I need help with something minor

[Greenlady]

I filled up my new 20 gallon peninsula all in one tank to cycle. In less than a day I noticed the water levels got lower in the back so I added more water and woke up this morning to it being as low in the picture. Is it supposed to be that low or should it be higher? I feel like the pump got louder too. I don't want to run the pump too hard. Please help!

 

[Hydrored]

It’s due to evaporation, when water evaporates you should be adding fresh RODI water and not salt water.

 

[VB313]

Hard to tell with the pics but you will loose And have to replace water daily with evaporation

 

[esther]

Is your tank rimless? You're going to have a lot of evaporation, so you're going to need to top off regularly. I second what everyone has said.

 

[andrewey]

If you're looking at the back compartment, it should be the surface skimmer compartment on the left, the water goes down under the baffle into the second chamber and goes over the baffle into the third chamber on the right (the one with the pump). Is that correct?

If so, you need more water. You don't have enough water and therefore the second chamber isn't filling enough to overflow into the third. As a result, you're only pulling from the third compartment. This is the compartment that you will monitor once the tank is filled enough and add RO water due to evaporation. Before you fill the evaporation, I would fill the tank up completely with enough saltwater for it to work.

I would check that your tank is low on total saltwater before you top off evaporation, otherwise you'll skew the salinity too much. Once the proper level is set, only add RO water with evaproation.

 

[Greenlady]

It’s due to evaporation, when water evaporates you should be adding fresh RODI water and not salt water.

I don't know how to do RODI water yet
.. I haven't seen a video yet that fully explains it.

 

[Greenlady]

Is your tank rimless? You're going to have a lot of evaporation, so you're going to need to top off regularly. I second what everyone has said.

Yes it's rimless

 

[esther]

I don't know how to do RODI water yet
.. I haven't seen a video yet that fully explains it.

I would recommend getting some from your LFS in the meantime.

 

[Greenlady]

If you're looking at the back compartment, it should be the surface skimmer compartment on the left, the water goes down under the baffle into the second chamber and goes over the baffle into the third chamber on the right (the one with the pump). Is that correct?

If so, you need more water. You don't have enough water and therefore the second chamber isn't filling enough to overflow into the third. As a result, you're only pulling from the third compartment. This is the compartment that you will monitor once the tank is filled enough and add RO water due to evaporation. Before you fill the evaporation, I would fill the tank up completely with enough saltwater for it to work.

I would check that your tank is low on total saltwater before you top off evaporation, otherwise you'll skew the salinity too much. Once the proper level is set, only add RO water with evaproation.

Yes that is correct. It flows top to the middle compartment. I keep adding more water but it keeps going down. I fill it up all the way but by a couple of hours its low again. How many times a day do I have to top it off? I don't understand the rodi watee

 

[Greenlady]

I would recommend getting some from your LFS in the meantime.

Can you buy it from the store?

 

[esther]

Can you buy it from the store?

Yes.

 

[Moscar]

Yes that is correct. It flows top to the middle compartment. I keep adding more water but it keeps going down. I fill it up all the way but by a couple of hours its low again. How many times a day do I have to top it off? I don't understand the rodi watee

You really, really need to watch the BRS 5 minute series. Check your salinity or specific gravity. Add RO/DI or salt mix accordingly. Emergency RO/DI mat be available at your grocery store. Emergency (high S.G./ salinity) make up water --- distilled water. Temporary band aid. You may need to add more water than you think! Have fun, good luck.

 

[Greenlady]

You really, really need to watch the BRS 5 minute series. Check your salinity or specific gravity. Add RO/DI or salt mix accordingly. Emergency RO/DI mat be available at your grocery store. Emergency (high S.G./ salinity) make up water --- distilled water. Temporary band aid. You may need to add more water than you think! Have fun, good luck.

Oh its just distilled water for the salt mix. Okay geez fancy names. I get my water from a water distillery at my grocery store. Lol I have learn all the terms yet.

 

[Greenlady]

I would recommend getting some from your LFS in the meantime.

Its distilled fresh water right?

 

[Greenlady]

You really, really need to watch the BRS 5 minute series. Check your salinity or specific gravity. Add RO/DI or salt mix accordingly. Emergency RO/DI mat be available at your grocery store. Emergency (high S.G./ salinity) make up water --- distilled water. Temporary band aid. You may need to add more water than you think! Have fun, good luck.

Thank you

 

[Moscar]

Thank you

BRS has solid reputation. You can see the tanks they set up. Enjoy!

 

[Greenlady]

BRS has solid reputation. You can see the tanks they set up. Enjoy!

That's where I bought my tank from. I've watch a couple of videos. I guess I haven't found the right one yet

 

[andrewey]

How to make the best water possible? The result is a thriving saltwater tank & RODI is the answer

The wisest advice for any tank owner is that maintaining a stunning reef tank, full of healthy corals, is just the net result of maintaining high-quality and stable water. Almost every success or challenge with reef aquariums is closely related to maintaining your water chemistry.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Greenlady]

How to make the best water possible? The result is a thriving saltwater tank & RODI is the answer

The wisest advice for any tank owner is that maintaining a stunning reef tank, full of healthy corals, is just the net result of maintaining high-quality and stable water. Almost every success or challenge with reef aquariums is closely related to maintaining your water chemistry.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Thank you. In your opinion whats best RODI brand?

 

[Jonify]

Like others have mentioned, BRS has a great RO/DI setup if you go that route. (I've tried cheaper ones from Amazon, but had leaks from them). Regardless, place a mark or a piece of tape at the water line of your rear sump chamber to note where the water should be when it's filled properly and your salinity is where it should be. Then, every day, add a little more fresh/RO water to bring it back up to that line (salt doesn't evaporate, so don't add saltwater or your salinity will creep up). If you do that every day, your salinity will remain stable, your protein skimmer will skim properly since the water levels won't fluctuate, and you'll have a much easier time keeping everything else stable.