Evaporation in winter. Is this even possible???

[Rafty]

I have 260g tank plumbed outside to a 160g sump. The sump is partitioned into three sections. 10% to filter through socks into 70% where skimmers, ca reactor and algae are reactor are and 20% where auto top up, pump and two 600 watt heaters.

I recently changed my RO to only turn on once per week to let it run for 3 hrs and full up the 6g top up tank weekly. Today I noticed there has been 10g or water loss with no sign of a leak anywhere. I noticed this because the autotop up had malfunction and not filled the pump section and saw bubbles in the tank so investigated.

Currently it is winter with temps of 39 to 53 F. Is it possible that 10g could evaporate in these conditions? Only thing I can think of is small volume of water being heated up outside resulting in that degree of evaporation.

I have also realised I now need a sensor to monitor sump levels.


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[MondoBongo]

for me in winter it's less the heat and more the lack of humidity in the air.

5 gallons of top off a week for a 160 is easily half to a third what i was seeing with a similarly sized tank.

 

[mcgyvr]

So 260+160 sump = roughly 400 gallons total and you are seeing 10G a day (or is that a week) of evaporation..
10G a day is a bit high.. but certainly possible depending on humidity levels,etc...

On my 125G system (40G sump entirely indoors) it was not uncommon to evap 2-2.5G a day in the winter in NC

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Winter here is a dryer season than the rest of the year & we do notice more evaporation
with the tanks. Normal situation.
Time for a bigger top off container.

 

[Rafty]

Winter here is a dryer season than the rest of the year & we do notice more evaporation
with the tanks. Normal situation.
Time for a bigger top off container.

Actually time for a better ATO as my float switch had jammed which is why it was low. Thanks to all for the quick feedback.


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[Tripod1404]

If it is windy and the humidity is low, it can evaporate very fast.

 

[reefgeezer]

My tank evaporates more in the winter due to low humidity. 1.5 gal/day in my 90-ish system in the winter.

 

[hkgar]

Always more evaporation in winter than summer. Evaporation also is a function of your lights and the heat they create. Although you can't see it, warming the surface of the water with lights creates more surface agitation causing more evaporation.

 

[ThRoewer]

Water can evaporate (transform into its vapour form) even from its solid state (ice). This happens especially if the ambient pressure is low. Freezer burn is evidence of this and freeze-drying is actually a preservation process that makes use of this effect.

Temperature differences between water and air also influence evaporation.

And any airflow across a water surface will increase evaporation.

 

[Kevin Guthrie]

My 90 plus 29 plus stock tank system goes thru 2.5 gpd winter and 1.5 gpd summer. The evap rate seems to correlate with relative humidity; the air in our house is very dry in winter but not much colder than with the AC on.

 

[hkgar]

My 180 system with 20g sump evaps about 3.5/day winter and summer. I run a dehumidifier in the sump room (basement) and another unit on the main floor, winter and summer.

 

[cody6766]

I was losing about 3/4 - 1 gal a day in the winter in AK due to how dry the house was. It's significantly better here in OK since the heater doesn't run as much. I bet I lose about half of what I was losing up there, same 60g cube + sump system with hotter lights in OK.

 

[alemone]

The relative humidity of air drops as it warms up. The air will always be drier inside your house in the cold season all other things being equal. Several gallons a day for your size tank wouldn't be unusual.

 

[Dave_Buffalo]

Evaporation

Evaporation

I seem to lose a lot less in the winter because I replace my mesh top with a glass top for heat conservation. I've also just started covering the sump with a towel, which has reduced my evaporation in half.

I was losing about 3/4 - 1 gal a day in the winter in AK due to how dry the house was. It's significantly better here in OK since the heater doesn't run as much.

 

[Sk8r]

If your water is 80 degrees and the ambient air is dry, yep, it's going to evaporate. Even snow evaporates.