Came home to a Sauna! Advice?

[scherzo]

Controller has saved me a few times. If you go away then a controller is pretty much a must have. I have my autofeeder controlled by my apex as well and will sometimes dial back the feeding if I am away. I have a fresh batch of saltwater on hand just in case someone has to do a waterchange while I'm away (only for emergencies)

I also have a camera on the tank so I can see what is going on.

Then someone who I can call and walk through some simple things to do to make it work.

[Myka]

Having a controller that you can access information via internet is a really good plan especially if you have a lot of money invested in your aquarium. An internet-accessed video camera is nice too. A professional aquarium care company is really good "insurance" for when something does happen while you're gone.

[summer57]

Sounds like a controller's the way to go. Other great ideas -- feeding a bit less than usual & the extra salt water. We had extra rodi water set aside, but not salt.
And next time, we'll be more careful about who we ask to come in case of emergency!

[gregzz4]

Wouldn't hurt to make friends with a local reefer who your daughter could call in case of that one-time emergency.
I'm sure there's someone in delta who could help her in a pinch.

[mike31154]

We all make mistakes. I'm sure your daughter feels bad about the mishap with the A/C. I still trust my daughter over any controller or other technology (webcams, emails, etc) when I'm away for more than a few days. Controllers can fail as well, power outage comes to mind. It's fine to get an auto email from your web enabled controller telling you something's amiss in your absence, you still need someone to get in there & figure out how to keep things alive. By all means, consider a controller, but absolutely counting on that over a trusted human is no guarantee against Murphy's Law.

[sphelps]

Controllers have failed me in the past, once being responsible for a total wipe out. While they offer advantages I don't really see them as offering much increase in terms of reliability. Sometimes it's best to dumb things down, especially important if someone with little experience is watching the tank.