temp swings in SPS dominated tanks?

M3P

Member
What temp do you guys keep your SPS tanks and how much variability is there?

I am able to get my temp to bounce between 77-78. The drop from 78 to 77 is pretty quick and then a slow increase to 78 again. Any benefit to tighter control?
 
My minimum is 78 and the lights heat it up to 81.5F by the time they go out at night.

-Mike
 
i have my heaters running through an apex. my heaters turn off if above 78.1 and they turn on if below 77.9. i have read about a temperature swing being a good practice because if you have any sort of extreme temp swing then your fish will respond better since they are used to it.
 
I used to keep it within .5F but now it's betweent 79-83F. 4F swing every day... No issues still even thought the big swing makes me nervous.
 
The real answer to this especially regarding SPS, would require more information.

Generally speaking swings of any kind are considered to be less than desirable, more so with SPS.

But as you can see in previous posts there are plenty of those that have no obvious issues with having temp swings any more than those that don't.

Where a temp swing (or any instability) would truly come into play is ....just how close to the edge do you run your tank?
What I mean by that is, there is a difference between healthy and "fit".

People who train their bodies to have as close to 0% body fat that are wanting an incredibly ripped physique might be "fit" as hell.....but are most certainly not healthy.

Many SPS hobbyists tend to prefer ultra low nutrient systems so that they can get their corals colors to their extreme, which is not always natural, neither is running on the high edge of Calcium and Magnesium for rapid growth.

So, these corals would be considered more "fit" than healthy.
This would also make them less tolerant of swings, as it can be very easy to disrupt the delicate balance that they live in.
It also has to do with, what SPS exactly? Some are more hardy that others, some have no tolerances with swings at all.

All that being said, generally speaking, it would be best to keep temp swings no greater than 2* .....but it's certainly not the Law....
 
i have my heaters running through an apex. my heaters turn off if above 78.1 and they turn on if below 77.9. i have read about a temperature swing being a good practice because if you have any sort of extreme temp swing then your fish will respond better since they are used to it.

0.2 degree swing!? Forget the SPS, have you ever checked your log to see how many times your heaters switch off and on in a day? You're likely killing their lifespan, FWIW.
 
Also take into consideration the size of the system and how long does it takes for that swing. a 4 degree swing in a nano that only take less than an hour or a 4 degree swing that take the whole day.
Its not the swing that is major issue. It's how fast the swing is, that is more dangerous.
 
Also take into consideration the size of the system and how long does it takes for that swing. a 4 degree swing in a nano that only take less than an hour or a 4 degree swing that take the whole day.
Its not the swing that is major issue. It's how fast the swing is, that is more dangerous.

great point
 
Also take into consideration the size of the system and how long does it takes for that swing. a 4 degree swing in a nano that only take less than an hour or a 4 degree swing that take the whole day.
Its not the swing that is major issue. It's how fast the swing is, that is more dangerous.

great point

+1

since the tank crash Ive been messing around with things, one being lighting. I tried 400MH and jumped 1 degree in 30 mins :crazy1: You guessed it I'm went back to the 250s fast. They raise the temp currently 2 deg over 12 hours
 
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