Evaporation question

How much evaporation is normal in a fish tank? I put a piece of tape on the outside of the tank, and in a week the water level has gone down by about 1/4". The temp is set to about 80 degrees right now, and there are no leaks. Is it normal to get this much evaporation since the water is warm?

*Also, the tank isn't ever in direct sunlight, and my apt. is normally at about 70 degrees.*

 

I get quite a bit more evaporation than that over a weeks time My air is really dry so I get more evap
Carol

 

So should I just wait until a water change to add more water to it, or should I pour a little distilled water in every now and then to maintain the level?

 

Probably not a very good thing but I use the evaporation to help me remember to do a ater change. I'm all messed up with days sometimes so when the water level is almost equal to the top of my veggie clip I know its time to do a water change.

 

I've found that I get a lot of water loss ever since I added my air stone.

A quarter inch seems like a lot though, how big is your tank? Because water evaporation will be different as your tank size increases and a quarter inch in a 55 gallon should take more than a week, where as a 5 or 10 gallon would likely be in that ballpark, so if you do have a large tank I'd definitely consider going over it again, thoroughly, for anything abnormal. Again, aeration seems to speed the process up too with the bubbles bursting at the surface and drying onto the underside of the hood and anything else above the water.

I've never actually checked with my 21 gallon, might try that with my next water change.

 

Also, the air is generally drier during the winter, so you'll get more evaporation than you do in the summer when the humidity is high.

 

Its a 30g, and I do have a large bubble wall..

 

in my 20G, I just did a WC on monday, and i;ve already lost an inch due to evap, but like someone else said, winter air is very dry and eager to suck up any moisture

 

I have a 55 gallon tank, and within a week I will get almost 2 inches of evaporation. (compared to almost none in the humid summer months).

 

We'll get about an inch or more in a week with the dry air in Denver. Since we clean our tanks weekly along with partial water changes, I usually don't add water during the week but adding water during the week would be fine.

Do you use distilled water always for your tank or do you mainly use treated tap water? If you use distilled water, do you have bottom feeders?

 

Depending on how much evaporations occurs whether I top the tanks up or wait until I do my weekly water change.
I would suggest using the same kind of water to top up the tanks as you use to do water changes with.
Carol

 

Yes I get that too. First I thought the fish were drinking all the water!

You should add water when you notice the water getting low because of evaporation. This might leave water line marks on the glass, which I found to be an unpleasant sight!

 

my 10 gallon and my dads 55 go like crazy every two weeks i've gotta add an extra five gallon jug just to replenish what was lost

 

I recommend you top up the tank with filtered/distilled water whenever evaporation takes place. No need to change the water, just top up. That should be fine. Let the winter season finish in order to change the water, but that depends upon what fish you have. Normally just top up the tank, that's fine!

 

I had about an inch of evaporation from last saturday to about 1 oclock today(pm).

 

I recommend you top up the tank with filtered/distilled water whenever evaporation takes place. No need to change the water, just top up. That should be fine. Let the winter season finish in order to change the water, but that depends upon what fish you have. Normally just top up the tank, that's fine!

You still need to do your weekly water changes. Only the water evaporates so when you top up the tank with water, it still is just as dirty (in other words the concentration of nitrates doesn't change).

 

is evaporation increased if you do not have a top on your tank, bevause mine is covered and I barely get any evaporation

 

I think having it covered will help with having the water not evaporate, but unless it's completely sealed, it won't stop it all the way. Mine are all covered and I still get about 1-2 inches of evaporation a week. The air is just really dry this time of year (plus I have baseboard heat which makes it even drier)

 

is evaporation increased if you do not have a top on your tank, bevause mine is covered and I barely get any evaporation

Yes, my q tank which is only partially covered gets 2-3 times the amount evaporation of my other tanks which are completely covered.

 

Tell me about it. We're losing at least 2" per week with a humidifier in the room with how dry it is in Denver. I'm thinking about getting a 2nd humidifier for the room to help as the 1st one can barely get the room to 25-30%. (Turns out it's not a real good one , but it works some and I figure it can help the better one when I get it.)

You're right about the more it's covered, the less evaporation, but even the most covered of ours daily lose some water level.

I think having it covered will help with having the water not evaporate, but unless it's completely sealed, it won't stop it all the way. Mine are all covered and I still get about 1-2 inches of evaporation a week. The air is just really dry this time of year (plus I have baseboard heat which makes it even drier)

 

I have a breeder tank that loses quite a bit of water every week. The tank doesn't have a normal top, since it's wider than a standard tank. You just have to keep up with topping off the tank. Usually, when I top off...I put in more water than I normally would, just so that I have evaporation room.

 

my water has evaporated a tiny bit wat does this mean

 

you just need to fill it up again. unless you have a salt water tank... in which case I don't know what to do

 

if I want to fill it up will I have get the water to put in the right temp or just put in water with out checking the temp but won't this make the temp go up or down mixing to types of temp reply?

 

Yes you would want the water you are adding to be very close in temp to what is already in the aquarium. I either use a thermometer that you take out of the aquarium or I test the temp by touch.

 

Hello Lazymatt.

I have moved your posts to create your own thread so it doesn't hijack another members.
Thanks!
Ken

 

What size is your tank?

If it is a smaller one (like a 10 gallon or a 20g), I keep a few full gallon jugs of conditioned water so I can top off the tank as needed. Since it sits out for days it's already room temperature.

 

my water has evaporated a tiny bit wat does this mean

Something to keep in mind - as water evaporates, all the impurities in the water are left behind, so the concentration of impurities rises. If you were to simply top off the tank, the concentration would be lowered, but none would be removed so it will still rise. A good rule of thumb is to do a water change rather than just topping it off.

 

Jaysee raises a very good point. It is also worth noting that the water that evaporates is 100% pure. None of the salts evaporate with it, so if you have high levels of evaporation, you can find that it doesn't take very long for your GH & KH to start to rise. When the KH rises, your PH rises. If you have high evaporation levels & are experiencing changes to your water chemistry because of it, it can be a good idea to top up the tank occasionally with RO or distilled water. Glass lids will help lower evaporation rates. I have to remove most of my tanks lids during summer so that I can use a fan pointed at the waters surface to help keep the tank cool. I lose up to 10lts of evaporated water per day doing this & topping up with RO water is a must for me. Regular water changes can help limit this problem & should still be carried out to remove pollutants but sometimes they arn't enough on their own to deal with the higher levels of salts that can develop.

 

Where I live in Asia I have a lot of evaporation because of the humidity and heat. The tank dissipates every 3-4 days and I have to do a top off. is this bad for the fish always? I do a water change 25% every 5 days also.I have a mesh cover on it also.Thanks

 

By dissapates do you mean the entire tank or just a little bit of water. If its just some water and not the whole tank I don't think it will kill your fish. However glass hoods greatly reduce evaporation

 

ish......I'm in Arizona (read: ARID ZONE) and with no humidity I would have a lot to top off every few days but I let it evaporate at will because I do 25% water changes weekly. If you test your water, you probably know what your tap is coming out with and you shouldn't worry about being bad for the fish. Unless you have neons or discus

 

I'm in Florida. My water changes are weekly, so I never top off. I just let it go till I do the water change, then the tank will be full anyways.

If you are doing a water change every five days, then you should be fine without having to top off. Then again, you never mentioned how much of your water dissipates.

 

I agree with luke, I have glass tops that cover the entire top of the tank at night. during the day ill lift the lid a bit to get the gases exchanging.

 

Where I live in Asia I have a lot of evaporation because of the humidity and heat. The tank dissipates every 3-4 days and I have to do a top off. is this bad for the fish always? I do a water change 25% every 5 days also.I have a mesh cover on it also.Thanks

This is perfectly normal, and it happens with our tanks as well. What I do is keep a 1 gallon jug of dechlorinated water (2 drops of Prime) in my office and do top-offs with that. It would probably lessen if you had a regular tank hood, but it won't stop it completely.

Its going to be a personal choice. You don't have to let it go between water changes, and you don't have to top-off. It's what ever is convenient for you. Nice that you have a choice though!

 

I live in Thailand, and evaporation can be a real problem at times, especially like now when the daily temps are well over 35 Deg C
I just top out when required with water as per tank perameters, and do my 30% water changes one time a week
There should be no adverse effects upon your fish by doing this, and indeed I have noticed the fish actually enjoying the new water when added into the tank
It may have something to do with the new minerals going into the tank

 

Philippines is usually very humid although lately it's been record hot I've been told. The evaporation actually helps cool your tank. You may want to put up a fan pointed at the water's surface. Using air stones will further promote evaporation. Here in Pasadena California the air is quite dry. I notice most of the evaporation takes place past midnight to morning. I top off my 60gal tank with about a liter of RO water daily and it's not even summer yet.

 

Not the whole tank maybe 1/4 of of it dissipates.

 

Most fish I agree but I have 2 ID Sharks juveniles and they get spooked easily when I do this every 5 days 25% water changes.Also I have problems with voltage problems here and the filter sometimes goes off and make a shrill sound and this spooks my fish again.Thanks is a large sponge filter could to use with a 70 gallon tank? I am using a JEBO #955 filter now.

 

You must do a water change on your tank of about 25% one time a week at least
The fish will spook a little but will get used to you changing the water after a period of time
If poss change less water more often for a while so you are in the tank more frequently - this will help the fish acclimatize to the regime of water changes quicker, and immeadiatly after changing the water give the fish a treat - bloodworm/ brine shrimp to eat
Fish learn by association, and by giving them a treat they will associate the water change with something good
I can sypathise fully with you on the voltage issues, I have the same issue here sometimes - there is really nothing you can do about this problem