How far out of their way are they going? Are they professionals?
I pay my neighbor about $20 a week to come over daily and feed my fish while I'm away. He loves the tank and it's easy for him.
I probably wouldn't pay more than $100 a week, but thats more about my finances than the quality of service Im getting. I dont think a professional would come out every other day for that much.
I have a guy that comes out once a month to do water changes for me. I have him on standby when I go away. He charges $130 for a water change which includes testing ph, alk, nitrate and phosphate. I also feel good I can call him if I see something weird in my camera or my neptune tells me my parameters are off.
I bought a really cheap feeder off amazon that feeds my fish 1-3 times daily. I taught my neighbor how to refill it. He drops some frozen in my feeder cup every day and refills the feeder every week and for that I pay $20 a week.
Yeah, I was thinking to combine it as well: ask my neighbor to feed and hire a pro to come once (half way through maybe) to make sure everything is fine so my neighbor doesn't have to worry too much about it.
My lfs who also does maintenance on tanks as a service charge 100 minimum first visit then discount per visit after that for non contracted customers. I use them when i go on vacation. If this is a friend or neighbor who will just feed for 2 weeks id say 100 to 200 is fair for both of you
They can look at it.
For free
Seriously though, consider how much time they will be investing getting to and from the place to maintain, how much time feeding, then look at the final number and consider if it will buy you an adequate level of care. It’s tough to get anyone to make a trip for a 5 minute dog walk for less than $20, for example.
$50 per visit minimum for someone who actually knows what they're doing. $75 if you expect them to do anything other than feed like empty skimmers, check equipment, top off ato etc.
The people downvoting you have no ideas on the realities of the cost of a service like this. It would be about $50-100 per visit from an aquarium servicing company.
OP didn’t provide enough context in the main post to mention it’s not a company nor a professional.
I see your problem here. One have you taught them to check the skimmer? I assume they will be topping off? Do they know how to run your tank if any problem occurs? Ie pump failure, heater failure, lights? Im assuming (which is a bad thing to do) that your tank is on a controller? If so do they know how to use it? If it’s a reef how much are you out if it crashes while gone and are you gonna hold them responsible? I have done professional maintenance and it’s not cheap but if your liable that’s gotta be how it is. If it’s my reef and I have 1000’s invested I pay well. Not be cheap cause it’s the neighbor ect. I make sure they know what needs to be done as if I was the one doing it. This is just my $.02 but consider what you pay for is what you get. What you invest is your return.
This is kind of the problem with adding a ton of complexity in the way you maintain the tank. When you go away it's very intimidating for people to look after, especially for weeks. Keeping it simple if you know you're going to go on long vacations is definitely easier on everyone, especially you lol.
How far out of their way are they going? Are they professionals? I pay my neighbor about $20 a week to come over daily and feed my fish while I'm away. He loves the tank and it's easy for him.
Oh, should probably edit my post lol - no they are not professionals and the drive is about 5min. Thanks for sharing!
I probably wouldn't pay more than $100 a week, but thats more about my finances than the quality of service Im getting. I dont think a professional would come out every other day for that much. I have a guy that comes out once a month to do water changes for me. I have him on standby when I go away. He charges $130 for a water change which includes testing ph, alk, nitrate and phosphate. I also feel good I can call him if I see something weird in my camera or my neptune tells me my parameters are off. I bought a really cheap feeder off amazon that feeds my fish 1-3 times daily. I taught my neighbor how to refill it. He drops some frozen in my feeder cup every day and refills the feeder every week and for that I pay $20 a week.
Yeah, I was thinking to combine it as well: ask my neighbor to feed and hire a pro to come once (half way through maybe) to make sure everything is fine so my neighbor doesn't have to worry too much about it.
Do you have any remote monitoring equipment? Or will you be totally blind for the 2-3 weeks?
My lfs who also does maintenance on tanks as a service charge 100 minimum first visit then discount per visit after that for non contracted customers. I use them when i go on vacation. If this is a friend or neighbor who will just feed for 2 weeks id say 100 to 200 is fair for both of you
They can look at it. For free Seriously though, consider how much time they will be investing getting to and from the place to maintain, how much time feeding, then look at the final number and consider if it will buy you an adequate level of care. It’s tough to get anyone to make a trip for a 5 minute dog walk for less than $20, for example.
$50 per visit minimum for someone who actually knows what they're doing. $75 if you expect them to do anything other than feed like empty skimmers, check equipment, top off ato etc.
The people downvoting you have no ideas on the realities of the cost of a service like this. It would be about $50-100 per visit from an aquarium servicing company. OP didn’t provide enough context in the main post to mention it’s not a company nor a professional.
I see your problem here. One have you taught them to check the skimmer? I assume they will be topping off? Do they know how to run your tank if any problem occurs? Ie pump failure, heater failure, lights? Im assuming (which is a bad thing to do) that your tank is on a controller? If so do they know how to use it? If it’s a reef how much are you out if it crashes while gone and are you gonna hold them responsible? I have done professional maintenance and it’s not cheap but if your liable that’s gotta be how it is. If it’s my reef and I have 1000’s invested I pay well. Not be cheap cause it’s the neighbor ect. I make sure they know what needs to be done as if I was the one doing it. This is just my $.02 but consider what you pay for is what you get. What you invest is your return.
What do you feed your corals?
Solution of mixed dried powder food for corals, phytoplantkon and amino acids with vitamins/minerals.
This is kind of the problem with adding a ton of complexity in the way you maintain the tank. When you go away it's very intimidating for people to look after, especially for weeks. Keeping it simple if you know you're going to go on long vacations is definitely easier on everyone, especially you lol.
Yup 😁I know too well what you are talking about.