Evaporation Question.

[airbrnebkr]

I seem to be losing about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch of water from my tank a day. Is this a normal evaporation rate? I have no leaks and I have a very low wattage light right now. My second question is: When replacing this small amount of water, do I need to do anything to the water prior to putting it into my sump? It is usually only about 3/4 cup per day.

Thanks
Doug

 

[OrionGirl]

Check your overflows--the level in the tank shouldn't be dropping--the level in the tank stays stable and the level in the sump drops. For your topoff water--you'll want to treat it for chlorine/chloramine if needed, and possibly filter it as well. Most people use RO water for topoff, so they don't add phosphate/nitrates/ect, commonly found in tap water.

The rate of evaporation will depend on your humidity, temp, surface agitation, and lighting. My 180 setup with VHO goes through about 3-5 gallons every other day.

 

[gcvt]

Originally posted by airbrnebkr
I seem to be losing about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch of water from my tank a day. ....It is usually only about 3/4 cup per day.

I'm confused. Are you saying the water level drops by 1/2"-3/4" per day in your 55g tank and you're adding 3/4 cup of water per day? Or did you mean you're adding 3/4 of a gallon each day?

As OG said, you should see your water level dropping in your sump...not your main tank. Can you clarify this for us?

 

[airbrnebkr]

I am sorry I guess I should have been more clear. The water level in my sump drops about 1/2 to 3/4" a day and I add about 3/4 cup of water to my sump to keep the water level at a constant and keep my pum covered. I hope that makes more sense. The tank has no visible drop in water level.
Thanks,
Doug

 

[airbrnebkr]

Also I do not have an RO system yet. Is there something else I can do to the water to make it as safe as possible, even when adding very small amounts.
Thanks,
Doug

 

[slipknottin]

3/4 cup of water really isnt that much to be adding at all. i add about a gallon of water a day to my 72 gallon tank, and that only has 30 watts of lighting and almost no water movement.


As for water filtration, there are a variety of things you can use, chemical medias of all sorts, ion exchange resins, or DI filters all can work very well in certain applications. If your worried about chlorine/chloramine a water conditioner like Amquel would be perfect.

 

[airbrnebkr]

Thanks for the info

 

[CrazzE8z]

That kind of evaporation is not uncommon. However, when adding water, don't worry about putting the Amquel into the water if you prepare water properly. Most of the top brand salts on the market remove chlorine instantly, so buying a product to do this is really pointless. Depending on the type of salt that you use however, you should really prepare it 24 hours in advance and let the salt dissolve. For example, if you use Instant Ocean, the salt dissolves in 10 minutes. If you are using the cheaper Crystal Sea, it takes 24 hours. You should never put undissolved salt water into your tank unless it is an emergency. Most experienced marine hobbyists prepare their top-off water a day in advance, unless you are using the better salt brands, such as Instant Ocean.

I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with Crystal Sea, the only negative is that it takes 24 hours for the salt to fully dissolve in the water.

 

[gcvt]

Originally posted by CrazzE8z
Most of the top brand salts on the market remove chlorine instantly, so buying a product to do this is really pointless.

I disagree. Most of them specify that you are to mix them with dechlorinated, RO or RO/DI water.

Which brands do you know of that claim to remove chlorine?

 

[CrazzE8z]

I mispoke. I did not mean to say removes chlorine instantly, but leaving salt to dissolve in the water overnight (24 hours) will remove the chlorine. Crystal Sea, Instant Ocean, Oceanic, and Tropic Marin will all work toward this purpose.