Slow cooked my tank!!

[Randrew215]

I've been having some real problems in my reef the last few weeks. I lost 2 colonies of birdsnest, a head of hammer, an orange torch, and I have six dwindled heads of green torch and a bleached out encrusting monti. I've been checking all my levels and they've been good so I've been digging my brain trying to figure out what's going on. My tank temperature has been low- I've had a hard time keeping the temp above 76 degrees. I bought a new heater from petsmart and then bought a 300 watt heater from ARC figuring my 250 watt jager heater wasn't cutting it and waited for thing to improve. Today I bought a new battery for my digital thermometer and picked up a new thermometer as well. Old thermometer is off by 10 degrees. My tank has been at 86!!!!! I checked against room temperature and against my mouth (which my girlfriend was not amused by). I'm running fans like crazy right now to bring the temp back down. I'm surprised that the whole tank hasn't crashed with temperature like that. Moral: redundancy in thermometers!

 

[Johnny C]

Be absolutely sure not to lower your temperature too quickly, but maybe over a 24 hour period. Drastic changes can cause much more harm than the high temperature.

 

[Randrew215]

One other thing I noticed with this is that I had increased precipitation on my pumps and heaters despite my levels staying normal. Anybody know why this would be the case?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

this might surprise some people but USUALLY the problem associated with reef aquaria is preventing them from getting too warm.

Typical ambient room temperature of a home with air conditioning is anywhere from 68F to 85F.
Lights and pumps usually double as heaters. I won't tell you the number of tropical reef aquariums that I know of that run NO HEATERS at all !

And to think that I used to try and keep my reef aquarium at 75F with a chiller.... what a waste. FO can be kept even cooler!

I'm going to disagree with Johnny here.... lower the temperature to 80F quickly- especially if you have any SPS.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

One other thing I noticed with this is that I had increased precipitation on my pumps and heaters despite my levels staying normal. Anybody know why this would be the case?

this is normal. Precip usually occurs faster on pumps and heaters. Heat acts as a catalyst. Tom can explain it better

 

[albano]

And to think that I used to try and keep my reef aquarium at 75F with a chiller.... what a waste. FO can be kept even cooler!

I'm going to disagree with Johnny here.... lower the temperature to 80F quickly- especially if you have any SPS.

Sorry Gary...not sure I understand...75F was a waste...you prefer tank to stay closer to 80?

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Sorry Gary...not sure I understand...75F was a waste...you prefer tank to stay closer to 80?

yes. I used to attempt to keep it at 75F. Big waste of electricity. 80F is ideal for what I have.

 

[victorcan]

I run my tank at 80 upped it from 75 and noticed better coral growth..

 

[Randrew215]

I did notice increased growth on my millepora and my purple cap with increased temp. Tank temp is down to 82.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Except for the other reefkeeping old timers (such as RandyO, Keith, etc.) I didn't know anybody else around here ever maintained a reef aquarium at cooler temps. It's kind of an old recommendation to keep reef aquaria at 75F.
(There ARE certain cases you want to maintain cooler temps- like if you had Latz clowns or certain deep water fishes.)

I'm sure that any of the experienced SPS guys will tell you that extended periods of high aquarium temps (86F+) are detrimental to Acropora. If you've hit 86 you should start dropping it quickly- don't delay!

 

[NirvanaFan]

I agree with Gary on this. Drop the temp quick (if you haven't).

Higher temperature = higher metabolism. That is probably why you noticed faster coral growth.

 

[magdelan]

Propper calibration of a probe.

Propper calibration of a probe.

Pack a drinking glass full with ice. Fill the glass to the brim with cold water. Insert your probe. 32f is your goal. Adjust accordingly.