Ideal temp swing

[ptreef]

In spite of what many people assume, corals do not come from a stable, calm and never changing environment. They come from a temp swinging, salinity swinging and at times very violent environment. They deal with this as well as predation, storms, physical damage from fish, powerful wave action and currents, etc etc. The chemistry is fairly stable and that is what is most important. Other than that, their environment is at times harsh one.

+1... i was one of those at the beggining and have found corals are in general TOUGH not delicate suckers!

Just don't let ALK, CAL, MG or salinity sway quickly!

 

[jerpa]

I allow my temp to swing as well. Typically during the winter it swings steadily between 77-82 every day. Summer temps are usually 80-85 although it sometimes gets to 86 and will sometimes drop as low as 77. I did this because of all the information Jack linked and my own experience buying a system that had been at 79 degrees for years. Those same corals that bleached because of a few hours at 82 degrees now deal with swings of 5+ degrees regularly and almost 10 degrees occasionally.

 

[ptreef]

Oh and to OP...
SPS dominate tank here, few LPS, zoas and ricordia...

sirreal63 & jerpa what types of tanks? SPS??

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Yeah, so my situation is that my tank's sump is in the garage that gets 90+ degrees in the summer, and I can not just "let it swing" like I used to. My chiller is even running at night just to keep the temp at 80. So letting it swing is not an option for me, my daily swing during the summer would probably be 85-90 at least.

So I'm thinking of programming the apex to let the temp get up to maybe 82 during the day and cooling back to 80 at night. Problem is, my heat isnt coming from the lights like most people, its just coming from the garage being 90+ 5 months out of the year, so I can't just "let it cool back down," I need to purposefully program in the cooling if I want it to cool back down.

So that's where I'm coming from as far as the control standpoint... I need to control both the highs and lows of my system if I want it to be anywhere within acceptable limits.

EDIT: Oh, and thanks for the links for the article by Chris Jury. I actually know him personally from several years ago. I read the last article in the series so far and it gave good info.

 

[sirreal63]

About 90% SPS but I have massive Zoa, GSP and Hammer growth, them and Montipora are my current coral plagues, as well as Valonia that has been kicking my butt for a while.

I need to take some new pics, these are many months old.

LOJ...is the chiller in the garage too? From a cooling standpoint, the higher the differential of temps, the more rapid the cooling.

 

[FlipToast]

Here's another theory: the fluctuating temp may cause a more rapid evaporation. This can cause your tank to need topped of more often, which also means you are getting more o2 exchange.

 

[CHSUB]

the ideal swing is no swing...keep it steady!!!! corals get conditioned to temp. swings over millenniums not years in our tanks!!!!

 

[FlipToast]

What? How do you explain how captive raised corals are more hardy?

 

[FlipToast]

Not to mention...corals are very adaptable. Zoas will look much different given different flow and lighting..but be just as healthy? I believe corals are more adaptable than you think. Not all, but the general majority.

 

[sirreal63]

the ideal swing is no swing...keep it steady!!!! corals get conditioned to temp. swings over millenniums not years in our tanks!!!!

Then that would only mean that by not allowing temp swings you are not keeping their environment as they have evolved to handle. :bounce1:

 

[FlipToast]

(Sarcastically) lets just set our tanks to stay between frozen and boiling and keep it at that

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

LOJ...is the chiller in the garage too? From a cooling standpoint, the higher the differential of temps, the more rapid the cooling.

Yes the chiller is in the garage too.

I guess I will program the chiller to allow for about a 2 degree swing. On warm days the chiller is maxed out and the temp does still creep up over the course of the day despite the chiller running all day. I guess those days will serve to be the occasional small temp spikes mentioned as beneficial in Chris' article.

 

[CHSUB]

Then that would only mean that by not allowing temp swings you are not keeping their environment as they have evolved to handle. :bounce1:

true, but there are many parameters and condition that we also don't allow.

(Sarcastically) lets just set our tanks to stay between frozen and boiling and keep it at that

why not condition yourself by hitting your head repeatedlyuhoh3::hammer so if a brick falls out of the sky it won't hurt so much?

 

[FlipToast]

why not condition yourself by hitting your head repeatedlyuhoh3::hammer so if a brick falls out of the sky it won't hurt so much?

Uhhh people do that actually. Martial artist condition themselves by breaking bones repeatedly until they can punch THROUGH bricks. Hiiii-yaaaa!

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

S.G. is something else that most wrongly think of as not only consistent but stable as well on the world's reefs.

 

[dinwiddie90]

I keep mine at 79.5. But sometimes it gets up to 82. No problems

 

[FlipToast]

You know...I'm about to add salt to my finally assembled frag tank...
This is in an unheated/cooled porch. Want me to try some test corals in the water with no climate control? I oughta get a nice range of degrees with no climate control on the tank...I have some time to tinker before I get down to business.

 

[sirreal63]

I am not sure you would be able to acclimate them to a large swing, depending on the environment they came from.

 

[FlipToast]

Here's what I'll test:
Corals from my display tank that ranges 78-82
Corals from my nano that range from 78-78.2
Corals from the LFS that are kept in 79-80
Corals that are fragged in the frag tank

Sound good?

 

[sirreal63]

The porch is cooled but not heated?