~Water Levels~

[jamzwayne]

I know that evaporation plays a part in tank maintence (who doesnt, right).

My question is, it seems like I am adding 3-4 GAL of water every other day....usually when I am feeding.

I have a 55 GAL, not in any sunlight. My lights to my tank stay on all day, until about 10PM when I go to bed, and turn I them on about 7AM before I leave for work.

Now, I am not sure what kind of lights I have....I just know they are extremely bright.

~Could it be the lighting?~

[mcps95]

What's the temp of the tank during the day/night?

[jamzwayne]

What's the temp of the tank during the day/night?

Stays right at 74 degrees.

[Timmain42]

How's your humidity level inside/outside the house?

[jamzwayne]

How's your humidity level inside/outside the house?


Thats a good question...I dont know...

[Timmain42]

The level of humidity will make a difference. If it's dry, you're going to get more evap than normal.


Or maybe the dog found a new place to drink...?

[N8DOGG]

thats what happened to my 2 new 10 gallon fry grow out tanks. My dogs love them just the right height for them :D

[jamzwayne]

I fight Ben (my cat) everyday...I have a squirt bottle full of water, when I see him up there..I just squirt him with that....cool little training tool. It also helps with them clawing on the furniture...

Major job....cats, I mean. :thud:

[StreetCypher]

My cat used to run around on our leather sofas, scratching them all up. So, i got some duct tape and planted it on the sofa. My cat (Jimi) ran up on the sofa and got duct tape stuck all on his paws. After a few times he learned not to run on the leather sofas. Also, did that to the kitchen counter.

[daveedka]

jamzwayne,
I find in my set-ups that humidity is the number one influence, airflow is number two and temp differential is number 3. When we run the AC the air in my basement gets dryer, and evaporation increases. when we shut off the AC and the air gets moist, almost no water leaves my tanks. My dehumidifier output in the basement is a good indicator of humidity levels, and the more water I get out of the dehumidifier the less i lose from the tanks. Next is airflow. my office has a fan. If I forget to turn it off when I leave home on Monday, the 115 will lose considerably more water than when the fan is off. The utility tanks are in an area that receives very limited airflow and therefore they almost never drop water level over the course of a week. Lastly I do see an increase in evaporation when the basement is cooler than my tanks. It has been hard to figure how much of an influence because of the humidity level thing going on with and without the AC.however there have only been a couple of weeks when the basement wasn't at or below tank temp and during that time the tanks had no visible loss of water, they of course did have an increase in tank temp to match room temp.
Dave

[jamzwayne]

Thanks Dave.

I have my ceiling fan going 24/7....I guess thats bad news, huh. I was thinking last night I might wanna get a dehumidifier. Guess that will help. I a way....it's kind of a good thing though....keeps me in the tank. :D

[I dream of...]

Or maybe the dog found a new place to drink...?

Or the cat. :p A tighter fitting lid will also keep the water from evaporating so quickly.