water change

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leesanhua

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
Messages
297
Location
kansas
water in the tank has evaporated. how should i add more water?
i know this is quite a stupid question but i just want to make sure.
 
yeah as long as the water you're adding has been declorinated, brought to the temp of the tank, and brought to the right sg if it's a significant amount...glass lids that completely cover the top will reduce evaporation

everything i said is based on what i have read in my few months of being a freshwater aquarist so you should probably wait for someone else to correct me haha
 
felf has got it mostly right. top off water (water to add after evaperation) should be just water. no salt. when the water in the tank evaperates it leaves the salt behind wich raises the specific gravity. you need to add fresh water to drop it down. so regular water (tap or R/O) with dechlor is fine.
 
Just make sure the FW you add is RO/DI if possible and up to the same temp as the rest of the tank. Glass covers do help in reducing evaporation, hoever, evaporation is a good thing. A lot of people do not use glass covers because they reduce gas exchange between the water and the air and they decrease light penetration into the tank (important for reefs). HTH...Lando
 
Sorry, I forgot to mention...don't get "water changes" confussed with "top-offs". What you are talking about, Leesanhua, is actually topp-off. replacing evaporated water with regular FW. In a water change, you actually suck out the desired amount of water and replace it with the same amount of aged SW. Just for clarification.
 
Also as long as your only adding top off water that is only a gal or so you do not have to bring it up to temp.
I have a auto top off system that adds water when needed and it is cold water. Adding a small amount of water will not effect the tank.
 
What I use to do is mark the water level with a piece of clear tape and if the water level drops below the mark I just add more fresh(no salt) water until its at the mark again.
i'm good with the run on sentances
 
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