onecrzyboi4u
New member
what temp does everyone like to keep their tank at? how do they maintain that temp at night?
temp
- Thread starter onecrzyboi4u
- Start date
supertech3
New member
I like mine between 78-80, and is maintained with a heater and chiller in summer(gets warm with hallides in the south)
PatMayo
New member
I keep my tank at 80 24/7.
Here is a link to tank parameters.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php
Regards,
Pat
Here is a link to tank parameters.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php
Regards,
Pat
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
MId 70's to mid 80's is acceptable. Being new to the hobby (I assume, even though you have a fairly high post count), you may want to start out around 77-78 degrees. At that temperature, you will have much better oxygenation of the water and less of a "stew" brewing as you learn your husbandry techniques.
Warmer temps reduce the oxygen level of the water and help promote the breakdown of organics.
How many gallons do you have total?
Maintaining temp:
You will want to use several small heaters (2-3) and hook them to a RANCO or similar COMMERCIAL temperature controller. Set the RANCO at 77' and the thermostats on the heaters at 82' or so (test them individually in a container of water, as the dials are NEVER correct).
The RANCO will cost you $80-$100. It is one of the most important investments you can make. Aquarium heaters are junk and ALL of them fail. More often than not it leads to a full tank crash and hundreds or thousands of dollars of investment lost.
Some people will say that stable temperatures are important... others will argue that moderate day to night swings will help keep things tough and healthy. That is all up for debate.
Sorry for the not so simple answer to a simple question.
Bean
Warmer temps reduce the oxygen level of the water and help promote the breakdown of organics.
How many gallons do you have total?
Maintaining temp:
You will want to use several small heaters (2-3) and hook them to a RANCO or similar COMMERCIAL temperature controller. Set the RANCO at 77' and the thermostats on the heaters at 82' or so (test them individually in a container of water, as the dials are NEVER correct).
The RANCO will cost you $80-$100. It is one of the most important investments you can make. Aquarium heaters are junk and ALL of them fail. More often than not it leads to a full tank crash and hundreds or thousands of dollars of investment lost.
Some people will say that stable temperatures are important... others will argue that moderate day to night swings will help keep things tough and healthy. That is all up for debate.
Sorry for the not so simple answer to a simple question.
Bean
drummereef
Team RC
I keep mine at 80F controlled by an Aquacontroller Jr.
onecrzyboi4u
New member
I was just wondering. cos i have the best heater ( so they claim). first it's too cold.. then it's too hot.. i put it on 80 ( too hot) 78 too cold.. so i dunno
I target 82 F as the base temperature. That seems fine. Oxygen will not be significantly better at 77 F. I can look up a link that will provide the actual numbers, if anyone's interested.
The temperature scale on most heaters is very inaccurate. I'd put the heater into a bucket of water with a pump, and adjust the heater setting using a separate thermometer. I ordered a lab thermometer from Cole-Parmer.
The temperature scale on most heaters is very inaccurate. I'd put the heater into a bucket of water with a pump, and adjust the heater setting using a separate thermometer. I ordered a lab thermometer from Cole-Parmer.
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
Thanks bertoni... the numbers would be great, as this has always been what I was taught. I hate to be giving people poor information.
Bean
Bean
papagimp
COMAS Rocks!
If you're willing to invest the time, look into actual temperatures in the worlds natural reefs. They can vary anywhere from 74 up to 80ish. I have kept temps in the severe lowest range and up to a bit too high and still had a beautiful tank. My biggest problem is temp swings, I've gone through umpteen billion types of heaters and they have all been crap. I'll be looking into a commercial controller as BeanAnimal mentioned. The actual number in my opinion is not nearly as important as keeping it constant. There may be some debate but even in the ocean you don't have a massive temp swing at night. Too much water to drop that quickly.
kfowler
Premium Member
I keep mine at 78-79.
Here's my theory on temp control. Before adding heaters (and anything live of course), you want to find out what your natural tank temp is. If your lights increase your water temp when they're on, you'll want to add some kind of fan to remove this heat. Not to mention a fan blowing over your surface water has many other benefits. So now with all your equipment running (minus the heaters) your tank should reach it's "natural temp". It should stay around this temp even with the lights on. Let's say it's the same as your ambient room temp of 72. Now you can add your heaters. I'm a big fan of multiple smaller heaters in different locations in your sump. Set your heaters to your desired temp and you should be good to go. I get about a 1 degree swing in temps through out the day.
As the others have said, consistency is the key!
Here's my theory on temp control. Before adding heaters (and anything live of course), you want to find out what your natural tank temp is. If your lights increase your water temp when they're on, you'll want to add some kind of fan to remove this heat. Not to mention a fan blowing over your surface water has many other benefits. So now with all your equipment running (minus the heaters) your tank should reach it's "natural temp". It should stay around this temp even with the lights on. Let's say it's the same as your ambient room temp of 72. Now you can add your heaters. I'm a big fan of multiple smaller heaters in different locations in your sump. Set your heaters to your desired temp and you should be good to go. I get about a 1 degree swing in temps through out the day.
As the others have said, consistency is the key!
onecrzyboi4u
New member
I have only one in my tank.. so i should go out and buy another for my tank? do you guys place on vertical or horizontal?
greenbean36191
Premium Member
The ocean is a very dynamic place, especially in shallow areas like reefs. It's not a large mass of water at a uniform temperature. It's several constantly moving streams and pockets of different temperatures. As currents, tides, and upwellings change, so does the temperature, regardless of whether the sun is up or not. Often there is a diurnal heating and cooling cycle to go along with that. It's not uncommon to see a 3 degree swing in an hour and it's even more uncommon to find a reef that doesn't frequently vary that much during a day. Some reefs even fluctuate 15 degrees or more per day.
Here is an example of a current temp plot from the FL Keys.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?station=sanf1&meas=atmp&uom=E
tktodd
New member
I don't think you need two heaters. In my situation I just happen to have two 100 watt heaters laying around from other tanks. 100 watts is not enough in the winter for my 55 gallon tank. So instead of buying a 150-200 watt heater I just used my 2 100 watt heaters, and they work well together. What size tank do you have??
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
You ALWAYS want several small heaters instead of 1 large heater. This goes without question.
If you need 300W of heating, you are MUCH better off with (3) 100W heaters. This means that if a heater fails in the ON position, it wil take much longer for it to overheat the tank to a dangerous level. If one of the heaters fails in the OFF position, the other two heaters can help maintain a resonable temperature in the tank.
The RANCO or other commercial temp controller adds a layer of safety to the whole system. The RANCOs have an exponentially lower rate of failire than a hobby heaters thermostat.
People spend thousands on their setups and cheap out with a $18 heater that ends up bringing the whole system down. Silly.
Bean
If you need 300W of heating, you are MUCH better off with (3) 100W heaters. This means that if a heater fails in the ON position, it wil take much longer for it to overheat the tank to a dangerous level. If one of the heaters fails in the OFF position, the other two heaters can help maintain a resonable temperature in the tank.
The RANCO or other commercial temp controller adds a layer of safety to the whole system. The RANCOs have an exponentially lower rate of failire than a hobby heaters thermostat.
People spend thousands on their setups and cheap out with a $18 heater that ends up bringing the whole system down. Silly.
Bean
onecrzyboi4u
New member
I have a 29 gal
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
SO (2) or (3) 25W heaters would be ideal. Do you have a sump?
The RANCO is just as important (or more) on the small setup. You can boil 29 of water fairly quickly
The RANCO is just as important (or more) on the small setup. You can boil 29 of water fairly quickly
onecrzyboi4u
New member
exactly how does this ranco work? Ive never heard anyone hardly talk about these.
tktodd
New member
Is this common among reefers?? I did not know this. Though it is a great concept. I did think about the possibility of one heater failing, then I would still have a backup heater to step it up. But I did not realize this was a common thing. Makes since. I guess I have the right idea having two 100 watt heaters by luck.
BeanAnimal
Premium Member
A RANCO is just a commercial temperature controller (thermostat). You plug the heater(s) into it and it's temp probe in your tank. It turns the power on and off to the heater (or whatver is plugged into it).
The idea of using several small heaters instead of one large heater is nothing new, but many tank owners never think of it. The average tank owner buys a $20 heater and then cries when it fails and kills everything. They then solicit opinions for a "better" heater and the cycle starts over, as all of them are prone to failire. They are junk more or less.
The idea of using several small heaters instead of one large heater is nothing new, but many tank owners never think of it. The average tank owner buys a $20 heater and then cries when it fails and kills everything. They then solicit opinions for a "better" heater and the cycle starts over, as all of them are prone to failire. They are junk more or less.
