whats the correct reef temp

[new_world_disor]

ive been running my tank at 82 for the 8 months ive had a SW tank. but the more threads i read. the more i see that people seem to run around 79. whats the correct temp to run ?

ad

 

[kraze3]

I think your going to get a variation of answers. i personally try to keep mine between 80-81. The most important thing is trying to keep temp swings to a minimum. You dont want to be at 83 in the afternoon and 78 at night. If you can keep the temp within a few degrees you should be fine.

 

[new_world_disor]

ive got a thermometer thats plugged into the PC and records things. havent had more than .4 of a temp swing in 4 months. everyhitng seems to run ok . jsut wanted to make sure the temp was radically high

 

[kraze3]

I dont think 82 is too high. I live in an old house that heats up in the summer and is somewhat cold in the winter. Before I had a temp controller I did have up to 5d egree temp swings a day in some cases. Deff not good for the tank. Since I installed the controller it stays between 80 and 81 all the time

 

[PSam]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11051109#post11051109 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kraze3
I think your going to get a variation of answers. i personally try to keep mine between 80-81. The most important thing is trying to keep temp swings to a minimum. You dont want to be at 83 in the afternoon and 78 at night. If you can keep the temp within a few degrees you should be fine.

That's exactly the range I let my tank vary, ~ 4-5 *F daily. I don't agree with keeping a steady (i.e. a swing of 1 or 2 degrees) temp in reef tank. Would make me nervous on those days it goes too far out of the range.

 

[cloak]

Mine will vary from 75 to 86 throughout the year. No problem.

 

[mxett]

I was involved in a thread about this topic in the last week or so. Some pretty interesting info came up so maybe do a search for 'temperature' and see what comes up. Basically there are 2 trains of thought. Some use chillers to achieve a consistant temperature, say in the high 70's. Others only use fans to ensure the temperature doesnt go over 85f.

Greenbreen, a marine biologist told us that in nature corals are regularly and continuously exposed to temperature swing that are centred around 82f. He said that if we acclimatise them to a constant temerature, they will be susceptible to bleaching at very small temperature swings, should the chiller fail.

He said, and many including me, have experienced good results with some temperature swings between 78f and 84f daily. The corals have a natural resistance to problems in the temperatures so they cope very well. Going on this I would say your temperatures are fine.

 

[virginiadiver69]

I agree totally with the last three posts. On a daily basis mine goes from 76.5 in the morning, just before the lights turn on, to 79.5 just before the lights go out.

 

[Roy G. Biv]

78-83 seems like the range. Above 83 gives me problems as well as below 78.

 

[sprinj76]

I keep my tank at 78-79, but from what I've heard from a lot of people is consistency is more important than a few degrees difference between what people consider "right" (as long as its not 90 degrees or some other outlier)