Animal-Chin
Aquarium Advice Addict
OMG sooooo worth every penny. That and an auto top off were 2 of the best extras i've purchased....
The best way I can explain how the ph stabilizes with an open top is that the water can breathe. lol There is ample surface area for the bad gases to be expelled and good fresh air to enter.
OMG sooooo worth every penny. That and an auto top off were 2 of the best extras i've purchased....
Maybe a new thread would be a good idea ,
But I am thinking of trashing my glass tops and making something to keep the jumped in ,
I was thinking light penetrating through glass clean and when it has salt residue May have different lighting intensity .
I have 2 ideas,
Either building wooden frames with plastic window screen or egg crate plastic .
It's still 1/2" holes
Anything except photographic or optics grade resin or glass will have some effect on light transmission, even that takes its toll.
Basically saying nothing will be as good as open top ?
Is evaporation higher without a glass top ?
So you know what you are doing with salt, that will do for me! I've been dreaming about mine for ages, I've planned a thousand different ideas. That change as new stuff comes out, led for example. It's the things you can't read about that concern me. For example, the gaseous exchange method is how I've always stocked my tanks, how does that work with a marine tank? Is it display area only or all areas able to permit gaseous exchange, sump, ref etc. this makes a big difference in my sums, I can't find anything anywhere about this?
yes, evaporation is higher without glass top. all molecules have kinetic energy. the ones with higher than average kinetic energy will "jump", or evaporate. a glass top stops, at least a portion of the water molecules, from leaving the tank. However, this is expected regardless whether this is a SW or FW system. if you do decide to have an open top, it's wise to invest in a mesh screen top that prevents the fish from jumping. i have learned the lesson the hard way when my fish jumped to its death. a mesh screen top, depending on the size/dimension of the tank, will cost you anywhere from $20-$60 from BRS, but it's well worth the investment as most SW fish cost north of that range.
An auto top up is a separate tank full of fresh water, a float valve goes in the sump. When water level drop through evaporation it switches on a motor that pumps the fresh into the marine replenishing tank to original level. Controls salinity and pH.
Edit- there may be more, ask one of them!
An auto top up is a separate tank full of fresh water, a float valve goes in the sump. When water level drop through evaporation it switches on a motor that pumps the fresh into the marine replenishing tank to original level. Controls salinity and pH.
Edit- there may be more, ask one of them!
Over here tunze is the best name I think but I've no experience whatsoever with a marine tank.
That is one way to do it, but I'm personally not a fan of electric float switches in a saltwater environment..... way too many stories of corrosion causing the switches to stick open & pump the entire container of top-off water into the system. If you do go this route, make sure to run the system through a digital timer as a back-up in case the switch does stick open..... that way the timer will only allow it run for so long at a time.
Personally, I'd rather just cut the switch out of the equation altogether and run something like a 50ml/min BRS top-off pump on a timer. You can easily determine what your daily evap rate is, and set a digital timer to turn on the pump a few times a day for the given amount of water you need.
my refugium sump can handle an additional 20g or so before it runs the risk of overflowing. that being said, a ATO float switch getting stuck open and emptying 5g of freshwater into my 150g system isn't going to do much.
also to the OP, $245 may seem like a lot to spend on something as "minor" as a RODI unit, but keep in mind how much money in fish youll have in that tank.
That is one way to do it, but I'm personally not a fan of electric float switches in a saltwater environment..... way too many stories of corrosion causing the switches to stick open & pump the entire container of top-off water into the system. If you do go this route, make sure to run the system through a digital timer as a back-up in case the switch does stick open..... that way the timer will only allow it run for so long at a time.
Personally, I'd rather just cut the switch out of the equation altogether and run something like a 50ml/min BRS top-off pump on a timer. You can easily determine what your daily evap rate is, and set a digital timer to turn on the pump a few times a day for the given amount of water you need.