Ok, I know it's been a while since the last post on this thread... but I'm taking my time soaking this stuff in, and thinking about how I want to setup the sump.
I'd like to ask a few questions about evaporation and how to balance sump levels and aquarium levels. Right now, my 20 gal tank is open topped. It loses between 1 1/2 and 2 inches of water a week. So I'd have to assume a 50 gal tank in the same room will also lose up to 2 inches a week. That's a lot of water. With the way sumps work, it's the sump level that will drop as the tank water evaporates. 2" drop in a 50 gal aquarium is going to translate to a much greater drop in the sump. I know there are numerous factors that can affect evaporation rate. I might be able to make a few adjustments and slow that down, but that's not what I want to get into in this post.
Now...the balancing act part. If I want to avoid topping off the water in the sump every day, I need to keep the sump level up high enough to ensure there's enough water to handle a week's worth of evaporation, whatever that amount may be. But... and here is where I can't figure this out in my head... if I have enough water to handle one week of evaporation, what happens if the siphon in my overflow box breaks early in the week? I'll definitely have a flood, as there will be a lot of extra water in the sump to handle evaporation for the week, unless I keep the water level significantly below the top of the tank. That, I think, would not look good asthetically.
I've gone over this in my mind for a while now, and can't figure out what the solution is. Any ideas?
I'd like to ask a few questions about evaporation and how to balance sump levels and aquarium levels. Right now, my 20 gal tank is open topped. It loses between 1 1/2 and 2 inches of water a week. So I'd have to assume a 50 gal tank in the same room will also lose up to 2 inches a week. That's a lot of water. With the way sumps work, it's the sump level that will drop as the tank water evaporates. 2" drop in a 50 gal aquarium is going to translate to a much greater drop in the sump. I know there are numerous factors that can affect evaporation rate. I might be able to make a few adjustments and slow that down, but that's not what I want to get into in this post.
Now...the balancing act part. If I want to avoid topping off the water in the sump every day, I need to keep the sump level up high enough to ensure there's enough water to handle a week's worth of evaporation, whatever that amount may be. But... and here is where I can't figure this out in my head... if I have enough water to handle one week of evaporation, what happens if the siphon in my overflow box breaks early in the week? I'll definitely have a flood, as there will be a lot of extra water in the sump to handle evaporation for the week, unless I keep the water level significantly below the top of the tank. That, I think, would not look good asthetically.
I've gone over this in my mind for a while now, and can't figure out what the solution is. Any ideas?