Temperature ?'s

[Dtowntrack]

Just a few quick temperature questions here.

What temp would be ideal for a mixed reef tank?
And
What is an acceptable temperature swing during the day/night?

Thanks!

 

[Michael]

around 78-80 is fine imo

 

[46FiatYamaha]

mine is 80 and on warm days sometimes it gets up to 82 and everything is still fine

 

[xJake]

I would say anywhere between 76-86F is fine for most reef animals. An acceptable daily swing, on the other hand, should be somewhere in the range of + or - 6F or less. If your daily swing is a few degrees more every now and then, it's not a huge deal, but some amount of stability is necessary to keep your animals from becoming too stressed.

If you're looking for simple cooling options, the easiest to implement is blowing some type of fan across the surface of the water. This helps to increase evaporation, which can cool your tank water by up to 5 degrees or more. I put my fan on the same timer as my lights, that way during the day when the tank gets the warmest, the fan is able to keep things cooler. Then at night, when the fan would only serve to work against the heater, it is off and the heater is able to work without being impeded.

 

[nanojg]

78-84 is fine with me, sometimes all in a day

 

[Laddy]

I think the most under-talked about perimeter is temp control on any message boards. If you target your tanks for 80 degrees, then try to keep the temp within that +/- 1 degree range. So many people say that their tanks swing four, five, six degrees in a given day without any adverse affect. However, I would argue that although corals and fish are still swimming and alive, that with proper temp controls you will see more sustainable growth from your corals and better colors from your fish. At least this is what I have found.

With that said, I run my tanks on the lower side, 76-78 degrees (for a number of reasons).

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

I thought high 70s was best but just informed that 75 is a good temp for almost all fish and corals, by someone who knows his stuff we could say!

 

[Dtowntrack]

So it kind of sounds like personal preference?

Right now my 350g tank is programmed for 80 degrees but it usually gets up to about 82.5 during the day and no lower than 79.5 at night. From what you all have said, it looks like these temps are ok?

 

[mpoletti]

Those temps are fine. If anything I would try to drop it by a degree or two. Higher temps are fine, but we really do not know what types of long term effects there are at elevated temp. Seasonal waters are at a higher temp, but when they get pushed to far, coral bleaching can occurr.

 

[Dtowntrack]

Yeah, I think I undersized my chiller a little bit so I might add some fans or something