New Tank Water level

[Aegon]

Hi everyone I’ve just recently began my 20 gallon Fuji cube tank looking to start stocking w corals in the near future. As of now I have a tank with a mid aquascape and a fire shrimp that always hides in the only place I can’t see him haha.

My issue being that the water level in the sump continues to lower, I am beyond confused how the water level in these chambers is supposed to flow with respect to one another

in the first chamber I have a sock followed by a protein skimmer and the return pump / heater / thermometer in the last

I held off on adding anymore water as I had done yesterday so I could get some feedback, I’m extremely new into the reef space so any help would be greatly appreciated as I’m afraid the pump chamber will empty while I’m at work and run it dry and ruin the pump

 

[RocketEngineer]

Water evaporates. Salt doesn’t. Over time you will need to add FRESH water in to replace what evaporates and dilute the salt back to proper levels.

Evaporation shows up in the pump chamber because the water level in all other section is driven by the pump moving the water around. Refilling the pump section to the same level it started with will get you reasonably close to the same salinity. Regular water changes will balance out the rest.

 

[Aegon]

Water evaporates. Salt doesn’t. Over time you will need to add FRESH water in to replace what evaporates and dilute the salt back to proper levels.

Evaporation shows up in the pump chamber because the water level in all other section is driven by the pump moving the water around. Refilling the pump section to the same level it started with will get you reasonably close to the same salinity. Regular water changes will balance out the rest.

I understood I’d lose water to evaporation but I didn’t think it’d be evaporating this fast, would you say I’m safe to fill the sump chambers up all the way to match the level of the main tank?

 

[RocketEngineer]

I’m not sure what the manufacturer recommends on a system like that. There may be markings or somewhere in the instructions that tells you what you should be using.

My (uneducated) opinion is to turn off the pump, fill it to level with the tank, then turn it on. But again, the tank maker may have better info.

 

[I never finish anythi]

Only water in the sump evaporated. The tank stays at the same level . In my sump only the return chamber loalsrs water .I go through 5 gallons a week . It's a 75gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump . You be surprised how much evaporates. Check salt levels and you will know if it's evaporation because salinity will increase.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi everyone I’ve just recently began my 20 gallon Fuji cube tank looking to start stocking w corals in the near future. As of now I have a tank with a mid aquascape and a fire shrimp that always hides in the only place I can’t see him haha.

My issue being that the water level in the sump continues to lower, I am beyond confused how the water level in these chambers is supposed to flow with respect to one another

in the first chamber I have a sock followed by a protein skimmer and the return pump / heater / thermometer in the last

I held off on adding anymore water as I had done yesterday so I could get some feedback, I’m extremely new into the reef space so any help would be greatly appreciated as I’m afraid the pump chamber will empty while I’m at work and run it dry and ruin the pump

Slow down return pump slightly. It appears the pump is delivering water from sump to the tank faster than the water is coming into the sump