Evaporation Rates?

[Troutbum17]

I have a 28g JBJ Nano Cube that I've been running for a while over a year. No major issues, minor algae problems here and there, but corals and fish have thrived for the most part.

This Christmas i got a Kessil A360W and quickly mounted it to the tank. Ive noticed that my evaporation rates have increased significantly. Granted i realize that getting rid of the hood will obviously have a significant impact on evaporation, but i didn't think that it would be this noticeable. I'm having to replace about 3/4 of a gallon every two days. Before it would be that amount in a week's time.

My question is, does this seem reasonable? It's actually quite a turn off as i don't want to deal with an ATO, and it's greatly impacted the need to be even more attentive to water levels and evaporation, making it hard to leave the tank for a couple of days. Just was curious to hear others experiences and input.

 

[Mebbid]

That sounds about right. My 90g runs through a gallon a day. The only real fix to this is to increase humidity in your house or put the glass covers back on

 

[mr_X]

Yes, it's reasonable. I don't measure how often my ATO kicks on, but I do know that it differs with the seasons. We have forced hot air heat and it seems to increase evap. Perhaps it will lessen in the spring. Has the ph changed any?

 

[Mebbid]

Yes, it's reasonable. I don't measure how often my ATO kicks on, but I do know that it differs with the seasons. We have forced hot air heat and it seems to increase evap. Perhaps it will lessen in the spring. Has the ph changed any?

Every winter for me here in michigan the air gets dry and my evaporation rates skyrocket. It's really really frustrating

 

[mr_X]

Michigan has some brutal winters. I used to travel to Lansing from time to time years ago to deliver GM parts. Not a fan of the climate!

 

[t4runnr]

I'm especially liking the -2 and -22 windchill today in Ann Arbor.

My evaporation rate in my 75 with a sump is pretty much the same. About a gallon a day. I think most of it is from the tank and not the sump because the sump is mostly covered. The tank itself is not covered at all. I'm in process of making a cover for it now.


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[Troutbum17]

Thanks for the input. Admittedly haven't been watching the pH as closely as i should. I would imagine that it is up slightly due to the increased aeration.

Winters here in Chicago aren't quite as bad as they are in MI, but still not great. Cold and dry.

If i were to do a DIY plexiglass lid to put on it, would the kessil (attached to gooseneck fitting) reflect off of the lid too much? The old Nano Cube LED hood isn't an option as it will obviously block the Kessil.

Unfortunately it may be time to cave to the RODI filter rather than buying 10g of distilled every 2 weeks like i have been doing up to this point. Also might be time for an ATO as much as i cringe at the idea of a malfunction leading to saltwater all over my floor.

 

[Mebbid]

I doubt it would cut down on your light that much. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Sniperhank]

Thanks for the input. Admittedly haven't been watching the pH as closely as i should. I would imagine that it is up slightly due to the increased aeration.

Winters here in Chicago aren't quite as bad as they are in MI, but still not great. Cold and dry.

If i were to do a DIY plexiglass lid to put on it, would the kessil (attached to gooseneck fitting) reflect off of the lid too much? The old Nano Cube LED hood isn't an option as it will obviously block the Kessil.

Unfortunately it may be time to cave to the RODI filter rather than buying 10g of distilled every 2 weeks like i have been doing up to this point. Also might be time for an ATO as much as i cringe at the idea of a malfunction leading to saltwater all over my floor.

RO/DI's are great. I loved the one I have from BRS until the issues with my water supply were causing other issues that I took it offline, leading to almost 2 years of buying 15 gallons of distilled water every week.
If you set everything up correctly with your tank, an ATO will not lead to an overflow. I use a JBJ overflow, and how they work is with a float valve that when it drops below a certain level, turns on a pump that loads it up from the water source until it is where it needs to be. As long as the float switch doesn't stick or fail, you are fine. Along with that, why have a water source that is large enough to allow such a thing to occur? I only keep 1 gallon on my system for top off as it only needs 1 gallon of top off per day.

 

[Mebbid]

The nice thing about the JBJ is that it will only run for a little while before automatically shutting itself off regardless of what the float valves are telling it. Due to that, I run a 10g tank as my top off reservoir.

 

[mr_X]

I use the JBJ as well, but I find they start acting up after a year or so of use. Every once in a while I'll find my entire top off reservoir emptied. I only fill it half way because of this. I would say that's about 15 gallons of water. The pump I use is a mj1200 and it's got to raise the water about 2 feet, so that should give you an idea of the kind of flow I use.
I realize the JBJ unit is supposed to shut off after 3 consecutive minutes of use, but I think it's running a bit longer than that.
15 gallons of fresh water won't hurt my system, so it's not a big deal, but still worth mentioning.

 

[Mebbid]

Hmm.. interesting that's good to know, I'll have to keep an eye on that because I've had mine for a hair over a year now

 

[Sniperhank]

I use an aqualifter with my JBJ and it doesn't shut off after 3 seconds. Mine will go until the switch is tripped. It may be the setting it is on or it might be broke...either way it works for me and I do water changes through it.

 

[mr_X]

3 minutes, not seconds.