Water evaporation and top offs

[Ratfish]

My new tank has been up only for a few days and I can't help but notice how fast water is evaporating. I do wonder if the return pump is faster than inlet to sump, but I think I know how to adjust it so the display to sump is faster and levels equal out on their own.

I notice the water level receding specifically in the last baffle of my sump with my return pump. I did some maths with cubic inches from one day to the next, translated that to gallons and got about .45 gal of evaporation a day. Wow! really? That is normal for a system with about 110 gallons display and sump? Another thought I had is if the rapid change maybe due to the saturation of my rocks, I did have about half dry rock, which was very porous. Could be dissolving oxygen too, but I doubt it would be that much in volume.

I'm already learning why people have auto top offs in this hobby. Replies, links, and ideas welcome on that subject.

I have already made several gallons of water w/o salt for top offs. I still need to make water for water change, but still early for that. Since I have no critters to speak, equal temp is not yet a concern. Still need to round up back up equipment like heaters and such.

What I would also like to hear from people is their experience and how they schedule top offs? Or should I really start thinking of an auto system?

 

[Krish]

An overflow will only drain water at the same rate at which it is pumped into the tank. Only variation would be if the return pump exceeds what the overflow can handle, but other that that, one won't drain or pump water faster or slower than the other.

As for top off's, I think I may have done a poll on that one before. I will check and if I fond it post a link. I use to evaporate a crazy amount of water a day on a tank smaller than your system. Give me a sec to jump on a pc to try and find it.


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[Krish]

Here it is.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f36/how-many-gallons-do-you-lose-week-59181/

 

[Shane and John]

Hey there,if you are looking for a used-but still in great shape unit,have one that is not being used.I recently had to sell my120gallon system and the buyer didn't take the Ato.IT is the JBJ .they usually sell for 80 to 100$new.I would part with it for 50$ . I think I still even have the box for it..Let me know..
I did manual topp offs for a long time and the ATO was about the best thing I could have ever done for the tank.Less daily work for me and more stable salinity..

 

[jrgilles]

Yea, sounds about right. I lose maybe a gallon a day on my system. Haven't measured it exactly though.

Top off is pretty crucial I think. Keeps the chemistry solid (and automates the refill, which is better for you and the tank).

I would recommend getting on, and would also recommend a second float switch as an emergency (so if the first float gets stuck open, it won't dump the entire top off reservoir into the tank.)

This is what I have:
auto top-off components

I bought the deluxe, but really am only using the premium (deluxe has a third switch that shuts off the pump of the water reservoir goes empty.)
Inexpensive and works great, it is a DIY kit, but the instructions are very clear.

 

[Krish]

Hey there,if you are looking for a used-but still in great shape unit,have one that is not being used.I recently had to sell my120gallon system and the buyer didn't take the Ato.IT is the JBJ .they usually sell for 80 to 100$new.I would part with it for 50$ . I think I still even have the box for it..Let me know..
I did manual topp offs for a long time and the ATO was about the best thing I could have ever done for the tank.Less daily work for me and more stable salinity..

That's one thing I could never bring myself to do...Auto top offs!! I like to do everything manually as much as possible to make sure nothing doesn't malfunction. One of my disadvantages to having OCD! Life could be so much easier if I didn't worry about things failing. I would never have an automatic doser either because of it lol

Also, I'm all for people helping people. That's what this place us all about. Enjoying the hobby, sharing info and having a great time while at it. I see where you posted you have an ATO you are willing to get rid of at a great price and I just ask that in the future to be fair across the board that instead of posting it on the open forum where technically it isn't allowed, either just send a pm to the member saying you have something you want to sell or throw the item up in the classifieds. That way, we can keep items for sale off of the open forums (where they should never be) and avoid any issues here.


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[Shane and John]

Ugg, I surely didn't mean to cross any lines.sorry about that!!

 

[Krish]

Ugg, I surely didn't mean to cross any lines.sorry about that!!

No worries at all dude and don't sweat it. I know you didn't mean any bad by it. Just giving the head's up for everyone in general.

 

[DolphinLVR]

I loose about 1.5 gallons a day with my 180

 

[Ratfish]

I would have to pass right now on the ATO anyway, still in reaserch mode. And not sure if I would want to add. There are so many possible accesories, I kinda like Krish's philosophy and keep it minimalistic. I'm so new at this I don't want to add so much that when something goes wrong I don't know where to start looking. At least now I have an idea where to start and keep doing some research.

I looked at the link to the poll. With my .45 gal a day I'm doing ok. Looking at about 3.5 gal loss a week.

I've taken to using dry erase markers on the side of my sump to keep track of levels. Eventually I will set up a plan to have a max and min line with tick marks inbetween showing gallons. I think that will help me know when to top off

Thanks for the info. If anyone else has insights please post.

 

[Krish]

A little tip on your return is if you put an elbow (90 degree fitting) on the suction of your pump (if it sits in the sump) and point it down, it will give you more headroom with your water level. I use to do this having my pump suck like an inch off of the bottom of the sump so that if I was late in topping off, the pump could be partially out of the water and still operate because of how low it sucks from.


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[Shane and John]

I would evaporate about a gallon a day with my system,so w/o the ATO I was a slave to the tank.Im sure in the future you will get what I mean
I tried to limit the manual labor,because of my bad knee. Just have fun with the hobby!!