got some questions please

I lose about a gallon a day, do you have a top on your tank, and sump? If not thats where you are losing it, i also do not have a top on mine, look into an auto top off i just set one up, love it

 

Yeah, i guess more info always helps lol, its a 65 gal with a 20 gal sump...it was setup saturday and i put in 80lbs of dry reef grade sand and 124lbs of dry key largo rock. i guess i didnt really consider evaporation ive run a nano for about a year and a half and only need to add ro once a week. But the canopy for the new tank is not quite done so everyhting is totally open to the air...and we've been really dry this summer so maybe evaporation is possible....my sump is sitting on a moisture indicating pad with no signs of moisture. I appreciate all the response ;D;D;D;D

 

Thanks for the added info, I'd agree it sounds like typical evaporation then It can vary quite a bit based on surface area and humidity etc..., but 1% total system volume, per day, is typically a good rough guesstimate for evaporation. It sounds like you are in about that range then.

 

so, can i just add the salt slowly to the sump or should i dissolve it in ro making a sw solution and then add it?

 

Ifit's evaporation, you should not be adding salt, jut RO/DI water. Salt does not evaporate. SO, just add the RO/DI to the sump.

 

Theres no salt in it whatsoever, since i just set it up i wanted to make sure there was no leaks before i added salt, to keep potential mess down.

 

Just dump the salt in the dt let it disolve it will be cloudy, but itll clear up

 

Should be more precise, make sure you measure and add the right amount, dont just dump it in

 

I would add it slowly and try to make sure most of it dissolves before hitting the bottom of the tank. You could also take out about 5 gallons of water and mix all of the salt mix necessary for your total volume and add it that way as well.

 

Earlier he said he has not added salt yet....I think he started this by asking when he should add salt, and also about the "possible leak" which kind of took precedence...lol just thought I would catch that before it got confusing....


Yes you can add salt, now that you've determined it's evaporation. Mix it in a bucket, some people like to let it sit for 12 hours with a small pump in with the mixture agitating. Others say it's even less, I tend to mix it until the water clears and I've not seen any issues in the aquarium. I suppose it could depend on if your tank mates are sensitive to SG changes, but if you dont have any in there yet, you'll be fine to mix, watch it clear, and then add. You did mention you already have water in there. Is it ro/di water, or just tap. If Tap, remove it, and start over with ro/di water mixed with your salt. This will be a lot better for the beginning, "trust me".



If you have any sand like you said, DO NOT ADD Directly to the tank, it will mix with the sand bed and take a month to clear, again, "trust me" on this one....lol. Anything I might have missed folks?