how much evap loss should i expect

project5k

Reef enthusiast
I have a 75, and i'm running a little 10gal sump/fuge for right now, and i'm having to add water daily to my fuge/return pump areas to keep the pump covered. Yesterday i added nearly a gallon. Now i'm guessing that this is due to evap, and i'm sure theres plenty of that cause i run my AC pretty hard in the house, but is a gallon a day normal?

oh, and yes, i know about topping off with ro/di vs just adding more mixed salt water cause of the concentration increases of the water evap'n and the salt staying in the tank....
 
A lot of it depends on the temp, air temp, and time of the year. I have a 40 gal with a 10 gal sump and add around a gal a day sometimes more sometimes less, but usually right at a gal a day.
 
+1 bobby - mine doesn't evap much in the summer, but in the winter, with the dry heat on in the house, I put in about 1/gal/day for top offs.
 
ok, well that makes me feel a bunch better, i was crawling all over the floor, and everything trying to find a leak to explain it..

I know my fresh water tank evaps between 1-2 gal per week, but the temp is lower and theres no sump or overflow, nor does it have nearly as much light or heat...

anyway, so yesterday when i noticed the drop in the sump area, i was really worried... but i guess its normal... this also explains what all i have been reding about auto top-offs.... ok, so time to rednek engineer myself one of thoes.. i've got an ideal that i really wanna try...
 
Yeah I had to get an ATO once it became warmer. I have a 15 gal tub next to my tank with an ATO hooked up to it and I have to fill it up atleast once a week/week and a half.

It was such a pain without the ATO.
 
in the summer i loose over 5 gal a day from evap but just so you know the best way to cool a tank in the summer is by promoting evap. the evaperated water takes the heat out of the tank.
 
well, really my only concerns is letting the return pump run dry, and hurting the fish cause of the change in chemistry(increasing salinity due to evap'd water) but as far as the time, well, lets just say, time i have, money i dont. so if i end up adding a few min to my tank process each day, so be it, its just more time for me to do what i enjoy, and less time doing something i probably shouldnt be doing.

I'm seriously considering a simple suction system. Have you seen thoes automatic water dishes for dogs and cats? or even the office water cooler uses the principal, you have an air tight container, full of plain ro water, the only opening is under the current water level, when that drops and the openeing becomes exposed to the air, Gu-lunk! some comes out... seems pretty simple to me, i would just set something like that up so that it keeps the return pump section of the sump at the level i want it at...

The other thought would be to use something like a toilet float valve, when the water level falls, it opens the valve and more water comes in, then when its high enough, it cuts off...

or even simpler than that, why not just a plastic water traugh valve, they sell thoes for cattle at tractor supply... same principal as the toilet valve, just easier to just clamp onto the side of a tank, and then have a supply of water above that to gravity feed into the tank when the level drops.

what do ya'll use thats not an off the shelf part?
 
With my T5's under my canopy and a fan running over the water for most the day, i go through a good 5g/week easy.
 
i drilled a hole in my sump and put a float in it than hooked it to my ro/di unit. i got tired of filling the tank 2 or 3 times a day with water. now it is always at the same level
 
Right now I loose about 2 and 1/2 gallons a day.
I think it was Biff that built a gravitiy fed ATO using the toilet flush valve.
 
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