Water going down
- Thread starter jdivz87
- Start date
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BaliReefBox
Well-Known Member
and there will be a puddle on the floor
BaliReefBox
Well-Known Member
why would you turn off the ato if it is evaporating... isnt that the whole idea of an ato
pianosdr
Community Member
Solving the riddle of exactly how much evaporation is happening would be a good activity for your own personal science experiment, but unless you’re just curious to know, I wouldn’t worry about that. If there are no leaks, then it’s evaporation. This is normal. Tanks should be topped off daily. Even better would be to install an ATO (auto top-off) so that it tops off as soon as it begins to drop below a given threshold, but I understand not everyone can afford to do this.
if you really want to know how much evaporation is happening, mark a water line in your return pump area, wait a specific amount of time where the water line has dropped below that line, and then add pre-measured amounts of RODI back into the sump until you reach the marked water line again. Add up the measured amount you poured in, and then compare that amount to the time you waited. For example, 1/2 gallon added after 3 hours (or whatever). Multiply that out to a 24-hour time period and you have your approximate daily evapo rate. However, of course recognize that evapo rates will also fluctuate daily (even hourly) due to environmental factors.
As you might be able to tell, this is why I say it’s not really important or worth your time to figure out exactly what your rate is. Just identify an appropriate water line in your return chamber that you want to maintain, and then top off every day with RODI water, not salt as you suggested earlier. Salt doesn’t evaporate. If you keep topping off with saltwater, you will be continuously raising the salinity of the tank.
if you really want to know how much evaporation is happening, mark a water line in your return pump area, wait a specific amount of time where the water line has dropped below that line, and then add pre-measured amounts of RODI back into the sump until you reach the marked water line again. Add up the measured amount you poured in, and then compare that amount to the time you waited. For example, 1/2 gallon added after 3 hours (or whatever). Multiply that out to a 24-hour time period and you have your approximate daily evapo rate. However, of course recognize that evapo rates will also fluctuate daily (even hourly) due to environmental factors.
As you might be able to tell, this is why I say it’s not really important or worth your time to figure out exactly what your rate is. Just identify an appropriate water line in your return chamber that you want to maintain, and then top off every day with RODI water, not salt as you suggested earlier. Salt doesn’t evaporate. If you keep topping off with saltwater, you will be continuously raising the salinity of the tank.
killer2001
Well-Known Member
To diagnose whether he has a phantom leak or extreme evaporation.
davidcalgary29
2500 Club Member
Just buy distilled water from the supermarket in the meantime. It'll be a lot more expensive in the end than getting a decent RO/DI unit, so try to work on buying one.
davidcalgary29
2500 Club Member
Many smaller units come with attachments that allow you to hook the water intake up to regular threaded faucets. You can, however, plumb them directly into your water systems.
People can and do use regular household water to top up their sumps, but this is risky in areas with contaminated water or if you have (or your water travels through) old piping; the possibility of heavy metal (or bacterial) contamination is too much of a risk for most people.
