Evaporation!

[Chronotrigger]

I have to refill my tank every couple of days due to evaporation. In fact the evaporation is so fast, that the salt levels can get really high.

What can I do to limit or prevent the water loss?

 

[kevin95695]

Our 75g evaps 1-2 gallons per day depending on ambient conditions. I was topping off twice daily. I wound up buying a dosing pump and ran a tube to a freshwater reservoir. Very constant level now. I only add extra to the sump about every 3rd day now, and it takes very little. I'm hoping the added stability will pay off.

If you don't want to buy a doser, YourReef had a 5g gravity feed drip line gizmo the other day.

 

[P.Kelly]

Let's start with a few important questions:

1. How many gallons does your tank and system (i.e. sump) hold?
2. What sort of lighting and photoperiod do you have (how many watts and how many hours a day)?
3. Do you use a chiller, or fans to cool the tank?

Many people on this forum use an auto-topoff solutions. You can make one for less than $40 or $50

http://www.aquahub.com/store/diygaquarium.html

Or you can buy a commerical ATO solution for $80, like the JBJ unit here (I use this):

http://www.aquahub.com/store/atoreadytouse.html

The concept is to keep the water level constant, reducing fluctuation in the salinity (which will be higher will smaller tanks and hotter lighting.

 

[funman1]

We also have a DIY workshop coming up where you can build an ATO in the company of good friends
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1299943

 

[bored4long]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11829964#post11829964 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by funman1
We also have a DIY workshop coming up where you can build an ATO in the company of good friends
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1299943

Yep! Come build an ATO with several other members. It will be a great DIY session. There is still time to buy the parts you will need from aquahub, or Steve may be able to supply them for you himself.