Evaporation rate question

[Beth J]

I just started my first 135 gal aquarium this past Sat.

A question that I have is about evaporation. In just about 11 hours I lost 2 gal of water. Since I can't find water puddling any where and the main display tank is staying stable, I am assuming that I am losing it to evaporation. The trick is that I live in a high rise condo with a 4 pipe heating/cooling system. The system seems to be very drying with a fairly rapid turnover of air through the building. I don't think my basically 135 gal humidifier is going to make much of a dent in adding moisture to this 34 story building. So if I add some moisture with a true humidifier blowing right next to the tank would that help slow my evaporation rate to my tank?

Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful. I have a small topoff tank that fits under my stand that I hope to set up soon. But I will be having to be refilling it everyday because it just doesn't hold that much water.

Hobby Experience: 4 days!

 

[Racing1]

unfortunately this is about normal. I have a 75g setup and I evaporate about 2 gallons a day..... I also run a humidifier on the damp side and it does not seem to make a difference... Also the weather makes a difference, the cooler it is the more water seems to evaporate....

 

[cdbias2]

I'll assume you live in an apartment since it is a 34 story. Like you said you already have a 135g humidifier(tank). Most people add dehumidifiers in small spaces with large tanks. Your evaporation rate is a little high. I only loose about 1g per day. Is your skimmer realeasing microbubbles into your sump? This can cause more evaporation. You may just have to deal with more top off volume.

 

[rustybucket145]

Evaporation is not a bad thing. It allows gas exchange and will inevitably lead to a healthier tank. Your evap rate is not out of the norm. This is a problem you will have to deal with, so now while your tank is young you have a perfect chance to ready yourself for this ongoing issue.

The main thing you have to do is to work a larger top off container into your setup. Find room to do this, or make room to do this. If you don't it's going to make your tank upkeep miserable b/c you're gonna have to fill it up everyday.

Next you can enlarge the return section of your sump. This will allow more evaporation to take place without running your sump dry.

 

[Thinslis]

I have 150g tank and 55g sump. I went about 4 months before I realized it was creating a mold / mildew problem in my house. So now I run a dehumidifier to lower the humidity in the house. I would buy yourself a humistat and monitor your relative humidity in your house and keep in in check.