Water loss

[19jonesy86]

Anyone have any idea why I'm losing water? It's dropped from the black line in the space of a few hrs? Salinity is stable at 1.025 so it's not evaporation and there are no leaks

 

[XNavyDiver]

If the water level has risen in the DT, it could be a blockage in the overflow to the sump?

 

[Idoc]

If the water isn't on your floor, then its evaporating. Mine is evaporating 1-1.5g per day... now that its winter and the heat is on in the house, even more! That small amount may not be showing up on your salinity gauge.

Is your overflow box filled up completely to the same height and not fluctuating?

 

[19jonesy86]

If the water level has risen in the DT, it could be a blockage in the overflow to the sump?

No DT is stable

 

[19jonesy86]

If the water isn't on your floor, then its evaporating. Mine is evaporating 1-1.5g per day... now that its winter and the heat is on in the house, even more! That small amount may not be showing up on your salinity gauge.

Is your overflow box filled up completely to the same height and not fluctuating?

The overflow is filled as much as the emergency pipe and just silently trickling down it, same as last night. Should I top off with RO or salt then as the salt level hasn't changed?

 

[XNavyDiver]

No DT is stable

Then if your floors are dry, and the display tank level is unchanged, it's evap.

 

[XNavyDiver]

The overflow is filled as much as the emergency pipe and just silently trickling down it, same as last night. Should I top off with RO or salt then as the salt level hasn't changed?

rodi

 

[19jonesy86]

Then if your floors are dry, and the display tank level is unchanged, it's evap.

Ok thanks

 

[Idoc]

The overflow is filled as much as the emergency pipe and just silently trickling down it, same as last night. Should I top off with RO or salt then as the salt level hasn't changed?

Sound like everything is correct then...DT is stable and overflow is stable. Gotta be evaporation... so refill with only RO water.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

You should also make sure the method you are using to measure salinity is accurate. If you are using a hydrometer or a malfunctioning refractometer, it could be telling you your salinity is close to 34-35ppt when it is actually higher due to evaporation. I suspect this is the case. As Idoc and XNavyDiver said, if there's no water on the floor, then there's only one place it could have gone, and that's into the air.

 

[19jonesy86]

You should also make sure the method you are using to measure salinity is accurate. If you are using a hydrometer or a malfunctioning refractometer, it could be telling you your salinity is close to 34-35ppt when it is actually higher due to evaporation. I suspect this is the case. As Idoc and XNavyDiver said, if there's no water on the floor, then there's only one place it could have gone, and that's into the air.

I'm using a newly calibrated refractometer so I'm fairly confident it's accurate

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I'm using a newly calibrated refractometer so I'm fairly confident it's accurate

Have you calibrated it since you started getting these unexpected results? If not, I would do so. Be sure to use a salinity standard to calibrate, as calibrating with freshwater can lead to inaccurate readings. If the water level in the main tank hasn't changed, there are no leaks on any part of the tank, and there's no water on the floor, there's nowhere else the water could have gone except for into the air. The salinity would have to be higher as a result. It's a bit concerning that the reading has not changed.

Whatever the case may be, in cases where you get a result that's outside the expected range, it's a good idea to rule out all potential causes of mismeasurement before assuming the reading is accurate.

 

[XNavyDiver]

A habit I've gotten into is calibrating my refract before every use. I use 35ppt calibration fluid and almost without fail, I have to "tweek" it just a tiny bit to read 35. Then I immediately re-check my calibration adjustment. Then I take my reading.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

A habit I've gotten into is calibrating my refract before every use. I use 35ppt calibration fluid and almost without fail, I have to "tweek" it just a tiny bit to read 35. Then I immediately re-check my calibration adjustment. Then I take my reading.

Back when I was using a refractometer, this is exactly the approach I had to take in order to get accurate readings. I would measure my salinity from day to day, and it would always be off by one or two ppt, and there was never any explanation for the change in salinity. Once I started calibrating before every use, the readings were steady.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You would likely be unable to detect that small increase in salinity with a refractometer. To rise to sg = 1.026, you'd need to lose 4% of the total system volume (not just the sump volume).