Interesting....

[blackjacktang]

I did a bit of calculating and graphing and found some interesting information.
If i were using 2.5g jugs ($2.50 ea.) to refill my tank once a week, it would cost me $255 a year. Thats is $1,020 in 4 years
If i were to keep using 5g (41 cents/G) to refill my tank, it would cost me $188 a year. That is $754 in 4 years.
I also estimated my tanks is evaporating about 870 gallons of water every 4 years. Thats 217 gallons a year.
I am about 85% this is accurate so i dont know for sure.
And yes, i know what an RO/DI unit is as i plan to purchase one. This is just to see if i never got one.

 

[nycbob]

interesting. so what is ur point? u can save more money buying gallons of fresh water rather than ro unit?

 

[2quills]

How many gallons a week are you changing and how much is top off?

 

[meowzer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by nycbob http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368062
interesting. so what is ur point? u can save more money buying gallons of fresh water rather than ro unit?
LOL...I think it's the opposite......you will save more money if you have an ro unit
ro units run from $100-and up....you can get a really good unit for $139
SO......if he spent $255 a year buying water.....see how much he would have saved with an ro unit

 

[blackjacktang]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368069
How many gallons a week are you changing and how much is top off?
i top off about .4g a day. My tank evaporates quick because i am in the mile high city and we are dry.

 

[kiefers]

Dude..... I'm just impressed you would take the time to try and figure this out!! YOU ROCK DUDE!!

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackjacktang http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368097
i top off about .4g a day. My tank evaporates quick because i am in the mile high city and we are dry.
Yeah it's the same way here in south texas between the winter and summer months. Humidity is so high in the summer so I get less evap. I was just currious about the pricing on the water because something was throwing me off...you said 2.5g jugs run $1 per gallon and 5g jugs run .41 cents a gallon? Either way, an r/o unit is going to save you quite a bit of coin.

 

[blooddogg757]

I don't want to jack your thread, but since we are talking about the water evaporating, my tank has been running since Dec.2010 and we have not had to add water to it yet. I think it is a good thing since my water parameters never change, I check everything about 3 - 4 times a week. We also have not ever done a water change...I added 1 gallon of fresh water out of the sink one time because my salinity went up to 1.026. 1 gallon of tap water dropped it back down to 1.024. Is this normal for a 55g tank to never evaporate?

 

[blackjacktang]

Quote:
Originally Posted by blooddogg757 http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368177
I don't want to jack your thread, but since we are talking about the water evaporating, my tank has been running since Dec.2010 and we have not had to add water to it yet. I think it is a good thing since my water parameters never change, I check everything about 3 - 4 times a week. We also have not ever done a water change...I added 1 gallon of fresh water out of the sink one time because my salinity went up to 1.026. 1 gallon of tap water dropped it back down to 1.024. Is this normal for a 55g tank to never evaporate?
dose it have a top?

 

[nikesb]

thats rather abnormal for it not to evaporate. on rainy days, my tank evaporates 1.5x it does on a normal day.

 

[blooddogg757]

Yes, there is a top. The standard Marine Life glass tops with a hole cut in the back flap so the filter would fit.
I have read thru some other posts and notice a lot of people having to add water and do water changes very frequently. My brother has to add about a gallon a day to his 55g tank and our setup is very, very close to being the same. Another buddy of mine has to add water to his everyday as well but he uses metal hylide lamps and they get very hot.
I count myself as fortunate for not having to add water to my tank everyday and consider that the reason my water parameters never change. Although I do keep my eye on everything, I have a box of salt ready to do a water change but haven't seen a need to as of yet.

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by blooddogg757 http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368177
I don't want to jack your thread, but since we are talking about the water evaporating, my tank has been running since Dec.2010 and we have not had to add water to it yet. I think it is a good thing since my water parameters never change, I check everything about 3 - 4 times a week. We also have not ever done a water change...I added 1 gallon of fresh water out of the sink one time because my salinity went up to 1.026. 1 gallon of tap water dropped it back down to 1.024. Is this normal for a 55g tank to never evaporate?
Quote:
Originally Posted by blooddogg757 http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368212
Yes, there is a top. The standard Marine Life glass tops with a hole cut in the back flap so the filter would fit.
I have read thru some other posts and notice a lot of people having to add water and do water changes very frequently. My brother has to add about a gallon a day to his 55g tank and our setup is very, very close to being the same. Another buddy of mine has to add water to his everyday as well but he uses metal hylide lamps and they get very hot.
I count myself as fortunate for not having to add water to my tank everyday and consider that the reason my water parameters never change. Although I do keep my eye on everything, I have a box of salt ready to do a water change but haven't seen a need to as of yet.
Interesting, indeed. There is a bit of a reason why people in this hobby don't use those glass tops. One is that it inhibits the ability of the tank to expel excess co2 and promote oxygen exchange. Another is that when you block fresh air from reaching the surface and create a build up of co2 it tends to cause your ph levels to go out of wack. Don't take this personally but I find it a bit hard to believe that your parameters never change. You say this tank has only been up for about 3 months and your parameters don't change? That pretty much goes against what everybody else in this hobby experiences with a new tank. Do you mean to tell us that your tank has never experienced a cycle? You may feel that never having to add water or do a water changes seems fortunate but I have a feeling that your livestock may beg to differ with you on this. Again, it's nothing personal, I just find this to be a bit of a stretch.

 

[kiefers]

i have a glass top and do water top offs atleast 2 times a week. I do leave a 2 inch openning in the back for gas exchanges. You might want to get a new test kit to compare or take a sample to your lfs

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368262
Interesting, indeed. There is a bit of a reason why people in this hobby don't use those glass tops. One is that it inhibits the ability of the tank to expel excess co2 and promote oxygen exchange. Another is that when you block fresh air from reaching the surface and create a build up of co2 it tends to cause your ph levels to go out of wack.
I have a glass top as well. Since it was running I had the glass top on the tank and sealed over the top. I do have a sump and the sump is wide open to the air. I read somewhere that the glass top was causing a problem like you mentioned. So I decided to experiment. My pH has always been 7.8 no matter how long I leave the lights on. I changed the way the return was setup to create more of a "boiling" look to the surface of the tank and I took the smaller flap of the glass top and opened it up so that it rested on the larger part of the glass top. I did it this way because of the PFF in the tank and peeps say they are jumpers. Having the top open like this would keep the fish jumping into the canopy if it were to jump. Well the fish never jumped in the week I had the tank like this. My PH also never rose above 7.8 either. What did happen was that my evap skyrocketed. I went from toppong off about a half gallon every other day to a half gallon every day. I am not cheap, but I certainly am frugal. So I left the return the way it was and closed the glass top back to the way I had it. pH is still 7.8 and the only negative thing I can see in the tank is the brown crap on the sand that will turn into cyno eventually, probably.
So, glass tops for me dont seem to assist or detract in some things. I do have a sump so I am sure that makes a world of a difference. However, I do agree with 2Q as you have to do water changes. Atleast do a water change atleast once a month. All the advertising stating that you dont have to do water changes is a bunch of hogwash in my opinion.

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368416
I have a glass top as well. Since it was running I had the glass top on the tank and sealed over the top. I do have a sump and the sump is wide open to the air. I read somewhere that the glass top was causing a problem like you mentioned. So I decided to experiment. My pH has always been 7.8 no matter how long I leave the lights on. I changed the way the return was setup to create more of a "boiling" look to the surface of the tank and I took the smaller flap of the glass top and opened it up so that it rested on the larger part of the glass top. I did it this way because of the PFF in the tank and peeps say they are jumpers. Having the top open like this would keep the fish jumping into the canopy if it were to jump. Well the fish never jumped in the week I had the tank like this. My PH also never rose above 7.8 either. What did happen was that my evap skyrocketed. I went from toppong off about a half gallon every other day to a half gallon every day. I am not cheap, but I certainly am frugal. So I left the return the way it was and closed the glass top back to the way I had it. pH is still 7.8 and the only negative thing I can see in the tank is the brown crap on the sand that will turn into cyno eventually, probably.
So, glass tops for me dont seem to assist or detract in some things. I do have a sump so I am sure that makes a world of a difference. However, I do agree with 2Q as you have to do water changes. Atleast do a water change atleast once a month. All the advertising stating that you dont have to do water changes is a bunch of hogwash in my opinion.
Yep, if you were to measure your o2 and co2 levels in the tank then I'm sure you would see a bit of a difference there as well. Most folks try to maintain their ph at around 8.2. When the weather warms up a little bit you should try an experemint by leaving a couple of windows open in the house and watch what your ph does from in the morning and again in the evening. Luckily my pff has never attempted the jump of all jumps and actually I've never even seen him swim up higher than the bottom half of the tank. As you mentioned though, a sump makes a big difference.

 

[blackjacktang]

Here is another graph with a 3rd line. The RO/DI line is if you buy a $140 system, replace $40 worth of filters once a year.

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackjacktang http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368570
Here is another graph with a 3rd line. The RO/DI line is if you buy a $140 system, replace $40 worth of filters once a year.

That's a pretty big savings, I would say. FWIW for most folks in the hobby, they should be changing filters at least twice a year since we use alot more water in our systems than what we drink, therefor we tend to burn through their life expectancy much faster. Filters typically have a gallonage rating for them and that's something worth looking into when purchasing them. But all in all, it's still a big savings. Especially when you factor in gas prices traveling back and forth to get water and all the extra time and effort involved.

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368466
Yep, if you were to measure your o2 and co2 levels in the tank then I'm sure you would see a bit of a difference there as well. Most folks try to maintain their ph at around 8.2. When the weather warms up a little bit you should try an experemint by leaving a couple of windows open in the house and watch what your ph does from in the morning and again in the evening. Luckily my pff has never attempted the jump of all jumps and actually I've never even seen him swim up higher than the bottom half of the tank. As you mentioned though, a sump makes a big difference.
Well, with the overnight low of 28 and a daily high of 50, my windows arent being opened for a while. I will do this, once summer actually arrives.

 

[kiefers]

We have no problems with Ph, mine as of right now is 8.4. Lights have been on for several hours but usualyy it is 8.3- 8.4 However, location and geography, from what I read plays a factor, lights and time left on and temp. of the water. So other than that..... who knows

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiefers http:///forum/thread/384476/interesting#post_3368678
We have no problems with Ph, mine as of right now is 8.4. Lights have been on for several hours but usualyy it is 8.3- 8.4 However, location and geography, from what I read plays a factor, lights and time left on and temp. of the water. So other than that..... who knows
It does, from what I understand as well. Higher elevations= less oxygen=lower ph. A good skimmer will help saturate the water with oxygen as well as good surface aggitation from powerheads, etc. Lights or high temperatures will cause it to drop as well. Different locals and different situations so I'm sure these things all play a roll. One thing is for certain is that no 2 people will have precisely the same experience in this hobby.