Vik

Great advise on the autofeeder on once/twice per week setting. I forgot to mention, but I do have a camera set to just the tank. I got the kasa which is similar to the Eufy; is cheap and works with my smart home system. I'll look into a apc, sounds like a good idea although power cuts are very rare where I live. Am I right to assume that even power goes off and comes back up in a few minutes, the fluval 3 needs to be manually/via app be setup to the programming mode?

Patrick - thank you for the kind words. This is truly my first attempt at scaping a tank; prior to this I used to have a smaller tank with very limited plants. Your so looks gorgeous as well; means a lot to get your positive feedback. Thanks for the heads-up about the lights in case of a power cut. Given that I'll be away from home, if there some other way to turn e lights back to program mode in case of a power cut?

I have a 60 gallon tank that I setup a couple months ago. Its not stocked much at all- currently houses a Betta and 2 Cardinal tetras & 5 nerite snails) along with a bunch of plants(root and column feeders). For filtration I have multiple foam filters(keeping so I can quick start other tanks) & a fluval fx4. For lighting I have a programmed fluval plant 3.0.Also, the water parameters are great <10ppm nitrates. The situation- I'm out of the country for a month and a half(some r&r and some remote work). Thing is I don't have anyone reliable to take care of my tank while I'm out. Automations - I have done some automation for the plants with the Jebao DP4 which I'm planning to dose easy green with. Additionally in thinking of setting up the autodoser to also "top of water" from a 20gal tote. Questions- while I can try to setup an autofeeder for the fish I'm hesitant to take a chance and end up overfeeding the fish(which is what usually happens). I'm thinking of maybe donating the tetras to families close by. As for the Betta, I'm wondering if there are options other than relying on friends(who have 0 experience with fish). Any body know if aquarium shops would be willing to house the Betta until I return(for a small payment of course)? any other options that I can try? Assuming I find alternate housing for the Betta, do I have to worry about anything else for the plants if I have the autodoser and the fluval 3.0 setup. Do I need to worry about feeding the bacteria in the tank? If so what options do I have to"feed" the bacteria (I hate auto feeders). Please help!