To top off or not to top off...

[jenreadsalot]

I am having a major evaporation problem, I know the reason why and it can not be remedied for a month.
Here is my question, I had not planned a water change for another week, but the level has dropped so far down that my old school Berlin Air Lift is not at the right level, should I top off or just wait till I do water change?

Jen

[CD]

I am having a major evaporation problem, I know the reason why and it can not be remedied for a month.
Here is my question, I had not planned a water change for another week, but the level has dropped so far down that my old school Berlin Air Lift is not at the right level, should I top off or just wait till I do water change?

Jen

Jen,

If you are having major evaporation issues on the 30G in your sig, you are probably having some significant specific gravity swings which can stress the inhabitants of the tank. (I don't know how much evaporation you have had so this may not apply)
I don't know what you are reffering to as major evap. but I evaporate 1-1.5G a day and I top up 2x a day- I will automate this process someday.

I would recommend checking your SG and topping up either until the water level is correct or until your SG changes. I have read that SG shouldn't go up/down more than .002 in a 24 hour period.

I would probably recommend topping up daily (if needed) and that will help reduce stress, keep sg in check, and allow your skimmer to operate properly.

Hope that helps answer your question.
Good luck to ya.

[GaryP]

Top off water should be added daily. I have to add about 4-6 gal. per day to my tanks. As was said, you don't want big swings in your salinity. In addition, you might want to take a look at your temperature and make sure you are withing an acceptable range (78-83).

Gary

[Tim Marvin]

Is anything still alive?

[jenreadsalot]

Thanks for the advice and wow Tim's question seems quite rude, am I on the right site?!?
Temp stays a constant 80, salintity has not had a major swing, I check it daily.

And for Tim the only life I have in my tank is what came along with the rock, and yes the polyps are still alive and everyday I am finding new things. Forgive me for not knowing about the topping off, but that is why I signed up with the group. But since I recieved a reply like that from someone on the Board of Directors maybe this group is not what I thought it was.

[JimD]

Jen, Im a little confused, you say youre having "major" evaporation issues, can you elaborate some? If youre evaporating say gallons per day, theres no way the salinty wont be affected on such a small tank. If you can provide a few more details Im sure we can get you on the right track.

[jenreadsalot]

Three weeks ago I set the tank up with live sand and saltwater. About a week and a half ago I added a single piece of rock that was given to me when I bought my live rock, I put the rest of the rock in a rubbermaid with a powerhead skimmer and heater. The next day green stars popped out of the piece of rock in the tank, I had not expected anything I had not even planned on getting anything for months, when the tank had cycled. Hence not spending 100 on a protein skimmer and opting for the Berlin Air Lift. I put the rest of the live rock in the tank about five days ago when nitrates were at 0, as I was directed. My salinity when I did that was at 1.027, it is now at 1.030
To me the evaporation seemed major?!? This being my first tank I do not know what is major and what is not, that is why I came here. I had been reading this board for months before I even starting looking for a tank. It seemed to be a great site with friendly people and so far all of my thoughts have been good.
But now I have to wonder?!? Is it a good place if you have a 100+ tank and 5+ years exp but forget it if you are a newbie and ask for help so you do not do the wrong things?

[alexwolf]

you need to top off almost everday to make sure the level in the tank always stays the same. Also, your salinity seems to high to me. I keep mine at 1.024-1.025 at all times. I like to think i am a decent reefkeeper :)

As far as Tim goes, I can guarantee he meant no harm with his comment. You couldnt meet a nicer more helpful guy. I bet it was an attempt at humor, but since its typed, not spoken, you cant tell really how it was meant. No emotion in letters :)

[Gator]

Every tank is going to have a diffrent amount of evaporation depending on heat of lights and if you have fans blowing across the surface of your water to help with the heat issue, as long as you add the evaporated water with fresh water you are fine, some people think you must add salt water but this will only icrease your salinity slowly over the course of a couple of days. hope it helps

and about comment one problem with computers thay do not reflect peoples emotions when they are typing, i have many times been upset after reading something only to find out that it was not meant in a harsh manner, i just read it that way, i hope you continue to get advise from this sight, because the next time someone has a question about evaporation you will be able to help them out and we can all learn and share
good luck

[jenreadsalot]

Thank you kindly for the advice on topping off, it was exactly what I needed to know.
I have read so many diff things I wanted an opinion from people who seemed in the know. (you all)
I will keep an eye on the salinity, thank you.
As for Tim maybe I am being hyper sensitive, but it seemed rude when I just wanted advice on doing the right thing. I have a 3 1/2 year old and a two year old, so I should be adjusted to sass. :-D

[JimD]

1.027 is to high, 1.030 is way to high. , you need to gradually bring the salinity down to 1.024/6 over the next few days. I suggest some type of top-off system, a bucket of water above your tank with some airline gravity feeding water to maintain a constant level, you can control the flow by tying a knot in the airline to restrict the flow till it matches your evaporation rate. That kind of salinity swing will definately have an effect on inverts especially.

[GaryP]

Evaporation can also vary based on the humidity in your house. Evaporation goes down and temp usually goes up in my tanks when the windows are open in the spring/fall.

Gary

[scuba_steveo]

Jen, I have a 37 gallon w/ a tunze osmomat auto-top off system. I notice that with such a small tank I had to keep the water level constant or the salinity would swing too much.

[Tim Marvin]

Oh sorry, I was going to type more and got side tracked. I guess I also forgot the JK.....LOL.. You must keep up with the evaporation if you want to keep some of the more delicate things, Polyps, leathers, and some fish can handle big salinity swings, but most can't. It is best to top off every day so you don't get the salinity changes.

[NaCl_H2O]

I think you got all the answers you needed above. You really should top off 1-2 times per day with that size tank. Nothing fancy, I just fill a pitcher with RO water a couple of times and dump it into the sump.

If you don't have a sump or other "mixing" area, pour it into the tank in smaller amounts, more frequently. Large additions of top off water can make EVERYTHING swing: SG, Temp, PH, DKH, ...

Are you using RO water or tap water? I didn't notice if you were in SA or Austin? In any case, RO water is best if you have a source.