Water evaporation

[Da sundance kid]

I recently set up a 76 gal oceanic bow front aquarium with sump and protein skimmer. I noticed that I get about a gallon a day in Water loss due to evaporation, is that normal????

 

[hackteck]

Yup that's normal on my 55g I get about half gallon a day evap

 

[Da sundance kid]

Ok thanx much appreciated

 

[Rosenweiss]

Yep, just top if off with FW (though you probably know that!)

 

[Henry405]

thats quite a lot, I barely lose half a gallon week with my 36g bowfront

 

[Gti_Leo]

when there is more surface area water tends to evaporate faster then it does on a smaller area of water

 

[jcolon]

Evaporation rate increases due to the following
1. Warmer water evaporates faster
2. Increased surface area
3. If the air has a low humidity so the air is relatively dry.
4. A breeze or wind across the surface of water (A fan nearby)
5. A decrease in atmospheric pressure (not really applicable to most of us)

 

[hackteck]

plus i have a 6 bulb T5HO light fixture so im sure that doesnt help heh

 

[Gti_Leo]

lol the T5s don't get hot enough to make a differnce. you can still tough t5 hos with your hand and not get burnt

 

[hackteck]

sure they do i had to raise mine cause they kept raising the tempature of my tank 2 degrees

 

[Gti_Leo]

what were you running before the 2 degree jump?

 

[hackteck]

4 bulb T5HO then i upgraded to the nova extreme pro 6 bulb 48" t5ho

 

[jcolon]

The bulb does not necessarily have to get hot to warm water (although it can't hurt) ... just the light (which is energy) is absorbed by water increasing the temperature .. albiet should not be by much. See if this scenario applies .... You have a large (surface area) heated, constantly lit tank in an air conditioned (low humidity) room where air is flowing (from a fan or vent) over the tank.

 

[Gti_Leo]

hmm thats actually really interesting, i know for a fact you can still handle the tubes with your hands and not get burnt so i don't see how the extra two bulbs would radiate enough heat, but then again i've never put that many lights over my aquarium. i'm still lookign for a fixture to put over mine.

today i go some a few PC fixtures that i hope i'll be able to use over mine