right now, with my tank, and my since Ike war with Algae, am down to a couple candy canes, a bunch of 5 dollar zoas from City Pets, a softball sized birdsnest, a hammer, and a few tiny sps frags. No fish (my real attraction to sw tanks).

The tank seems to be finally settling down and I'm seeing improvement in my algae.

The real question is do you think it is worth it to try and run a tank, if I'm going to be gone for 2 weeks at a time, three times a year. ESPECIALLY since I really don't know anyone who could care for my tank in the mean time. Nor would I be able to relax on vacation since I'd be thinking about my tank the whole time.

And although I'd have some more money to sink into my tank, everything I'd do, would have to be torn down in a couple years. (which is twice as long as I've had it up now.)

I honestly can't imagine life without some sort of tank. And I do worry if I sell, I'll regret it and get a setup while I'm down there. However, I likewise can't imagine building up a reef tank, getting it where I want it, then tearing it down to move back.

Any input would be really appreciated since I can't really decide what to do.

 

[Guest]

Well from the sounds of it, it seems like you dont have much of anything coral wise so you can always just sell what livestock you have and pack up the tank and stand etc and take it down and put it in storage or someplace. If you decide to set it up then you wont have to regret selling everything. If you have to break it all down in a few years thats no problem. Its not that far of a drive to damage anything really. If it was me in your shoes. id set one up simply because im like you, cant imagine life without my tank! Just my .02 though

 

[Tempset]

We all know the golden phrase of this hobby circles around "nothing good happens fast".

With that in mind, I would invest in a nanocube in your living quarters & be done with it.

Living reefs are ment to be permanent.

I'd tear down & dry store or simply sell everything related to your large reef. Wait till things become more steady & permanent.

Or did I just completely read your post wrong?

 

[Timanator]

Nope.

 

[stdreb27]

a 58 gallon is hardly a large reef. Maybe I'll just do a frag tank.

 

[Guest]

That will be more suitable for you it seems.

 

[Ophiura]

Hopefully the real issue - which is who would take care of it - would be sorted out. Regardless of tank size or inhabitants (frag tank does sound good) that remains an issue. But I am sure there is someone down there who can ultimately prove to be reliable! 2 weeks at a time isn't really all that long overall with the right sitter.

 

[thangbom4321]

may i ask why a frag tank would be easier than a regular frag tank?? they have just about the same issues, maintenance, ect. the only difference that i see is people tend to not care about how 'clean' the set-up looks.

Personally, i wouldn't set up a reefer w/o having to be able to see the tank at least 2x a week.. just to many things can go wrong in a week. I would set up a fowlr however. in most cases, a top off system and feeding 3x a week is all they need.

And i would have to find a person that can check the tank out a minimum of 1x a week. all they need to know is the basic. and to be able to tell if something "Bad" has gone wrong. then they can contact a emergency person that know what to do to come out if needed.

YzGyz

 

[stdreb27]

The main difference would be in a frag tank, I'd have everything on plugs, probably sitting on an egg crate. In a display reef aquarium, I'd have things more or less permanently attached to live rock, for instance, I have this 25 pound piece of LR that won't fit in a 5 gallon bucket, that has 4 or 5 different types of zoas on it. And they are directly attached to said rock. Thus if I were to move, I'd have to transport that entire rock in a manner where I would not damage the colonies of zoas.
At this point it wouldn't be a huge deal to move with the coral I have now. Most of it would be pretty simple to transport.
But over time building a tank, I'd hope that the reef would be very established, and properly setup, would be very difficult to remove the coral and transport it to the new location.
On the other hand when I move, I'd just remove the frags from the rack, sell em. Then tear down the tank.

 

[stdreb27]

But then again that still leaves the problem with care while I'm gone. Right now, I've got people, but I've also been in this area for 5 years. And a long time friend comes by and takes care of my tank if I'm going to be gone more than a couple of days.
I just don't know if I would trust anyone to have a key and come to my house, after only knowing them for 3 months...

 

[trezz88]

I am from corpus. There is a place called tropical fish haven, and it is really cool place. The staff is very informative, and they also do tank sitting. Im sure two weeks would not be a problem. Pm me if you would like more info on them.