its evaporating awfully fast...

[adee]

how fast is too fast? What would make the water evaporate quickly? It seems like every other third day im topping it off...

 

[meowzer]

What size tank and how much top off are you talking about...I add about a gallon a day to my 225g......Sometimes we skip one though

 

[sickboy]

It is so cold and dry here I have been topping off about 1/4-1/2 gallon on my 38 every day. my nano isn't as bad b/c of the lid but it has been evaporating fast too. i started running a humidifier to help out.

 

[adee]

its a 37 gallon... maybe 1/2 gallon.. if that? I will have to pay better attention to just how much.

 

[florida joe]

Surface movement heat and an open top is the answer to your original question, of course this is assuming you do not have any leaks

 

[salty blues]

Originally Posted by ADEE
http:///forum/post/2929010
how fast is too fast? What would make the water evaporate quickly? It seems like every other third day im topping it off...
It's a fact of life with fish tanks and with saltwater you need to keep up with topping off since the salinity rises as water evaporates.

 

[adee]

we are using RO water to top off... salinity has been perfect with little-no fluxuations. we have also done a partial water change since starting the tank too. I expected to have to have alot of top offs because of it being saltwater i just wasnt sure how much was too much. it is an open top tank, and as far as we know no leaks... we did do a test on it previously (before adding salt water/fish/exc) and didnt find any leaks. it has been pretty much every other day, not every third.. my husband corrected me. we never let it get more than an inch-inch and half below the top (of the black rim.. like 3" from actual surface of tank)

 

[bigal0221]

I have just started a 125g and I have been topping off every day with approx. 1 to 1-1/2 gallons.

 

[nw2salt08]

I have to top off my 55 gallon reef every couple days. Have since we turned the heater on. With winter conditions and the heater going, topoff is a given. More evaporation to try to make up for the lack of natural evaporation in the environment. The lights do also play a part in it.

 

[lil.guppy]

I add 1/2 gallon every 2 days to my 46g
(its nice when its pre mixed)

 

[james2042]

Originally Posted by ADEE
http:///forum/post/2929010
how fast is too fast? What would make the water evaporate quickly? It seems like every other third day im topping it off...
i put 3 gallons a week in my 180

 

[adee]

sounds like its right on cue then... i always have a 5 gallon jug of each (one saltwater premixed and one ro water) it does stay in the house, in the dark so its good for a couple weeks. i just wanted to make sure it was typical to be evaporating at that rate. Considering we are using a heater now, lights, exc makes sense.

 

[jackri]

Originally Posted by lil.guppy
http:///forum/post/2929199
I add 1/2 gallon every 2 days to my 46g
(its nice when its pre mixed)
I hope you aren't topping off with saltwater lil.guppy... please don't add more salt to your tank for topping off -
My 90g goes through about 2 gallons of evaporation a day. I have halides and cpu fans blowing across the water to keep it cool but yeah --- I get a lot of evaporation.

 

[gypsana]

I put a mark on my sump with a sharpie to know exactly how much water to add so I was not adding too little or too much. Always fresh never salt added. as mentioned by jackri. I have an open top 90+ gal. and have 1 to 1 1/2 gal. a day evaporation.