Rapid Evaporation???

FlaEagleFan · 03-13-2007, 03:56 PM

Hi everyone.. What would cause rapid evaporation???

I had my 120 w/30 gallon refugium set up for about 3 months at my old house and had to add maybe 1 gallon of water a week... I never ran low on water to the point the pump sucked air...

Since I have moved, I have been having to add 1 gallon + PER DAY to the system.... There are no leaks, and i havent found any signs of water on the floor.. I have only been in the new house about 2 weeks and the pump has sucked air and caused tons of micro bubbles in the display about 5 times...

One of the more interesting things I have notices is that the refugium gets low in the middle section and on the left side where the return pump is... The right side where the overflow drains into and where the skimmer is stays full... The main display never seems to LOOK low.

There are some differences in the setup now as compared to before the move.. would any of these explain this issue??

1. refugium now has 20lbs of LS and about 5lbs of LR in it. Before the middle section had nothing at all in it.

2. we moved into a much larger house and keep the back sliding glass door open a little bit for the cats to go out on the patio

Thats about all i can think of.... This is drivin me insane... It seems like im adding TONS of water.... Any ideas???

jerseyguy1996 · 03-13-2007, 03:59 PM

I have a 50 gallon with a 20 gallon sump and I add about 1 gallon everyday. I think it has to do with the humidity. I'm sure that adding the live rock and sand has made a difference as well. The amount of surface area exposed to the air hasn't changed but the amount of water as a percentage of that surface area has changed.

Wolfenbuttel · 03-13-2007, 04:00 PM

is it cold where u are? Cause if you have the heat there might be less humidity wich cause the water to evaporate faster

Tim224DT · 03-13-2007, 04:01 PM

Welcome to the hot summer in FL it is that time a year again. Right now it shows that we are 91 out side at my house.

I get about 3/4 to a gallon a day

Tim224DT · 03-13-2007, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolfenbuttel

is it cold where u are? Cause if you have the heat there might be less humidity wich cause the water to evaporate faster

It is 91 here and i am north of him so dont think it is to cold

IT IS HOT AS HECK TODAY!

FlaEagleFan · 03-13-2007, 04:03 PM

Yep.. fort myers florida... 90* today... I didnt realize i would be losing this much water...

Is there anything i can do to make sure this doesnt happen while im at work or something??? I dont want to fry my pump if the fuge runs dry..

Tim224DT · 03-13-2007, 04:04 PM

just top off every morning before you leave

FlaEagleFan · 03-13-2007, 04:06 PM

How bad will this actually get come June July and August????

AdamG · 03-13-2007, 04:06 PM

The best thing I ever did was install a float switch w/ a RODI unit.

FlaEagleFan · 03-13-2007, 04:07 PM

How about i get a piece of glass and cover the refugium??? would that help any?

AdamG · 03-13-2007, 04:10 PM

it would increase your temp prolly?

FlaEagleFan · 03-13-2007, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamG

it would increase your temp prolly?

I have a fairly large chiller... i wonder if it would work...

jerseyguy1996 · 03-13-2007, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlaEagleFan

How about i get a piece of glass and cover the refugium??? would that help any?

The evaporation is coming from all of the surface area....sump, refugium, and display tank.

YLChik · 03-13-2007, 07:49 PM

can any one say .... Auto Top Off time

Wolfenbuttel · 03-13-2007, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim224DT

It is 91 here and i am north of him so dont think it is to cold

IT IS HOT AS HECK TODAY!

didnt look where he was from. But no humidity the water will evaporate faster non the less