Winter Storm Water Crisis

[sfin52]

My 75 was lossing 9g a week. Once I covered it I was going through about 3. I would absolutely cover it and leave a 1inch gap across the back.

 

[FishNerd4Ever]

Thanks for the replies so far. I have started combining several of the ideas each of you have given me to make a plan here. Collecting the wastewater for toilets, drinking, cooking, etc is a good idea. We usually collect a lot of the wastewater for various things, including filling our pool. lol. The R/O unit is in our garage and we just found out that the restrictor is frozen and leaking. Ugh. Soooo.... trying to deal with that, now. Good thing Home Depot is in walking distance!
Here is the press and seal covering half of the top. It has been on there for about 15 minutes, and there is already a lot of condensation. If it just slows it by half, I guess that will help for now.

 

[FishNerd4Ever]

This is what I have done so far regarding the top with press and seal. I guess I am going to monitor the rate and add more as needed.
PS. My walls are not pink or purple! Lol

 

[FishNerd4Ever]

What's happening in Texas is unbelievable. The government failed it's people miserably before jetting off to Cancun, but I digress. I would recommend you cover the tank like others have said and also settle for a less ideal water that is partially filtered. I think those are both sound ideas.

I agree. I also lived through the aftermath of Katrina, so it is a little PTSD for me. We have been lucky enough through this. Since Katrina, I have learned to over-prepare, but you can only prepare so much.

 

[paintman]

What's happening in Texas is unbelievable. The government failed it's people miserably before jetting off to Cancun, but I digress. I would recommend you cover the tank like others have said and also settle for a less ideal water that is partially filtered. I think those are both sound ideas.

So now the government even controls the temperature of the air?

 

[FishNerd4Ever]

Hello. I have an opinion question regarding evaporation. I apologize for the long post, but I feel like a little background is needed. I live in the Dallas area, and we are having a crippling experience because of this winter storm. I have been one of the lucky few to have had electricity through all of this, but now our cities are running low on water. Many places do not have water and some are on severe restrictions. My city has been asked to severely limit water use. So here's the question, my open- top aquarium has been losing about 2.5+ gallons of water per day since this started. I had an adequate amount of top off water to get me through the past week, but I am running low. In an effort to conserve water for those that have none--and because of the freezing temps--I do not want to/can't use my RO/DI unit. I have about 6 gallons left. Should I cover the aquarium to reduce evaporation, and if so, how much do you think that will affect the water parameters and the livestock? Is there a better option? I just upgraded from a 40gal to 75+ sump about 2-3 months ago, so although the aquarium has been quite stable and is doing well, I believe it is probably in a quite fragile state given the timing of cycling, etc. Any advice is appreciated.

Just wanted to say thanks to all of those who have given helpful advice. I love this hobby and even during the stressful times it gives me happiness. It is wonderful to have a group of people with such knowledge and experience to rely upon. Not all people in other hobbies are as open to pooling the knowledge base and offer support as those on reef2reef are willing to do. Every little bit of information or experience is helpful. Thanks again!