Lots of water evaporation now

ok, so since i switched to an egg crate lid from glass, i'm getting a lot of evaporation. My temporary light does not have a protector over the bulb and sites right on top of the egg crate, so i had to take apart the glass top and put it under the light so it wouldn't burn out because it started to get salt creep on it. I also see some water (probably from air bubbles) going outside the tank. I top offed my water two days ago and now it's low again, with the glass top i only needed to top off once a week.

What do you slow down the water evaporation with your egg crate lids?

 

Go buy a piece of glass from Home Depot and cut it to fit over the tank. That'd stop it. Might be alot of work though. :/

 

ok i'll keep the idea in mind

 

puffer chick

keeping the water temp lower will reduce the evaporation ?

you do need to ensure water or salt creep does not get to your light fitting as you could get a nasty shock if that water is near the switches and also if you have a circuit breaker (I hope so) moisture in the fitting will trigger that off

how far are your lights above the water ( this is often a big problem for people who have un protected canopies placed directly on top of tank as opposed to being on legs and lifted off tank

if your lights are directly on the tank its a double whammy - you get additional heat that cant escape and you get increased evaporation due to that heat

if you can cover the lights, but without covering the tank (gas exchange issues)
then you have the best of both worlds IME

Steve

 

yea but the glass gets salt creep all over it and then u loose light because the glass gets hazy.

u dont have to worry about loosing too much salt because for the most part it is only water evaporating so u can just top off with freshwater. ro/di of course

 

How much evaporation are you getting?
Not to sound rude (believe me that's not my intent), I do know it's typical for a newer keeper to be surprised at the evaporation rates. Your levels are probably typical of normal tank maintenance Specially living in muggy OC.

 

Dingo thats a very good point

I have an acrylic over on my light unit and it slides out
so once a week I put it in the shower to get rid of the salt thats on it

its 1.5 m long so does not fit in the sink

Steve

 

the light is basically right next to the water, i fill the tank up until the water reaches the black trim. This light is only temporary though until i have the money to get my new light fixture which will be mounted with legs. So it makes sense if its about the lights, but then again, the lights are never on

 

I used to have a 46 gallon bowfront... I know the versatop is made with 2 glass pieces. Seperate the two. Use the rectangle piece and store the bowfront piece. place the light directly over the glass. This will only work well if the whole portion of the light is covered.

As for salt creep... make it part of your weekly maintenance to wipe it down. Not a biggie.

In regards to evaporation. I used to top off my tank twice a week. Something you have to live with do to the design of your tank and stand. Unless you get an ato directly to your DT.

 

i am loosing about 1/2 an inch of water, which to me at least seems like a lot, but if water evap is normal then i'm ok with it and your right about oc being really muggy especially right now with the fires that are close by in L.A.