Water evaporation

[ndz98]

I have a 29g tank and 10 g sump and it seems like the water level drops pretty quickly daily. I typically replace around a cup of water a day. Does that seem like a lot of evaporation or is that pretty normal?

 

[mrtian97]

mine evap about 1% daily

 

[redfishbluefish]

I wish mine was just a cup!!!! I have a 90 gallon tank with 40 breeder sump and loose about 1 to 1 1/2 gallons a day.

 

[ndz98]

I wish mine was just a cup!!!! I have a 90 gallon tank with 40 breeder sump and loose about 1 to 1 1/2 gallons a day.

Dang that's a lot. Makes my one cup seem so small lol. Atleast I know I'm not going crazy now. Since I have a smaller tank would I be able to use like a drip type method to keep the water at a constant amount?

 

[goatcorals]

Mine are about 1/2% per day, but I have glass canopies, open sumps.

 

[Feltman]

Ya I have a 150 with a 30 sump and a 40gl freshwater reservoir that only lasts a week and that's with leds and dc pumps so less heat.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Dang that's a lot. Makes my one cup seem so small lol. Atleast I know I'm not going crazy now. Since I have a smaller tank would I be able to use like a drip type method to keep the water at a constant amount?

I would suggest you look into an ATO. You can purchase "store bought" ATO or build your own for a little piece of change. It makes life a whole lot simpler.

 

[ndz98]

I would suggest you look into an ATO. You can purchase "store bought" ATO or build your own for a little piece of change. It makes life a whole lot simpler.

Are there any videos you suggest I should watch for a diy ato?

 

[Feltman]

Unfortunately atos are the cause of a fairly significant amount of tank crashes. And with how cheap the jbj ato is, ato is one thing I wouldn't diy. Just buy the manufactured version.

 

[redfishbluefish]

If you have the skill set and knowledge, a DIY ATO is hands down better than a JBJ.....simply because you'd include a second float switch as a backup to the primary switch. (NOTE, if you don't have DIY skills....buy something!) I'm a redundancy freak and my issue with most commercial ATO's is that they don't include the back-up. This is especially true if the ATO is based on a float switch....because if will fail.

The ATO I have had since 2008, the primary switch has failed once. But I do have the emergency backup switch, so I was safe from a flood / salinity swing of the tank.

If you have DIY skills, a 4 dollar relay with a couple dollar a piece float switches (and a project box, wire, outlet, etc) will give you a reliable ATO.....pump not included. The closest thing I've found to doing it totally by yourself is the AquaHub kit HERE......it's semi DIY......and it comes with the backup switch.

 

[NanaReefer]

Unfortunately atos are the cause of a fairly significant amount of tank crashes. And with how cheap the jbj ato is, ato is one thing I wouldn't diy. Just buy the manufactured version.

Cheap and oh so dependable. Been running my jbj ato for 4yrs and still going strong.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Cheap and oh so dependable. Been running my jbj ato for 4yrs and still going strong.

Please, tell me how you have it set up. The system I'm building now, the guy insists I use a JBJ, and when I read the manual, I don't think I can set it up with a backup switch. I actually posted a question over in the equipment forum about this....HERE.

 

[ndz98]

I see people selling ato's all the time on here so what if I got a used one? Is it something that will work fine used? I'm kind of on a budget since I'm still in highschool so that's why I ask. The pump probably wouldn't be much. I see one on brs for 20 bucks.

 

[ndz98]

Is the problem primarily with the float switches since they can get stuck from build up on them?

 

[Feltman]

Please, tell me how you have it set up. The system I'm building now, the guy insists I use a JBJ, and when I read the manual, I don't think I can set it up with a backup switch. I actually posted a question over in the equipment forum about this....HERE.

If u go to bulkreefsupply.com website they show u how to run both switches in your sump.
The system comes with 1 float for the sump 1 for the reservor so u don't run the reservoir dry and kill the pump. Honestly that's not as big of a concern for me.
I run both in my sump the bottom one activates when it drops and deactivates when it's floating but u can set the second one to deactivate the pump if it's floating by turning the float upside down on the shaft. Have the second float set higher then the other and presto u have a dual float system to turn 1 pump off
This is all for the jbj system. I've ran 2 for multiple years without even a single float failure.

 

[pelphrey]

If u go to bulkreefsupply.com website they show u how to run both switches in your sump.
The system comes with 1 float for the sump 1 for the reservor so u don't run the reservoir dry and kill the pump. Honestly that's not as big of a concern for me.
I run both in my sump the bottom one activates when it drops and deactivates when it's floating but u can set the second one to deactivate the pump if it's floating by turning the float upside down on the shaft. Have the second float set higher then the other and presto u have a dual float system to turn 1 pump off
This is all for the jbj system. I've ran 2 for multiple years without even a single float failure.

I run my JBJ ATO with the same configuration. Sensor 1 was left alone and activates the pump, when the float rises the pump shuts off. Sensor 2 runs the float that was flipped upside down and will shut the pump off if the water level gets to high in my sump. I would much rather have the security of my sump no overflowing than my pump running dry. Although I am using the Toms Aqua Lifter and as slow as it is I think it would be difficult to overfill my sump. But... Stranger things have happened!

 

[NanaReefer]

I see people selling ato's all the time on here so what if I got a used one? Is it something that will work fine used? I'm kind of on a budget since I'm still in highschool so that's why I ask. The pump probably wouldn't be much. I see one on brs for 20 bucks.

Use the Tom Aqua lifter pump $14.99 3.5gph

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Get a hygrometer and dehumidifier so you can accurately "see" what's going on for evaporation.
You do not want humidity too high, mold kills. (no really, the health negatives suck and takes a long time to recover from, aside from the damage to your place)

 

[Retro Reefer]

Dang that's a lot. Makes my one cup seem so small lol. Atleast I know I'm not going crazy now. Since I have a smaller tank would I be able to use like a drip type method to keep the water at a constant amount?

I use a simple drip TO on my nano and it works ok for me, my ER is similar to yours and with some tweaking I have mine dripping TO water at about a cup per day.. Only holds a few cups of water so I don't worry about overflow or salinity issues like you would with a ATO system and the best part it only cost me like $5 in materials to make

 

[RMS18]

Mine takes 1/4 a gallon a day I also have a 30 gallon with a fuge. Last upgrade was a ATO.