Been running my tank too hot

[mje113]

Garr... I screwed up. I've been trying to keep my tank at 78, which is no problem with the room's ambient temperature. A few weeks ago I started noticing my digital thermometer started reporting temps around 76 so I incorrectly figured the cheap heater was to blame so I cranked the heater up to 80. Fast forward to this morning I again noticed the thermometer reading 74 which seemed really off, so I grabbed a second thermometer and put it in the tank and it's 82! Been that way for at least 3 weeks I think.

 

So far no corals have completely died, but they haven't looked as happy as I would imagine. Lots of Zoas staying closed or not opening at all. All other water parameters look good. Is it possible the high temp is why the corals have been looking unhappy? I obviously changed out the heater and will be investing in another backup thermometer.

[seabass]

In nature, most corals are found in waters which are between 83-86°F.

https://web.archive.org/web/20030218193420/www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/aqfm/1997/nov/features/1/default.asp

 

However, because oxygen is less soluble at higher temperatures, I wouldn't recommend keeping a reef tank above 84°F.  When possible, I try to keep it around 80°F, but there is no problem keeping things stable at 82°F.  The sudden change might be causing some reaction, but the temperature itself isn't the problem.

 

9 minutes ago, mje113 said:

All other water parameters look good.

Not really sure what parameters you are checking, or what values that you consider to be good.

[mje113]

12 minutes ago, seabass said:

Not really sure what parameters you are checking, or what values that you consider to be good

Salinity: 1.025

Am: 0

NO3: 5.8

PHO: 0.07

 

I'll check PH in a bit... I have not been testing that regularly but I do stay on top of water changes with Red Sea Blue Bucket.

[seabass]

Assuming things have been stable at these levels, I don't see an issue.  I'm typically not very concerned about pH.  Alkalinity is usually a bigger concern; however, with soft coral, consumption usually isn't a problem.  Alkalinity of the blue bucket isn't elevated like many other salt mixes.  But this isn't a problem unless something like coralline algae is consuming alkalinity.

 

Problems with zoanthids could be from something else like:

• zoa eating nudibranchs
• "sea spiders"
• sundial snails
• zoapox

Also, some zoanthid species are much more demanding than others.

[mje113]

Thanks, I'll look into those.

 

I also have a small frag of gallexia that hasn't been looking good. It was great for a couple weeks but has been pretty retracted and shriveled looking. Anything to be done to save it?

[seabass]

26 minutes ago, mje113 said:

I also have a small frag of gallexia that hasn't been looking good.

I always question alkalinity when hearing about problems with LPS.  It might be worth testing dKH.  Stability is key for alkalinity, so a spot check usually doesn't tell us the full story (unless it is way off).

[fenderchamp]

On 7/7/2022 at 9:45 AM, mje113 said:

Garr... I screwed up. I've been trying to keep my tank at 78, which is no problem with the room's ambient temperature. A few weeks ago I started noticing my digital thermometer started reporting temps around 76 so I incorrectly figured the cheap heater was to blame so I cranked the heater up to 80. Fast forward to this morning I again noticed the thermometer reading 74 which seemed really off, so I grabbed a second thermometer and put it in the tank and it's 82! Been that way for at least 3 weeks I think.

 

So far no corals have completely died, but they haven't looked as happy as I would imagine. Lots of Zoas staying closed or not opening at all. All other water parameters look good. Is it possible the high temp is why the corals have been looking unhappy? I obviously changed out the heater and will be investing in another backup thermometer.

I did exactly the same thing!  I was using one of those cheap little digital thermometers  with the battery.  The digital salinity tester was set to Celsius so I didn’t cotton on for a while ( like a few months). I had no deaths but once I fixed the issue some of my corals got much happier.  I threw out that thermometer 

[mje113]

Is there even a good reliable thermometer to use? I can't find one other than those same cheap battery powered probe ones (my second is reading 2 degrees higher than real temp now).

[seabass]

 

On 7/15/2022 at 8:43 AM, mje113 said:

Is there even a good reliable thermometer to use?

IDK, the peel and stick thermometers are typically fine for at least a year.  But I'd get a temperature controller, which comes with a temperature probe.  That also provides an emergency shut of in case your heater gets stuck on.