water evaporation

[MommiePie]

I ditched the condensation tray for a more visually appealing open top design. This should speed up water evaporation, which I'm looking forward to. Now, I'm curious - what's the general approach here: do most people simply top it up or still do a partial water change, like one bucket out and two in? I've got live plants in the mix, so I want to make sure I'm on the right track.

[dungeon]

If the water level drops too low, just top it up with some dechlorinated and temperature-matched water.

[MommiePie]

I normally take 2 buckets a week out, 20% of the total. With this new setup, I'm thinking of waiting till the water level drops down to the inlet, roughly 1 bucket, then removing another bucket. That way, I'm still replacing 2 buckets overall.

[Snout]

When water evaporates, it concentrates minerals like mineflakes, increasing the tank's GH beyond that of the tap water. This can be detrimental to fish, depending on the species and tap water's GH. Frequent topping up can also stress fish due to fluctuating parameters. A weekly 20% water change may not be enough to maintain optimal water quality. I personally prefer a 50% change to keep the water clean and parameters in line with the source water.

[ladster]

My open-top setup loses around 20-30 litres of water weekly to evaporation, it's just the nature of this type of tank.

[MommiePie]

When water evaporates, it concentrates minerals like mineflakes, increasing the tank's GH beyond that of the tap water. This can be detrimental to fish, depending on the species and tap water's GH. Frequent topping up can also stress fish due to fluctuating parameters. A weekly 20% water change may not be enough to maintain optimal water quality. I personally prefer a 50% change to keep the water clean and parameters in line with the source water.

Too much evaporation isn't ideal and regular water changes are still the way to go, to prevent those minerals from building up and stressing the fish.

[ladster]

My open-top setup loses around 20-30 litres of water weekly to evaporation, it's just the nature of this type of tank.

I run mine at 28c, keeps it nice and warm in there.

[MommiePie]

My open-top setup loses around 20-30 litres of water weekly to evaporation, it's just the nature of this type of tank.

I'm running at 28c, a bit warmer than yours. Guess I'll just gotta stay on top of those water changes. Cheers for the advice, everyone ✌

[sSjey]

If topping up is preferred, consider using distilled or demineralized water as an alternative to tap water, since it doesn't contain minerals that can accumulate in the tank over time.

[MommiePie]

If topping up is preferred, consider using distilled or demineralized water as an alternative to tap water, since it doesn't contain minerals that can accumulate in the tank over time.

If you're gonna use RO water for topping up, wouldn't you need to mix it with your dechlorinated water, just to balance it out?