Acceptable Temp Swing

[splix]

125g display, 125g sump. For some reason in the last couple weeks I've been having temp swings going from 80.2 - 80.6 or 7. I've got a 150w neotherm actually inside the display to help keep stability (hard to see so I dont mind), 75w inside the skimmer area of the sump, and another 150w inside of the 100g fuge tub. With lights off at night the tank sits around 80.1-2. When the lights are on it shoots up to 80.6-7. I've tried to stabilize this as much as possible but not sure why in the past couple weeks it's been swinging like this. House temp sits around 72-73.
Lights are 4x 165w china-black boxes and 2x 80w t5 bulbs.

Is this an OK swing for SPS or should I really work harder on getting it more stable. Temp never drops below 80 and never goes over 81.

Something I've contemplated is putting a low gph pump towards the surface to help with surface agitation to help cool the water during the day. Think that would make a difference?

 

[golferbud101691]

.5 degree swing with lighting is perfectly normal. Halides can cause swings of 3+ degrees and sps corals be OK. The main thing is not having a sudden increase/decrease in temp(seconds). What are you using to measure your temp? .5 a degree is sometimes hard to distinguish with hobby grade temp gauges.

 

[Capsle]

I'm new to the hobby as well so I can't answer what an acceptable temperature swing is but I have no heaters in my tank at the moment (one failed and heater up to 86). However my tank temperature varies between 76-78 over the course of a couple days and probably about a degree during the day.

I will replace the heater for the winter period but the way I see it is the oceans temperature varies throughout the course of the day as well; all depending on sunlight, winds and tides. So I don't think it's a huge issue as long as it's not quick, drastic changes.

Then again, like I said I'm new to this hobby as well.


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[DePinchGonze]

Your ok less then one degree swing with lights off and on is way better then most. I would be concerned at having three heaters on a tank, one of those breaks and stays on ( very common) and your gonna have a lot bigger swings then .5 degrees. Have you thought about a controller? They can turn a fan on in your sump at preset temp to combat temp swings.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Think about this, many/most chillers run with a 2 degree swing. Example: On at 80F and off at 78F.

 

[Dogshowgrl]

Think about this, many/most chillers run with a 2 degree swing. Example: On at 80F and off at 78F.

This. You are fine. I don't stress as long as it is 2 or less in a single day. I have a weekly swing of about 5 degrees (slowly over a weeks time) when the two weeks of winter come in here in FL. But the swing you are having is awesome, I wish is could get it that small!

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[splix]

Your ok less then one degree swing with lights off and on is way better then most. I would be concerned at having three heaters on a tank, one of those breaks and stays on ( very common) and your gonna have a lot bigger swings then .5 degrees. Have you thought about a controller? They can turn a fan on in your sump at preset temp to combat temp swings.

They're all on apex already.

I'm using the apex probe to monitor my temp.

 

[PsychoticBeauty]

During the summer months my tank swings at least 4 degrees each day and nobody seems to mind. 79-83 is probably the average.

 

[mcgyvr]

A few degrees is totally fine..

And yes a fan or more surface agitation will increase evaporation and evaporation causes cooling..

But you have no need to do that as your temps are totally fine..

 

[MiataRacer]

I don't know about SPS, but my air conditioning went out almost two weeks ago and my softie reef heated up by 5 degrees over the course of a day. By the next day it had dropped back down to normal after I got a window air conditioner, and I didn't lose any livestock (besides the corals I had 5 fish and 5 hermit crabs at the time; I've since added two peppermint shrimp). The only thing that seemed like it changed behavior afterwards was a clove polyp frag I have, which seems to be going back to normal.

 

[thegrun]

4 degrees a day is fine, I suspect even larger swings would not be problematic.