Everyone else have lots of evaporation?

[AquaKnight]

Hopefully it's just not me, but anyone else losing a lot of water through evaporation? On my about 66gal total system, I'm losing about 2 gals a day. That's 21% a week! We keep the house at 74°, and it's doesn't feel real dry. My tank is open, save for a PC fixture, as well as the sump.

I just got to thinking, if I am continuously replacing that much volume, would I have to keep doing water changes? I do 10% bi-week changes. Or does 'fresh' saltwater need to be introduced back into the tank every so often? I have a rather heavy bio-load, but all the parameters read good. Just curious...

 

[jsl6v8]

water changes are more for taking out bad stuff than really putting in good stuff. I do about 10% weekly on my tanks but then I love making 40gallons of saltwater every week. I lose about 2 gallons on my 125, so to me 2 gallons on your 66 sounds like a whole lot to me.

 

[waterfaller1]

I lose 2, sometimes 3 gal per day on my 90. Water changes are not only for taking out the bad, but for replenishing trace elements.

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

are you running a chiller? do you run a autotop off? do you run fans over the sump/tank?what the tank temp now? if not then if you try to cure the evap concern you are more than likley going to have a heat issue. i loose 3 gallons or so a day with my 20 gallon due to water movement and a open top and sump. there is a ceiling fan about the tank also possibly causing my evap. but my tank temp runs between 77 at night to 78.5 during the day. and autotop off helps with forgeting to top off.

 

[mflamb]

Evaporation is just H2O, and nothing else, so you're not changing saltwater, you're changing fresh water. You're not exporting anything bad or importing anything good.

 

[sytanek]

My evap on my 55g is about 3g per day. I do have an open top, and have a 30g sump. Also have a ceiling fan above it, not really for cooling the tank, just because the tank is in the bedroom.

My tank temp stays almost exactly at 79.5.

 

[DJChesnutRabbit]

My tank is close to 140g total. Temp is about 81 degrees w/o a chiller. I loose about 5 gallons every 2 days which I think is great considering I have MH's and 2 fans blowing across the top.

 

[Stoney Mahony]

I loose 5g - 6g a day but I have 2 open top 36" x 18" tanks plumbed together with big halides and an open sump. Also a whole lot of fans!

 

[seth16]

I lose close to 2 gallons a day on my 75, and when i finish my fan cooling system, i plan on losing even more

 

[gwrench]

Evaporation rates seem to vary greatly on barometric pressures and humidity levels, an open top tank will undoubtedly evaporate more water than a closed top system. A positive note is that evaporation is a simple and very effective means of helping keep temperatures down. I have a closed top canopy ona 120 and evaporate approximatley 2-3 gallons per day, I also have to use a chiller. My frag system is completely open no glass tops no hoods etc.. and is approximatley 175 gallons, it evaporates about 3 -4 gallons per day and is also on a chiller.
I would agree with everyone else that top off water does nothing in regards to replenishing trace elements or otherwise as it is usually pure RODI water. The salt does not evaporate only the water. This is another reason to be sure to maintain a consistant top off method as salinity changes can and will effect corals and fish health. Not too many things in nature including us humans care for change, especially rapid and or extreme change. IMO
Regards
George

 

[AquaKnight]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9858892#post9858892 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skinnyjoe1976
are you running a chiller? do you run a autotop off? do you run fans over the sump/tank?what the tank temp now?

No chiller, autotop off, or fans (besides the built-in that came with the PC unit).

I keep the tank at 79° constantly, using a 200watt titanium heater, it will kick on occansionally when the lights are on, and blinks on and off with the lights off. I do 10 hours of light. Its set at 81°, because it's in the first chamber of the sump, so 2 degrees heat loss.

Make sense about changes, I dose usually once a month with Kent's Trace Elements, the corals seem to like it. I'll continue the 10% changes, everything is doing well (*knocks on wood* ).Thanks for everyone's help :beer:

 

[jsl6v8]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9858892#post9858892 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skinnyjoe1976
i loose 3 gallons or so a day with my 20 gallon due to water movement and a open top and sump. there is a ceiling fan about the tank also possibly causing my evap. but my tank temp runs between 77 at night to 78.5 during the day. and autotop off helps with forgeting to top off.

Sweet jesus you lose 3 gallons a day in your 20? the 20 in my bedroom, 150W HQI open top with my ceiling fan over it and its right under the AC vent thats blowing down on it, might lose 2 gallons a week stays at a nice steady 79.5 with maybe a 2 degree variation, gotta love that. Can't imagine losing, what is that 15%?, of of my water a day, that just seems like an awful lot to me.

 

[salty3]

My house ia at 84 right now and I go through about 1 1/2 to 2 gal a day on a 30gal reef. The worst was this morning, I just filled the tank before I went to bed at 11:00 got up at 7:00 and I was already a gal low. One gal in 8 hours.

 

[jsl6v8]

wow, maybe I'm just lucky with my 20g.

 

[jay24k]

Wow 2 gallons a day on a 20? That seems extremely high. With that much loss, I'd be worried about stability. You guys also need to keep in mind with losing 3 or more gallons a day could cause mold in your house. If your AC is unable to keep up with the excess moisture in your house, you could be getting mold build up.

I lose 3 gallons a day on 220 gallons total. My temps are 80 to 82.

 

[tonysdiscus]

i loose 30-40 gallons a week on my 150. so,your not the only one bro...
-tony

 

[jay24k]

30 to 40 gallons a week? Does your windows stay wet? I'd seriously be worried about that much unless you have some type of dehumidifer or if your AC has the ability to keep that out.

 

[markandkristen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9864355#post9864355 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by salty3
My house ia at 84 right now and I go through about 1 1/2 to 2 gal a day on a 30gal reef. The worst was this morning, I just filled the tank before I went to bed at 11:00 got up at 7:00 and I was already a gal low. One gal in 8 hours.

wow i thought nursing homes only kept it that hot..... is your air broke? ...

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

Sweet jesus you lose 3 gallons a day in your 20? the 20 in my bedroom, 150W HQI open top with my ceiling fan over it and its right under the AC vent thats blowing down on it, might lose 2 gallons a week stays at a nice steady 79.5 with maybe a 2 degree variation, gotta love that. Can't imagine losing, what is that 15%?, of of my water a day, that just seems like an awful lot to me.

what is your flow rate in the tank. i'm extreme in flow and lighting. i flowing 1800 gph or so and running 10 watts a gallon and have a 20 gallon sump. that's why i losing all the water. doesn;t bother me and corals don't seem bothered by is either.
so total system volume is about 40 gallons at a 3 gallons or so a day that would be 13.33 percent. my 10 gallon in the same room loses 1 gallon a day.

 

[skinnyjoe1976]

Wow 2 gallons a day on a 20? That seems extremely high. With that much loss, I'd be worried about stability. You guys also need to keep in mind with losing 3 or more gallons a day could cause mold in your house. If your AC is unable to keep up with the excess moisture in your house, you could be getting mold build up.

i use auto top off and the house temp stays between 72 and 74.