Temperautre question

[EquinsuOcha]

So I record my temperature 3 times daily.

 

0600 when I wake up

1200 - wife sees it and texts me (she just does it)

1900 - bed time

 

Range is this

78.8 - 82.0

 

Is this swing ok... I am trying to avoid a chiller.

 

Second question would it be smarter to bump my heater to 80 so my swing would be less 80-82

OR

would this have an adverse effect and make my swing 80-84?

 

Steve

[mystersyster]

I personally keep my heater between 79.0 and 80.0. I have a controller, so that is as large as the swing is. I would personally leave it since you are relying on the heater. I don't think that swing, over that period of time is anything to worry about. 82 is perfectly safe for a reef. I would watch it closely and make sure you aren't having swings that go above 84. Good luck.

[braaap]

We need more details. Where is the heat coming from? In the winter you really shouldn't have much of a swing at all. My tank swings 1 degree year round. My tank is in the basement and I use a controller.

[EquinsuOcha]

Heat source is old military housing...

 

I have the heat on in my house set to 73°F

the down stairs pretty much maintains that... we all know that heat rises... the heater will stay on most of the day to keep the down stairs that temp... whilst the upstairs gets to 78-79°F...

 

I closed the vents in the room and it was no help... I leave the lit cracked on my BC29 and it maintains those temps. It has yet to go over 82... amazingly in the summer its more stable haha.

My freshwater Biocube was stable at 79° all summer because the AC keep the house a crisp 68°F.

[Simulated Fish]

So I record my temperature 3 times daily.

 

0600 when I wake up

1200 - wife sees it and texts me (she just does it)

1900 - bed time

 

Range is this

78.8 - 82.0

 

Is this swing ok... I am trying to avoid a chiller.

 

Second question would it be smarter to bump my heater to 80 so my swing would be less 80-82

OR

would this have an adverse effect and make my swing 80-84?

 

Steve

As long as your not exceeding 83/84° I wouldn't worry, 78 to 82 is fine. People seem to freak out when you mention you go over 80 but my tank has gone from 76/78 to 82/83 since day one. As long as it is a gradual rise and fall throught the day and your livestock are acclimated to it then you will be fine IMO. My temp swings more then most people would be okay with. 4 degrees from night (0200) to day (1400) but my tank is happy and used to it. I see no slow-down in growth or stress in my fish.

 

It's the quick or suden changes in temp that do harm, eg: doing a WC with 68° water into a 80° tank or a heater blowing and going from a stable 77° to 82° in an hour.

 

If your tank is happy and your not having trouble then keep it happy. Stability is key, keep things constant and make changes slowy if you decide to add a chiller.

 

BTW if this is a biocube rather then get a chiller you could always upgrade the fans in the housing to provide more flow. More air flow = less heat, but more evaporation.

[tetraodon]

So I record my temperature 3 times daily.

 

0600 when I wake up

1200 - wife sees it and texts me (she just does it)

1900 - bed time

 

Range is this

78.8 - 82.0

 

Is this swing ok... I am trying to avoid a chiller.

 

Second question would it be smarter to bump my heater to 80 so my swing would be less 80-82

OR

would this have an adverse effect and make my swing 80-84?

 

Steve

that range is well within reef range, if you really want to get fancy, get the RS1 from reef safe solutions, its an awesome temp controller for 50 dollars, and use a fan blowing across the water surface as a means to chill the water. it will increase the evap rate, though. hope this helps

[EquinsuOcha]

Thank you for the confidence that I am not harming my tank... I looked at many reef systems via temp trackers around the world and most swing several degrees each day, with the moon, sun, tide. So I am pretty happy with it.. I have upgraded the fans in my lighting area, but I think im going to go a step further and open up the vents on the top of the biocube so the flow wont be restricted.

[Simulated Fish]

Thank you for the confidence that I am not harming my tank... I looked at many reef systems via temp trackers around the world and most swing several degrees each day, with the moon, sun, tide. So I am pretty happy with it.. I have upgraded the fans in my lighting area, but I think im going to go a step further and open up the vents on the top of the biocube so the flow wont be restricted.

Sounds like a good course of action.

[EquinsuOcha]

forgot to mention no corals yet! BUT my fish and inverts seem VERY happy in the tank! eat well (especially the shrimp, greedy bastard).

[Tamberav]

My first tank ran 86 degrees in summer, no problems. I had LPS/Softies though, no SPS.

[NaturalViolence]

Same. I have an outdoor aquarium in south florida and it regularly reaches 88-90F at midday during summer with a low of 76-78F at night. I have seen absolutely no decline in growth or coloration of any soft/LPS/SPS species as a result of this. I suspect this is because those high temperatures are only reached for a few hours a day and change in temperature throughout the day is very slow.

 

Imo reefers worry way too much about temperature. It usually needs to be way too high or way too low for a long stretch of time to cause any sort of negative effect. Or it needs to change way too quickly. In fact my observations have made me question the so often cited ideal temperature range of 76-82F since there doesn't seem to be any sort of scientific source that I can find to back this up. In fact most of the species we keep tend to be tropical or sub-tropical and are usually found in 80-84F water in nature with daily temperature swings of several degrees. So it doesn't make sense to me why many reefers think their corals will die at the temperatures they regularly encounter in nature. And in my experience many tropical corals actually do grow faster in that range. The only real downside to having a warm aquarium is that specific species of corals that live in cooler waters won't do well and algae tends to grow exponentially faster so you have to keep your nutrient levels lower to compensate.

[MLS_Reef]

The only problem i can think of when crossing 78-79 is ich.. If you have thin skinned or sort skinned fish. Ich lifecycle is prevalent the warmer you get.

[Simulated Fish]

The only problem i can think of when crossing 78-79 is ich.. If you have thin skinned or sort skinned fish. Ich lifecycle is prevalent the warmer you get.

This is ture, and also why we have QT tanks

[jedimasterben]

The only problem i can think of when crossing 78-79 is ich.. If you have thin skinned or sort skinned fish. Ich lifecycle is prevalent the warmer you get.

No, you are not describing marine ich, Cryptocaryon irritants, at all. All fish and inverts' metabolisms depend on temperature, but the life cycle of ich isn't interrupted until about 96F sustained for a few hours, which would likely kill anything else in the tank. It is just as prevalent at 70F as it is at 80F, and just as dangerous if not treated.

[Simulated Fish]

No, you are not describing marine ich, Cryptocaryon irritants, at all. All fish and inverts' metabolisms depend on temperature, but the life cycle of ich isn't interrupted until about 96F sustained for a few hours, which would likely kill anything else in the tank. It is just as prevalent at 70F as it is at 80F, and just as dangerous if not treated.

Really? Do you have a link Ben? My LFS has always said that keeping the temp on the lower range will help slow ich. Not that I don't doubt it but I'd love to have an article or something to show them.

[IronChefItaly]

Ideally you shouldn't have anymore than 1-2 degrees Fahrenheit movement. I recommend getting a second heater and setting it 1-2 degrees lower than your primary heater. This way it will only kick on if the other one falls behind. Place them as far apart as possible.