To HOT to handle!
- Thread starter IShark
- Start date
mike_cmu04
New member
Look for a clip on fan it is bigger than pc fans and will do a better job cooling it off. 87 ig getting pretty hot and it will take a larger fan to cool it down.
DC_40gallon
New member
First off, does it stay above 80 at night too? If so, immediately turn off your heater, obviously it's not needed. Then cool the tank to a 80 for high via water changes and or freezing cubes of rodi water and placing 2-5 in at a time with powerheads to cool it down. Above 80-82 is detrimental to a tank.
mutateddogbone
New member
gradually bring the temp in your tank down, not too quickly or you will overstress everything. temps in tropical reefs regularly hit 90 in the summertime, but its the speed of the change that is a killer to corals and fish. average worldwide reef temperature is 82. turn down your heater a couple more degrees, and put a clip on fan over the sump. swings of 4-6 or more degrees are what kills, not the temp itself. above 90-92 is what is usually fatal, just be sure to go slow
greenbean36191
Premium Member
No. There is absolutely no evidence that quick variations are stressful to corals or other reef animals. In fact, reefs with the most dramatic variations are associated with resistance to thermal stress. Temp can literally fluctuate by as much as 12 degrees within an hour without signs of stress. It's also been shown recently that at least in juvenile corals, exposure to large magnitude variation (12 deg F) is actually beneficial for photosynthetic efficiency.
What IS well documented to cause stress is temperature falling or climbing too far, regardless of how quickly it happens. It is the temp itself that kills. Corals acclimatize to the thermal regime they live in. Above or below that range of temperatures they normally experience they start to feel stress. At the upper end, the rule of thumb is 2-4 degrees above the average maximum is where stress begins. There's no rule for the lower end, but there's a lot more room for error than at the upper end.
Uncle Salty 05
New member
What size tank are we talking about?
I have one of these on my sump and it works very well.
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/324208/Atlantic-Breeze-6-Personal-Clip-On/
Because corals in the wild are able to withstand a 12 degree fluctuation in one hour does not necessarily mean that corals in our tanks that are used to a stable temperature can. I would not reccommend quick temperature changes if they can be avoided.
I have one of these on my sump and it works very well.
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/324208/Atlantic-Breeze-6-Personal-Clip-On/
Because corals in the wild are able to withstand a 12 degree fluctuation in one hour does not necessarily mean that corals in our tanks that are used to a stable temperature can. I would not reccommend quick temperature changes if they can be avoided.
Well... The wife and I went on vacation to the Bahamas this past summer and we went snorkeling for one of our shore excursions. I can tell you for sure that we were around some corals and the temp fluctuated 5 to 10 degrees in minutes with the current. I was really surprised swimming thru a couple of cold spots.
DC_40gallon
New member
No one implied to bring it down drastically. Plus your statement on temp swings is falsely accusing through your empirical statement. Do you had proof that you could share with us on evidence leading to temp swings that kill a tank?
Uncle Salty 05
New member
crsswift70
Active member
I used a small (about 6 inches across?) walmart fan on my sump during the day. The temp would normally be in the mid to high 80's and nothing ever died on me. At night, and when the lights went off, i'd have the fan turn off. Now the fan is just zip tied to my sump unused as i went to a 75 gallon... making me think i've been lazy since that was 5 years ago. Guess i better get it out of there 
dwculp
New member
Uncle Salty 05
New member
So people with chillers and heaters on controllers should be purposely trying to produce 12 degree temperature swings to benefit their corals?:fun5:
crsswift70
Active member
I think the point is that corals acclimatize to their surroundings just as most organisms do. Everything has it's limits though. As others have stated, diving and feeling huge changes in temperatures is common. Obviously the corals had acclimatized and could handle it.
Uncle Salty 05
New member
I get that.
But as I said before what a coral can tolerate in the ocean and what they can tolerate in our tanks is two different things.
In our tanks there are other stressors like fish and other corals that they would never come in contact with in their wild environment, plus they are recieving 100% water changes constantly.
I just don't think that 12 degree temperature swings over the course of one hour is advisable.
But as I said before what a coral can tolerate in the ocean and what they can tolerate in our tanks is two different things.
In our tanks there are other stressors like fish and other corals that they would never come in contact with in their wild environment, plus they are recieving 100% water changes constantly.
I just don't think that 12 degree temperature swings over the course of one hour is advisable.
greenbean36191
Premium Member
And I would agree with this statement 100%. However, corals in our tanks that have NOT been acclimatized to stable temperatures have absolutely no problem dealing with large, even 12 degree fluctuations. Captivity doesn't change their biochemistry.
As long as the salinity is close, I personally don't. Ammonia is harmful to fish, temperature changes are not.
As long as the water is otherwise identical, corals don't need to be acclimated to temperature. They should however, be acclimatized, which is a very different process that has to do with the interplay of temperature, light, and water flow in corals. Basically, it's what's accomplished by putting new corals near the bottom of the tank in high flow and slowly moving them up to their final position over a few weeks.
I don't think anyone said or even implied that- only that there are documented benefits to temperature variation and no documented stress, even with variations as large as 12 degrees.
I certainly do not recommend that hobbyists use equipment to induce temperature fluctuations in their tanks artificially, but I do recommend that they not use chillers and controllers to artificially stabilize temperature either. There is no demonstrable benefit to that and it sets up a situation where the tank is dependent on the continuation of that stability. If the chiller fails or the power goes out, you have essentially minimized the margin of error.
I recommend that hobbyists keep their temperature between 76 and 86 and let it vary within that range as much as it will.
The physiological response involved in temperature acclimatization is the same regardless of whether the coral is in the ocean or a tank. Their cell membranes and enzymes quite simply don't know the difference. The presence of fish or other corals has no relationship whatsoever to the biochemistry going on in response to the temperature.
Most of the physiological work we do is done in captivity anyway, so it's actually harder to argue that it's applicability to the wild, not to captivity.
IShark
New member
My tank is a 95 gal tank. I got 2 mag 9.5 in my sump, 2 175W MH under my canopy and a clip on 65W light for my chaeto and the temp in the house is 78. Thats why it get so HOT. Now i used a big fan to cool my tank down and it got to 77. At night it stays at about 80 with everything off except the fuge light.
