Automatic Feeder

[John K]

Dear all--
I am posting this to a few message boards to get a variety of feedback.
I have a 55-gallon community tank and a 4 gallon tank with three zebra danios.
I will be leaving for two months, and rather than giving the responsibilty to my parents for feeding, i am thinking about investing in automatic feeder.
Does anyone have any experience with these?
How long do they last?
Any recommendations or alternatives?

Thanks in advance.

JK

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

I've got the Ehiem automatic feeder. A two month period will require a
few refills but otherwise it works well.

[John K]

So, I have invested in an automatic feeder for my 55-gallon community.

The problem still remains for the 5-gallon bowfront in which i have
some zebra danios.

The smaller is a planted tank in which i bought the danios to cycle,
but never got around to investing too much time in it.

If I move the danios to the 55, will my plants get messed up with no
fish in there to produce nutrients?

Will I have to cycle the tank again when I get back?

I also bought a timer for the lights, so the tanks will be fairly
self-sufficient.
I will have someone check the tanks regularly to make sure everything
is running and top off the water since I will be gone for 2 months.

[Aaron]

Why not move the plants and danios into the 55 gallon tank? You can always put them back in when you return.

[John K]

I have a timer for the lights.
But what about cycling?
Will i need to re-cycle...?

[krisw]

I doubt you'll have to recycle... Cycling is much more of a concern in a plantless tank. Remember, that most planted tanks don't need to be cycled at all if you start out with a ton of plants because the plants use up the ammonia. Regardless, your tanks are probably going to need some attention and water changes when you get back. Cycling will likely not be a worry.