General Care Discussion :: How is this possible? (water evaporation)

[jenaero]

I can't remember what day I set up the 125gal but I'd say about a week ago. I noticed the water level was getting lower so I just added 10 litres to the tank. That only brought it up to where it was before. How is that possible? 10L in a week?

On a side note, I can't believe how wonderfully clear the water is! I used to HAVE to change the 50gal once a week because by then it would be green/just funky. I'm just sorry I didn't get a canister filter a year ago. I just added the water and I'm going to wait and see how long before it needs a partial change...I'm hoping at least a month

[cam722]

I've noticed the same thing. I have fish tanks that have hoods and one that doesn't along with the turtle tank. The evaporation in the 2 uncovered is significant. My guess is with the heat being on in the house (I have forced hot air) the air isn't as humid as it is in the winter therefore more evaporation. Does that makes sense to anyone?? lol

I thought with a bigger tank I'd be doing so many changes and was dreading it. The exact opposite was true. The more water the less cleaning.. I love it

[marisa]

A liter is a little more than a quart (about 1.06 quarts), so I'm guessing that 10 liters would be roughly 2 and 3/4 gallons (?). This is very possible, particularly when you have a large surface area for water to evaporate from and in the winter when the air is much dryer. I'm always adding water to the stock tanks.

As for partial water changes, I think they need to be done more frequently than once a month (although some of the water that will be replaced due to evaporation). (You should get some testing kits and check for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates). A high nitrate level can be lowered with a partial water change.

Yes, canister filters can be wonderful.

[juicedgt02]

I am glad someone made a thread about this, I have been having the same issue but I don't have a cover so I wasn't too shocked.

[butterfly]

My tank looses a gallon nearly every other day. Water evaporation is incredible, I would have never imagined it would be so much water loss.

[BROOKLYN]

It's definitely water evaporation. I usually notice it after about a week when my filter can no longer pull water up into the filter tube. I just pour another bucket of water in and it's good and running again. It's winter time here so I won't be surprise that in the summer, the evaporation would most likely be faster. But so far, the evaporation isn't as extreme as some of you might have mentioned for me. I'm estimating about 2-4 inches of water evaporating per week in my 29 Gallon Tank. In my 55G, the evaporation is much slower but it does happen. Both of my tanks are covered with hoods. This seems to be a play role in the evaporation as it traps more heat in.

[TinySlider2]

Ours does the same thing. I added about 2 gallon of water last night to our 55gal tank. It does go really fast.

[juicedgt02]

i dont have a cover, but I wonder if that would slow down the evaporation process?

[BROOKLYN]

I think by not having a cover over the tank will slow down the process. However, it varies since basking, heater, and room temperatures are factors worth considering. Either way, evaporation will take place. I can't imagine the water not evaporating when the temperature for it is kept at 74F degrees +. During basking hours, there's also a slight increase in water temperature sometimes (depending on the basking area). I realize there's a huge difference when Survivor was kind of ill. The average temperature I usually set for him is around 75F. But when I increased the temperature to the lower 80s, the evaporation was really noticeable; especially when the cover was closed.

[marisa]

Covering will help somewhat (moisture will condense on the inside surface. I cover a portion of my turtle's tanks/stock tanks at night to help keep the heat in, and in the morning the inside of the tanks and covers are wet).

[ellman605]

hmm, mabey a humidifier in the room would help? i'm sure if the water in the air from a humidifyer were to be cooler than the tank water, if science works right, the warmer particles from the tank would bump in to the cooler particles, therefore slowing the warmer particles from thermal convection...i know, i sound like a nerd...

[jenaero]

The one thing I've noticed is that it helps keep the humidity up in the room. I've got a humidity gage in my boxie's enclosure and I've never been able to keep it up as high as it is now so at least there's a benefit.

[cam722]

Well that might save on water evaporation in the tank but in the long run you'll be spending more on electricity by running a humidifier, just think of it as 2 jobs for the price of one.