Water Evaporation In Cold Weather

[Akai-San]

I have been experience some heavy water loss to evaporation in the cold weather we're having in Japan. I have 2 small 100 gal starter tanks for a couple 500 yen baby koi. The tanks are outside in a covered patio and I have heaters running 24/7 to keep water warmer at 55-60 degrees (outside is approx. 30-40 degrees). I have been noticing at least between a 1/2" TO 3/4" drop in water level every 1-2 days. Is this right? I checked for leaks and none found. Anyone experience similar conditions? Thanks.

Carl

[adreamer2]

I'm no expert, Carl, but if you're still running a filter and pump, evaporation is common especially if the cycle is pretty heavy.....

I experience this on a daily basis myself... I have two tanks going also... and I find myself replacing water every two days.....


My two tanks are not very big, much the same as yours... I guess if your tank was larger you [we] wouldn't have this problem..... ((I have an indoor pond much larger which is waiting for the outdoor guys to come in for treatment..))

Sounds like your stock for that size tank is a bit much... Yeah.. you can expect that.....


adreamer2

[carolyn swanson]

There is quite a lot of evaporation when the water is much warmer than the air. I have a pond in a greenhouse, and it is positively raining inside. If it didn't recycle in that way, I am sure that I would lose an inch or two a day.

[schildkoi]

The colder the air, the drier it becomes typically, especially when the air is below freezing. Dry air will "extract" moisture from its surroundings. Temperature difference will stimulate this even further as heat is transfered as well.

Steve

[adreamer2]

Oh yeah... Especially when it is warm....


adreamer2

[gregbickal]

I loose about half a gallon a day from my 30 gallon aqaurium at work.

[Akai-San]

Wow, I can see that with that kind of loss on small 100 gallon tanks, a full size pond can be a dramatic cost factor all year round. When I move back to Hawaii to build my pond, I should actually design in a constant water trickle system to keep pond water cycling and at its optimum level. That sounds expensive. Water is nice and soft in Hawaii, but it ain't cheap anymore. Would anyone with a 15000 gallon pond like to share their water bill with us? I'm thinking after the pond is filled....monthly could be $400-$500 per month! Thats nearly $6000/year and climbing. Electricity is another story....Hmmmmmm need some creative ideas...

[bekko]

Thanks to La Nina, your dream pond on Lilipuna Loop would have received more than 2 feet of rain in the last couple of weeks. Its like evaporation, only backwards. But seriously, evaporation on the windward side is negligable because the temperatures are fairly stable, the humidity is high, and precipitation almost always exceeds evaporation.

That is not to say that you will not hve a whopping water bill because most folks would suggest a 50-100% per week water exchange rate, regardless of evaporation rates.

-stevehopk i