Evaporation in Main Tank

[patedship]

I was wondering why I am getting evaporation in my main tank and not my sump.. this didnt happen until recently! And it doesnt make sense to me. Someone please help, FAST!

[Shooter7]

Specifics about your setup?? Tank size - reef ready or not, sump size, return pump, plumbing specifics, temp, I'm presuming no auto topoff....anyone think of anything else?

[patedship]

50gallon, reef ready, 20L sump, rio 2100 to a 1/2" return bulkead, 1" drain bulkhead to 3/4" piping, 79-80 degrees. No auto top off.

[patedship]

I dont have an internal overflow so i am assuming that is the problem. I have a elbow pointed towards the top of the tank with a strainer on it. I had an overflow box but it wasnt working, so i removed it about a week or so ago. The reason it wasnt working was because it had a crack in the side of it. So i was think i could take a fairly large cup and cut it in half, dremel out the top of it and set it over the drainage elbow. Would this work? Or are there better options out there? Please take into consideration that my tank already is stocked with 70lbs of LR, 5 fish, 20 inverts, and at least 15 various types of coral. So more than likely i cannot drain the tank.

[21Reefman]

Sounds like your getting some siphon action in your overflow tube that is draining at a faster rate than the return pump is returning. Obviosly not all the time or you would have a flood, I wonder if it would fluctuate flow, every once in awhile increasing overflow volume.?
I have a Q, you say you don't have a built in overflow yet your tank is reef ready?

When you say evaporation, is it really less water or is there just more in the sump?

[patedship]

It is less water. The level in the sump stays the same. When i add make up water to the sump the level in the main tank will rise again however the water level in the sump will drain back down to its normal level. Do i need to add an overflow?

[GL]

If your pump were pumping faster than your overflow was returning water than either you would overflow the main tank or the sump would run dry.


Does the water in the sump fluctuate at all?

Do you have a ball or gate valve between the pump and display?

[TitansFan]

when was the last time you cleaned your pump? It maybe dirty or calcium buildup lessening its power and now unable to keep up as well with your overflow.

[patedship]

The pump has only been used for a month, maybe a month and a half.
And yes i have ball valves on both the return and drain pipes.
Sump level may flucuate + - a half inche.

[acroreef123]

If I understood your description correctly than your problem is that you dont have an overflow. You see the reason why the water level does not drop due to evaporation in a tank with a sump is because the water cant drop past the overflow , if it did then the return pump would keep pumping and the water level would rise to the overflow. But in your tank you just have a drain which has no effect on water level, the reason why it is just started doing this is because you just recently removed your overflow, make sense? So to fix it remove your drain and go back to feeding your sump with an overflow, but it does not have to be an internal overflow it can be a hang on.

acroreef123

[patedship]

Is there anyone who can make small custom overflows? I need to install this into an already filled/stocked tank. I would need one the size and shape of half a cup.