Question
I’m a long-time freshwater aquarium hobbyist butconsidering branching out to a saltwater reefsystem. In talking with some of my reefkeeper friends, I’ve noticed that they’re rather fixated on evaporation from their tanks and doing daily top-offs. Why so much emphasis on evaporation on the saltwater side of the hobby? This isn’t really an issue at all on the freshwater side. Also, I do a lot of traveling for business purposes, so I’m wondering what others in my situation do about top-offs. – Submitted by Amir”
Answer
Great question, Amir! Saltwater aquarists are so focused on compensating for evaporation because they want thesalinity in their systems to remain as stable as possible. As water evaporates from a saltwater system, all the salt and other stuff dissolved in it gets left behind. The more water that evaporates, the more concentrated these dissolved solids become—thus the higher the salinity gets. To compensate for this, freshwater top-offs must be performed on a regular basis. However, if you allow too much time to pass between top-offs, your salinity level will constantly rise and fall like a rollercoaster, which is extremely stressful to coral reef organisms accustomed to highly stable conditions.
Another reason evaporation is such a fixation for reefkeepers is that there tends to be more of it going on in their systems than in the average freshwater tank. The robustwater movementcorals and other reef invertebrates demand, combined with the common practice of leaving the tops of tanks and sumps uncovered to promote optimal gas exchange, promotes a relatively high rate of evaporation.
关于您的评估，对于淡水水产师来说，蒸发并不是一个问题，我必须不同意。也许有人可能会说这在淡水方面并不是一个重大问题，但这肯定不是无关紧要的。请记住，溶解在水中的东西不会蒸发。这也适用于溶解的污染物。因此，您允许在淡水系统中蒸发的时间越长，这些污染物就会越集中，这可能会损害您的牲畜。
对于某些淡水物种，常规的淡水脱颖而出至关重要。以坦any尼湖或马拉维湖的非洲丽鱼科鱼类为例。尽管这些是淡水鱼，但他们经常要求在水中添加特殊盐，以便maintain proper pH and hardness levels. To keep those levels stable, it’s necessary to perform frequent top-offs, just as one must for a saltwater system.
If you do decide to take the plunge into reefkeeping and business travel continues to be an issue, you might consider setting up some sort of automatic top-off (ATO) system. Such systems commonly involve the use of a float valve, which is situated in the sump and connected to a freshwater reservoir (e.g., a heavy-duty plastic container or small aquarium). When the water level in the sump drops to a certain established point, the float valve allows water from the reservoir to flow down into the sump until the desired level is restored, at which point the flow is shut off.
常规的SWS撰稿人Ellery Wong（对商务旅行的陌生人都不是陌生人）的Atos和其他水族馆自动化方面，您可能会发现他的帮助Reefing from Afarseries. So be sure to check that out!
