Water Evaporation?

[twentyleagues]

just relooked at the pic could be the angle at which the pic was taken...

 

[Rusty Baldwin]

So did the return chamber drop as well? Looks to me the level in the fuge and return areas would remain the same until the water level dropped below that slit in the last baffle.

The only thing low was the pump chamber. The rest were at the same level.

 

[twentyleagues]

The only thing low was the pump chamber. The rest were at the same level.

oh I was confused by the original statment of the fuge being low. The evap is normal. Unsure why exactly it would show up all of the sudden maybe like @vetteguy53081 stated the pump is mismatched for the overflow volume and tank/overflow is sitting higher at some point and then the overflow catches up as the water level drops in the return area creating less pressure on the pump so it "slows" down?

 

[Rusty Baldwin]

oh I was confused by the original statment of the fuge being low. The evap is normal. Unsure why exactly it would show up all of the sudden maybe like @vetteguy53081 stated the pump is mismatched for the overflow volume and tank/overflow is sitting higher at some point and then the overflow catches up as the water level drops in the return area creating less pressure on the pump so it "slows" down?

I am at a complete loss. It’s gone down another inch since six this morning. The water has got to be going somewhere. Surely the dogs are not drinking saltwater. Stay tuned. I am going to put water line marks and monitor. It’s so strange.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I am at a complete loss. It’s gone down another inch since six this morning. The water has got to be going somewhere. Surely the dogs are not drinking saltwater. Stay tuned. I am going to put water line marks and monitor. It’s so strange.

Simply slow down your pump flow slightly and you should get your answer

 

[CWalters]

I see you're newer to saltwater tanks. Most people know... but just throwing it out there so you don't make the mistake...but make sure you are topping off with RODI water and not saltwater.

 

[Rusty Baldwin]

I see you're newer to saltwater tanks. Most people know... but just throwing it out there so you don't make the mistake...but make sure you are topping off with RODI water and not saltwater.

Thank you. Yep, still learning.

 

[Rusty Baldwin]

Simply slow down your pump flow slightly and you should get your answer

Ty. Cleaned out the socks and turned the pump to the lowest setting. I made waterline marks everywhere.

 

[19Mateo83]

Here’s a question no one else has asked..are your filter socks dirty? I have a very similar sump setup and when the socks get dirty it causes the water level to rise in the sock compartment. That rise shows up as a drop in the pump chamber. I ended up making cups and am now using poly fill for that same reason.

 

[19Mateo83]

Here’s a question no one else has asked..are your filter socks dirty? I have a very similar sump setup and when the socks get dirty it causes the water level to rise in the sock compartment. That rise shows up in the pump chamber. I ended up making cups and am now using poly fill for that same reason.

 

[RedReefer]

Thank you. I will keep topping it off each day until the ATO gets here.

Evaporation. Get an ATO. It's one of the most important pieces of equipment needed for stability.

 

[Rusty Baldwin]

Here’s a question no one else has asked..are your filter socks dirty? I have a very similar sump setup and when the socks get dirty it causes the water level to rise in the sock compartment. That rise shows up in the pump chamber. I ended up making cups and am now using poly fill for that same reason.

My thought as well. I changed them out for new ones. Nice setup.

 

[Rusty Baldwin]

I mentioned I may need some new equipment and she said “and I need a new Audi Q7. Looks like this tank is costing me a new car.

 

[Rusty Baldwin]

Thanks to all that replied. When I had tanks 26 years ago we didn’t have all these nice toys and a group I could learn from. Picked up these two yesterday.

 

[Rusty Baldwin]

Ok. It’s consistently losing about one a day on the refuge. Still waiting on the RODI system

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It's perfectly acceptable to run your heater in your sump, just not in the return pump chamber.

Good luck!

FWIW, there are ways to deal with this. If the heaters are below the level that the return pump draws from, or if they will move to that level by gravity as water is lowered in an emergency, they will not be out of the water even if return water fails for some reason.

In my system, I think the same chamber as the return pump was the best place for them. My last sump chamber probably held about 7 gallons even if the pumps sucked out all the water they could access.

That said, I also had a large float switch in the sump that would turn off my return pumps if the water only dipped a couple of inches, leaving a lot of water in the sump (maybe 30 gallons).