dealing with evaporation

[dclegern]

65 gallon tank, overflow kit, 20 gallon sump......

Easy, but I'm losing over a gallon a day in evaporation.

any ideas on how to slow that down?

[Europhyllia]

Sounds about right. I replace about 2.5 gallons a day via ATO

[corruption]

Turn off your lights! :bigsmile:

Evap is just a necessary evil, even in lower light aquariums -- and with as much excess heat as we pump in our tanks, its really an inevitability.. a gallon per day isn't too bad -- try lowering your temperature if you still have some wiggle room... Also, look into adding an auto-top off system, it makes your life so much easier as a reef keeper :)

-Justin

[hobogato]

like justin said, if the water doesnt evaporate then you tank heats up. two ways to cool a tank without changing setup or room temperature are to add fans that increase evaporation to cool the tank or add a chiller.

on my old 400gal setup i lost almost 10 gallons a day when i had bright lights and no chiller.

once i added a chiller, it went to about 3 gallons a day.

[rabadanmarco]

it gets less annoying if you get an ato and a 10 gallon aquarium as a reservoir

[corruption]

with my chiller in place, my 75 gal (2x 250w halide, 2x54w T5) loses about 3/4 of a gallon a day... I just use a 5 gallon bucket for my ATO, gets me about a week :)

-Justin

[wesheltonj]

Well here my problem. I have normally been loosing about about 1 cup under 5 gallons a week. This winter I am loosing a little over 10 gallons a week. I understand that the winter air is drier, but that 2x what I loose in the summer. I cannot find any water on the floor either.

[dclegern]

what would be the easiest way for an auto top off without having another buzzz pump running.
tank is in my living room.

[corruption]

Most ATO's are on-demand... my personal favorite for top off purposes is the ToM Aquatics Aqua-Lifter pumps... ultra quiet, looks like an air pump, and silently moves water about 2-3 gallons per hour... I used a setup very similar to this:

http://www.aquahub.com/store/doityourself.html

A couple float switches, a relay, some power cord and an Aqua Lifter pump -- about 40 bucks to get up and running :)

-Justin

[corruption]

Well here my problem. I have normally been loosing about about 1 cup under 5 gallons a week. This winter I am loosing a little over 10 gallons a week. I understand that the winter air is drier, but that 2x what I loose in the summer. I cannot find any water on the floor either.

Interesting... Have you installed your upgraded AquaIllumination fixtures yet, or added any pumps/equipment recently?

I wonder if it relates to the fact that we've been needing to heat our homes, not cool them as usual... perhaps more ambient heat just leading to higher evap rates..

-Justin

[wesheltonj]

I have not upgrade the AI light yet. (They have announced the upgrade kit, but its not available yet) My tank temp is actually lower by 2 degrees F, then in the summer. I heat and cool my house with a heat pump. I have not added any additional pumps or equipment. Which leaves lower humidity, but we do not get that large of an humidity swing in humid South Texas.