Salt creep and evaporation

[Swimzebras]

Oh and the tank is 45 gal with a 10 gal sump

 

[Ricksreef]

Oh and the tank is 45 gal with a 10 gal sump

Pictures? Is your sump completely enclosed in a stand?

 

[Bnortz]

get an auto top off

 

[David S]

Its not evaporating mainly from the sump,its just the sump is the only place the water level will drop as the water level in your dt is always as high as your overflow.There is now a lot more water movement in your system now you have a sump but 5 gallons still seems to be a lot in one day for a small tank.Salt creep is also associated with water droplets so check the flow of water where the salt creep is isnt splashing,try routing pipework lower than water level to avoid splashing.If you do put a cover on the sump make sure the lid on the dt is left open for good gas exchange,you can also drop the temp lower than 78 a bit.

 

[Swimzebras]

But the water is evaporating from the sump because it's the only open part

 

[David S]

I'm not disputing that but it will be evaporating from every where.how is the water entering the sump,is the supply pipework above the water level in your sump,if so this will cause splashing and help lower the water volume,is the sump in a stand under the tank,if so check the inside of the stand for any signs of dampness from the splashing,I had this problem when I first setup my sump, I also thought it may just be evaporation but it wasn't.

 

[Swimzebras]

Yea, there is a ton of splashing

 

[curiousclam120]

get an auto top off and fix that splashing problem

Here is an auto top off I'm going to use:

AutoTopoff.com

 

[Sparky74]

Have you been running the AC in the house a lot lately? This will increase evaporation, since one of it's main jobs is to remove humidity from the house. If your house is dry, evaporation will increase.

Covering will help slow evaporation(less surface area). If you want to prove that theory, just take 2 cups of equal parts water and place on your counter. Cover one. I bet the uncovered one evaporates first.

 

[Swimzebras]

That l makes sense, I'm getting some plexan from my parents lab tomorrow to cover it