"Topping Off"

[LtSmash]

I'm semi-newbie to the marine aquarium world. by this i mean i've been educating myself and reading about them for years. well i finally blew all my cash on what is in my opinion a very nice 29 gallon community tank. my only problem is, Topping off. the water in my tank evaporates VERY fast sometimes a 1/2 every 36 hours. When topping off is there anything i should add other than dechlorinator? alk buffs? anything? also is there a way to cut the amount of evaporation? so far this has been my only problem, oh yea my tank has been up and running for about 5 weeks now. heres mysetup...
30 gallon "hang on filter"
Merlin Fluidized Bed Filter
Berlin Airlift Internal Protien Skimmer
2 Powerheads for Current (1 other to power the bed filter)
Heater (duh =)
and my lighting is 2 flouresent coral life bulbs, one is a actinic 50/50 and the other is a 10000k bulb both 24 watts.

thanks for your time, glad i found a message board on this stuff =)

 

[Anonymous]

I have a 29 gallon myself that seems bullemic when it comes to eaten up water. My tank needs a therapist. Ok Ok.......enough of that.I use distilled water most of the time for top offs but have become lazy and tight with my cash so I feed my tank well water from the tap and use carbon and Phosphate Sponge(change the sponge every two weeks). This works for me. Have Fun! :twisted: and Proud

 

[wade1]

You don't need to add anything other than clear, clean water. Especially true if you do regular 5-10% water changes. The salt does not evaporate with the water, so never add extra salt. If you are keeping calcium consuming organisms, such as clams or hard corals, then a balanced alkalinity/calcium supplement would be a good idea, but since you are not... leave it with water changes.

Secondly, I would HIGHLY recommend you look into a better water source. If you use tap water, you will run into very serious algae issues in most cases due to the higher light used on reef tanks. There are "tap water purifiers" for approx. $30 that are DI columns that would work well for your purposes.

Wade

 

[beerbaron]

LTsmash; i love your screen name

 

[street urchin]

Yes, Lieutenant L. T. Smash :lol:

Add an auto-top off mechanism or seal the top of your tank better. I would think a float switch hooked to a solenoid and water resevoir above your tank would be the easiest to fit on top since you dont have a sump. Wade is right. You want your top off water to be as clean as possible. Only use those $30 filters for about 100 gallons. Maybe add Kalkwasser as topoff for added Calcium.

 

[Anemone]

the water in my tank evaporates VERY fast sometimes a 1/2 every 36 hours.

Are you saying you evaporate 1/2 gallon in 36 hours, or 1/2 the tank volume (14 gallons!!! 8O )

Kevin

 

[wade1]

Or half an inch of tank height...

 

[ChrisRD]

also is there a way to cut the amount of evaporation?

A glass cover - any glass shop can cut you a piece to the size you want.

That said, evaporation isn't a bad thing. In a reef it allows you to top-off with kalkwasser to replenish Ca and alk.

Kalkwasser can be useful in fish-only systems also for maintaining alk and pH.

BTW, by "bed filter" do you mean an under gravel filter (UGF)? Any live rock in that system? With a hang-on power filter, UGF AND a fluidized bed you may have some (nitrate) problems down the road...

 

[reefann]

It sounds like there is no corals in this tank or anything else that needs calcium. Personally I think that dosing with kalkwasser would be pointless if not a bad idea.
JJ
_________________
BMW R27

 

[reefworm]

RO/DI with kalkwasser dripped into the sump from an IV bottle. Even if you have an FOWLR tank, the kalk [perhaps a reduced amount] will help coraline growth, and the drip will be a continual top off rather than salinity/specific gravity swings from larger additions all at once. 1/2 inch per 36 hours is pretty normal. My 29 has often had more due to the two 4" fans I run under the hood to keep things cooled off.

regards,
-rw

 

[LtSmash]

what i meant was 1/2 inch and i have a fluidized bed filter...sorry it was like 2am =)

 

[Markymarklar]

not that you asked about this, but if you run into problems with power outages in your area, you may want to look into a power back-up for your fluidized bed filter. i was going to get one of those many years ago and was told that if the power ever goes out, the sand stops siffting, and the bacteria don't get the oxygenated water they need and cause all types of problems. i can't remember if the person told me that they start producing ammonia or what but, once the pump turns back on, it gets sent back into your tank and can kill your livestock. this was what i was told by someone. never checked to see if it was true or not. if anyone else knows more about this feel free to enlighten.

 

[LtSmash]

AHHHA! i thought about the same thing.. so i bought a valve which only lets it go one way. it wont reverse siphon

 

[wombat1]

The siphon isn't the problem. It's that when the power goes out the sand immediately compacts down and oxygen for the bacteria quickly runs out. An hour long power outage on my fluidized sand filter nearly killed all my fish ( I had to sell them to a LFS). OTOH, my reef tank has had no power for as long as 12 hours w/o a problem.