Losing water

[BigQFan]

I have a 29 gallon tall with 2 HOB filters. I've had it this way for maybe 5 months now. I came home last night and found that I had lost a lot of water so I topped it off. Now I wake up 8 hours later and I have to top it off again? What could this possibly be?
Sometimes the filter basket it one of my HOB's raises up a little and I get a drip down the back but I've never seen it lose water before at this rate
Any help would be appreciated

 

[reefdiver]

You have too look for a leak or you filter is clogging and making the water leak out that way.

 

[Unicorn1]

Ugh, mine does this too (and I have carpet in my room) clean the filter itself, don't touch the media. Scrub all the stuff off so you can get better flow through all the parts. Keep an eye on the filters when you do water changes and make sure the water level won't overflow.

 

[BigQFan]

Thanks. Just did I full check for leaks in tank...none...phew. Will clean filter basket again but I just cleaned it earlier this week. Should it need cleaning that often?

 

[reefdiver]

What brand are they? I have AC and I. Make sure to rinse my media in tank water. I sometimes slap the sponge on the side of the bucket

 

[wildroseofky]

Do you have a top on the tank? I have a 29 gallon that I recently took the top off of and it looses a lot of water due to evaporation. I have lost a couple of inches of water in a few days due to evaporation.

 

[Unicorn1]

Thanks. Just did I full check for leaks in tank...none...phew. Will clean filter basket again but I just cleaned it earlier this week. Should it need cleaning that often?

Are you cleaning the entire filter out? I have aqua clear. I take the media out and clean that in tank water, then disassemble and scrub the other parts of the filter.

 

[Rivercats]

Do you have a top on the tank? I have a 29 gallon that I recently took the top off of and it looses a lot of water due to evaporation. I have lost a couple of inches of water in a few days due to evaporation.

I lose 2 gallons of water to evaporation daily in my 220g. But the point is when AC is running it's job is to remove humidity in the air which causes a lot more evaporation from tanks. HOB filters also have a high evaporation rate even when lids are used because they cascade water into the tank causing evaporation. If you are only losing a little water daily then as long as you see no visible leaks then I'd chalk it up to evaporation. If your losing a significant amount then feel around the tank base, floors, or anywhere that could possibly be wet if there was a significant leak.

 

[BigQFan]

Yes it's 2 AC filters. I have always had the evaporation problem but just became alarmed when I had to top off tank twice in 8 hours. To be honest I usually eschewed scrubbing out the basket, just cleaning the media and its little holder. I just did a thorough cleaning of everything so we will see what happens.
Thanks for all the advice

 

[reefdiver]

Try a napkin around your filte to see if it leaks.

 

[wildroseofky]

reefdiver had a great idea. You could also lay paper towels around the bottom of you tank to see if water is slowly leaking.