evaporation rate?????!!?!?
- Thread starter lertanze
- Start date
fasturtle30
New member
you mean the tank itself or the sump lert? mine does about the same evaporation over the sump so every few days i have to top off the sump with good water !
fasturtle30
New member
what kinda lights are you running? and also any filtration running like wet/dry? or just sand and rock? have you ever checked leakings anyway?
well im glad its normal.
maybe i am crazy but i do use tap water to top it off and i also use tap water to do my weekly 2 gallon water change. so far everything seems to be doing fine. i think part of this is because the water i have is high quality i think its spring fed. i know its not ideal but hey so far so good nothing has died yet.
maybe i am crazy but i do use tap water to top it off and i also use tap water to do my weekly 2 gallon water change. so far everything seems to be doing fine. i think part of this is because the water i have is high quality i think its spring fed. i know its not ideal but hey so far so good nothing has died yet.
marduc
New member
Evaportaion rates are going ot vary with the humidity in the air, the drier the air, the more water will evaporate.
Just as a reference, here in steamy muggy Florida I still lose at least a gallon a day in a 55 gallon tank, significantly more on the rare days it is not so humid.
Ohh and also.. do yourself a favor.. find the money for some kind of solution other than tap water for the makeup.. that will destroy your tank, and you will end up losing what money you have already invested in it, a good RO/DI or even distilled water (this is more expensive in the long run) will save you many, many, many hours of labor, frustration, and headache, and can make the difference between enjoying the hobby and the tank, and losing all the $$ you have already put into the tank when you get frustrated and either give up, or spend even more money and labor just trying to undo the problem the poor water caused in the fist place.
I'll step off the soap box now, sorry to rant, but good water cannot be stressed enough in its importance!
Just as a reference, here in steamy muggy Florida I still lose at least a gallon a day in a 55 gallon tank, significantly more on the rare days it is not so humid.
Ohh and also.. do yourself a favor.. find the money for some kind of solution other than tap water for the makeup.. that will destroy your tank, and you will end up losing what money you have already invested in it, a good RO/DI or even distilled water (this is more expensive in the long run) will save you many, many, many hours of labor, frustration, and headache, and can make the difference between enjoying the hobby and the tank, and losing all the $$ you have already put into the tank when you get frustrated and either give up, or spend even more money and labor just trying to undo the problem the poor water caused in the fist place.
I'll step off the soap box now, sorry to rant, but good water cannot be stressed enough in its importance!
marduc
New member
negative. chlorine maybe, but that is the least of your worries with tap water, think nitrites/trates, phosphates, copper, arsenic, lead, ect. ect. all of these will be in the water in unknown quantities, some are good fertilizer which the algea and cyano and diatoms will LOVE.. some are heavy metals which can be lethal in extremely small concentrations.
There may be a few areas that have extremely good water quality in terms of PPM of solids. but what is there is for the most part an unknown quantity, and 50 ppm of whatever (that would be extremely good for tap water anywhere) is a lot worse than good purified water with 0-2 ppm.
There may be a few areas that have extremely good water quality in terms of PPM of solids. but what is there is for the most part an unknown quantity, and 50 ppm of whatever (that would be extremely good for tap water anywhere) is a lot worse than good purified water with 0-2 ppm.
kenettson1
New member
I evaporate about 3-5 gallons/day based room temp and humidity in my 225.
i got my reef aquarium for $150 fully stocked with all the fixins off craigslist.com. basically about 600$ worth of stuff. its not that i cant afford a ro system i just dont want to spend money on one. i spend enough money on other crap and well i have to draw the line somewhere. i probably will look into buying distalled water if its cheap enough. seriously though everything in my tank is doing great my corals are getting bigger and multiplying the 3 damsles i got are swimming around acting gay. i dont have a local fish store. the closest one i have is about 30 min one way so i migh go the rout of distilled water whenever i buy some more expensive fish.
Its not the fish that are going to suffer from the use of tap water, its your corals inverts, and other creatures. If your not prepared to spend the time and money to properly care for your saltwater tank, you should not have purchased one to begin with. Using tap water for water changes is like you having to drink out of the nearest creek all day. You might not have had an issue thus far, but you will.
michaeldaly
New member
My 65g with sump loses around 10 gallons a week.
t5Nitro
New member
Just use the chlorine conditioners on the water you top off with.
Tap water isn't the way to go as most use RO/DI. This is funny because people say this, I use RO/DI too, but before that I used tap water with the conditioner and nothing happened. A LFS I know uses tap water as their water source and they are a sponsor here on RC and also one of the biggest companies with some of the best reviews and specimens. Unless they changed it to RO/DI, but I was told they used tap water.
Tap water isn't the way to go as most use RO/DI. This is funny because people say this, I use RO/DI too, but before that I used tap water with the conditioner and nothing happened. A LFS I know uses tap water as their water source and they are a sponsor here on RC and also one of the biggest companies with some of the best reviews and specimens. Unless they changed it to RO/DI, but I was told they used tap water.
GO to Walmart and look or ask for the ro water stand: you can buy ro water by the jug---don't get the stuff off the shelves: you want the one that fills from the machine. If you go on using tapwater, you'll be putting anything from arsenic to copper into your tank [lethal to inverts and ultimately to fish], not to mention nitrates and phosphates [nasty algae growth.]
And a helpful device is an autotopoff unit: you can make one out of an airline with a loose knot in it bulkheaded into an old salt bucket or jug. Ro water in the jug, end of the airline in your tank, slow-dripping at a rate that will roughly [you never can be quite accurate with this method] equal your evap: tighten the knot until you've got a tiny fraction of a cup an hour. Just make sure it won't overdo and overflow. Mark a good 'fill' line on your tank where the salinity is perfect, and hew to that.
For larger systems, a 75.00 autotopoff unit with a maxijet pump is the answer: from autotopoff.com, among others. Pump and hose in a side tub of ro/di water, dual switch float [the unit] in your sump, and it turns on the pump whenever it needs a teaspoon of water.
And a helpful device is an autotopoff unit: you can make one out of an airline with a loose knot in it bulkheaded into an old salt bucket or jug. Ro water in the jug, end of the airline in your tank, slow-dripping at a rate that will roughly [you never can be quite accurate with this method] equal your evap: tighten the knot until you've got a tiny fraction of a cup an hour. Just make sure it won't overdo and overflow. Mark a good 'fill' line on your tank where the salinity is perfect, and hew to that.
For larger systems, a 75.00 autotopoff unit with a maxijet pump is the answer: from autotopoff.com, among others. Pump and hose in a side tub of ro/di water, dual switch float [the unit] in your sump, and it turns on the pump whenever it needs a teaspoon of water.
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