High Tide Aquatics

Evaporation Reduction

Vhuang168 said:
Not what I see.

My ATO runs longer on average during the winter vs the summer (if my fan does not kick on, once it gets to the 90s outside, the fan starts to cool the tank and that drives evaporation up).

I also use more water in the winter than I do in the summer.

My tank is in an uninsulated garage so it is affected by the temperature fluctuations more than tanks in rooms with heaters and air conditioners.


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Winter air is usually drier than summer so it’s not exactly apples to apples comparison.
 
Coral reefer said:
Winter air is usually drier than summer so it’s not exactly apples to apples comparison.
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Is it? Cold air is able to carry less moisture so there should be less evaporation?

Plus it's usually raining or moist so humidity shouldn't be a factor.


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Vhuang168 said:
Is it? Cold air is able to carry less moisture so there should be less evaporation?

Plus it's usually raining or moist so humidity shouldn't be a factor.


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Might not apply to your garage, but if you heat your house the once cold dry air gets hotter and the humidity goes down even more. Many of my clients go through more top off water during winter months.
 
Vhuang168 said:
Is it? Cold air is able to carry less moisture so there should be less evaporation?

Plus it's usually raining or moist so humidity shouldn't be a factor.


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Winter air is somewhat drier than summer air, assuming we are not talking about an air-conditioned room. Personally, I always have to have lip balm with me for chapped lips in the winter, but not in the summer. Also it’s well-known that that is one of the major reasons why respiratory virus infections are most effective in the winter (mucous membrane defense is suppressed by drier air).

Here is a graph showing the relative humidity by month in San Jose (you can put in other cities in the area and they are similar). Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air relative to the max it can hold, which goes up with temperature as said before. This is the number that matters when talking about evaporation.

67d5bddd12d273480ef9520692053def.jpg


http://www.usa.com/san-jose-ca-weather.htm
 
Answering the original question:
Glass looks nicer, weighs more, and is easier to break. If you go glass, get two 24"x24" (ish) squares, not one 24"x48" piece. It'll be easier to handle, harder to break, and you can set one on top of the other if you only want to work on one side. Since you're rimless get some little tabs and undersize it a bit so it sits just inside the tank, at least at the front. I'm not sure what it takes to clear your overflows and plumbing in the back. Other than a nicer appearance, that way when the lids drip in goes in the tank. Other than looking a bit nicer glass lids have the benefit of being easy to clean with razor blades.

Personally on bigger tanks I tend to use polycarb (not acrylic) just because it is harder to break. It will bow visibly with a large temperature differential, but won't have the same bowing issues as acrylic.

Whatever you do, drill a 1.5" or so hole in each piece. For squares I'd drill it right in the center. For a large rectangle I'd drill it in either the same places, or 1/3 of the way from each end. This makes putting in food, pulling water for a sample, and simply handling the lids much easier. It's also a location fish are less likely to jump at, although you can always cover them if you're concerned.

As to evaporation rate, it's a function of water temperature, air temperature, and humidity. Because this is all local to the surface, you can also influence this with surface air movement (ie fans). I have a suspicion that scummed over water also evaporates slower, but that shouldn't be an issue for a well set up reef.

Give that Jeff's house temperature tend to be close to the average outside temperature I suspect the reef is often warmer than the surrounding air.

For a given humidity lever and water temperature there will be more evaporation at cooler ambient air temperatures. The air warms up as it nears the aquarium water, and then since it can carry more humidity it picks some up and then wanders off. Of course it might condense it out elsewhere when it cools back off, which is why fish stores in warm climates often have huge condensation issues in the summer.

Fun addition, if your aquarium temperature is below the dew point your aquarium will (slowly) fill instead of lose water to evaporation. Of course you'll also have a really awful condensation issue on the outside of the tank, and are probably in a very warm and muggy climate running a chiller.
 
the purpose is to reduce RO usage and I've lost two fish to leaping. was going to go with 25x25" so I have overlap on the sides. What say you reefers about polycarb versus glass?
 
Jeff Rehling said:
Tap wants $174 out the door for two 25" square 1/4" pieces of polycarbonate with holes in the middle and euro corners to accommodate cords
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How much of that is the holes and edges. Are you handy with a drill and sandpaper?
If you look at how much less your heater will run I think you’ll find the payoff shorter than you think.
Your heater is on more often than it’s off. I don’t know your evaporation rate, but it looks like your heater is pulling the equivalent to 200 W continuously (300 W on more than 70% of the time).
 
labor listed at $40. two circles at $8 each and two corners at $3 each. $22 for holes, which I could do, and $40 labor. i'm checking on two squares and I'll cut my own holes
 
they actually screwed up the estimate. i only asked for a single euro corner per sheet, and they put four on the estimate per piece. i just need two 25X25" 1/4" pieces
 
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