Cali Kid Corals

Everyone doing OK with the heat?

Looks like we are in for another warm weekend! unfortunately I'm out of town and cant keep a close eye on it. I normally keep my tank around 80-81, so if it does swing upward, it usually only hits about 84, and that's a much easier swing than from 77. If I run my fans, then it never moves from 81, but I evap several gallons a day on my 55g.
 
bondolo said:
As long as your ATO doesn't run out, evap is a good thing!
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Glad you bring this up. Why exactly is evap a good thing?

I got involved in a thread over on RC, where a guy was bragging that he had a bio cube and NEVER topped off, ever. Top of the tank basically sealed tight. He says that water condenses on the inside areas, and drips down, essentially topping itself off.

I dunno, I can't possible think that zero evaporation is actually a good thing. What about oxygenation? Gas exchange?
 
Spoon said:
Glad you bring this up. Why exactly is evap a good thing?

I got involved in a thread over on RC, where a guy was bragging that he had a bio cube and NEVER topped off, ever. Top of the tank basically sealed tight. He says that water condenses on the inside areas, and drips down, essentially topping itself off.

I dunno, I can't possible think that zero evaporation is actually a good thing. What about oxygenation? Gas exchange?
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Evaporation cools the tank. A LOT.
I think it is something like 1 gallon evaporated will cool 200 gallons 1 degree. But be warned, that is from memory,
and could be way off.

Zero evaporation is possible. Key is gas exchange, but you can use a skimmer to oxygenate, and a condenser
tube or something condensation on escaping air. Seems tricky though.
Truly sealing the tank air-tight seems like a very bad idea.
 
Evaporation is definitely good for cooling! That last heat wave, my tank hit 84 and I ended up having to float gallon ziploc bags full of ice in my tank. My ATO reservoir was getting used up crazy fast during all of that.
 
I was thinking about adding kalkwasser in my ATO jug but I can see how this might pose a problem due to excessive heat. possible to over dose?
 
Definitely possible to overdose! if you normally evap 1 gallon a day and you are dosing per that expectation, but suddenly use 5 gallons a day, then you might be in trouble from dosing too quickly.

Evap is great for cooling my tank, especially since I don't have a chiller. Pain in the butt part is having to constantly refill my ATO reservoir since I can't plumb my RODI to auto fill it.
 
@Marc, you has controller? You can set an alarm to alert you of high PH, and you can set your ATO to stop in that event. At least that will give you a chance to investigate the problem.
 
brleong said:
Definitely possible to overdose! if you normally evap 1 gallon a day and you are dosing per that expectation, but suddenly use 5 gallons a day, then you might be in trouble from dosing too quickly.

Evap is great for cooling my tank, especially since I don't have a chiller. Pain in the butt part is having to constantly refill my ATO reservoir since I can't plumb my RODI to auto fill it.
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Yes, I can see that happening! recently I've been turning a fan on near my tank to help cool it down. Its been using 2x as much ATO water as normal.

Spoon said:
@Marc, you has controller? You can set an alarm to alert you of high PH, and you can set your ATO to stop in that event. At least that will give you a chance to investigate the problem.
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Good idea! I'll have to do more reading on kalkwasser. Most of the coral in my tank as softies, so the demand may not be as high.
 
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