Salinity rising, and Top off question....

[mooch1982]

Hey guys,

Quick question. So i have a 20 gallon tank with MH and PC actinic lighting. My tank evaporates about 1 gallon per day. During the morning Salinity is at 1.025. After lights turn off, it gets to about 1.026. I top off at night. My questions is,

Will topping off the one gallon at night, and immediately lowering the salinity from 1.026 o 1.025 harm corals or fish? I personally do not think so, but would like some opinions.

Note: I do plan to get a ATO system in the near future, but right now am topping off daily, and must continue to do so.

 

[pompeyjohn]

I don't think it would hurt. It depends though, some things are more tolerant to swings than others. It might be an idea to post your list here and then people can see if there are any potential concerns.

That is an astonishing amount of evap though. How?! Do you have a large return pump in a small compartment?

 

[Piraya33]

I don't think it would hurt. It depends though, some things are more tolerant to swings than others. It might be an idea to post your list here and then people can see if there are any potential concerns.

That is an astonishing amount of evap though. How?! Do you have a large return pump in a small compartment?

I agree. It shouldn't harm anything. That is a very small change. The evaporation rate seems quite high. What MH fixture are you using? I have a 70 watt MH on my 24 gallon aquapod and I am only seeing an evaporation of maybe 3 gallons every week. Unless you are using a 150 or 250 watt halide, that is a lot of evaporation you are seeing.

 

[mooch1982]

250 Watt metal Halide, and a 65 watt PC for actinic over a 20 gallon. Am also blowing a fan over the water when ever the Halides come one. And maybe not 1 gallon, perhaps 1/2 a gallon, but either way enough to raise salinity from 1.25 to 1.026.

As for tank species, nothing yet, it is going through a cycle, but it is going to be an SPS tank.

By the way how much of a swing would be harmful. For examply i would imagine, going from 1.028 to 1.025 would bee too much over a matter of seconds.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

on my 20 i used to use a very simple siphon drip system...it was a brita water jug 1/2 gallon it had a 20" piece of air line in to the bottom of it and hanging down the side...i used suction cups to hold it to the inside of the jug...i put the little air valve thing on the end of it and, every morning i would simply suck on the air line to start the siphon then adjust it to a drip or two a second...by the end of the day the jug was empty and the SG never changed...worked like a charm every day...other then i had to fill it and start the siphon every day all of 2 minutes...

 

[mooch1982]

I thought about doing that actually, but need to find away to place it above my tank so it can be gravity fed.

 

[hebygb]

your lighting explains the evaporation. The salinity drop is not a huge deal, but in a nano it is nice to maintain stability as best you can. With the amount of evaporation you have, you could mitigate the swings in salinity by using an ATO system. I am not a big fan of the siphon or drip method, because there is ample room for failure.

Is this an AIO system?

 

[mooch1982]

Guys,

I am actually looking into one of these:

http://www.autotopoff.com/products/DT1/

It will be used in conjunction with a Maxijet 600 to pump water back into the tank. Its about $65 Shipped and can be used later on even if I upgrade my tank to a bigger one.

 

[NanoReefWanabe]

your lighting explains the evaporation. The salinity drop is not a huge deal, but in a nano it is nice to maintain stability as best you can. With the amount of evaporation you have, you could mitigate the swings in salinity by using an ATO system. I am not a big fan of the siphon or drip method, because there is ample room for failure.

Is this an AIO system?

if he uses a half gallon jug there is no room for failure...if it doesnt drip then he is no worse then he is right now and if it all spills out it is not going to really effect the water either...any larger though and there is potential problems...that said i used mine for two years with Kalk and never had any problems...