Temp. consistenly 75-76 should I raise it w/heater?

[Sikryd]

Since I have my ACIII hooked up now, I can see that my temp. is 75-76 pretty much all the time. I was wondering if I should raise it up a bit, or if this is alright.

I seem to have good growth of all the softies (too soon to tell with anything else since the tank has only been up for 1.5months I guess). Actually I am blown away how fast some of the mushrooms and stuff are growing.

What is an ideal target temp?

Thanks

[amay121]

I was wondering that same thing myself. Been having been issues with heat, so I went out and purchased some table fans and I saw the temp drop from 84-75 this morning. Ugh. Maybe a little too fast. Anyways, I'm gonna shoot for 78-80. This is where I get my best results. Others have great results from 76-77.

[jason the filter freak]

geeze what i woulndt give to have issues with my tank temps being too low... shoot for 78to80

[davelin315]

I don't see a problem with anything between 74-78. I shoot for 76 but this summer has been tough to get the temp anywhere near that and I've been at or above 80 most days, not good overall. I don't think you should raise the temperature a bit.

[gsedlack]

I don't see a problem with anything between 74-78. I shoot for 76 but this summer has been tough to get the temp anywhere near that and I've been at or above 80 most days, not good overall. I don't think you should raise the temperature a bit.

 

Are you sure about this? I am sure a lot depends on what you have in your tank, but I am under the impression that 80 is fine and that 82-83 can do wonders to jump start/ increase coral growth. Stability is the big factor.

[yauger]

Are you sure about this? I am sure a lot depends on what you have in your tank, but I am under the impression that 80 is fine and that 82-83 can do wonders to jump start/ increase coral growth. Stability is the big factor.

 

keep it around 76, I keep my frag tank at 76-77 yeear round and get impressive growth rates and quality health.

[Ne0eN]

...Stability is the big factor...

 

I tend to agree, but then again in the ocean reef environment there are all kinds of currents and temperature thermoclines and the fish/corals seem to be doing ok. As long as the temp is between 74-80 you should be fine. I wouldn't try to raise the temp unless it drops below 75.

 

--Rob

[mogurnda]

If I could keep it at 75-76 in the summer, I would. Higher temps incease metabolic load, decrease O2 saturation and generally put things closer to the edge. In the fall/winter/spring, my tanks hover in the 76 range and show excellent growth and general happiness.

[OUsnakebyte]

If I could keep it at 75-76 in the summer, I would. Higher temps incease metabolic load, decrease O2 saturation and generally put things closer to the edge. In the fall/winter/spring, my tanks hover in the 76 range and show excellent growth and general happiness.

 

Agree 100% with Dave. Lower temps are usually tolerated much more than higher temps. 82 really is pushing the threshold. 78 is great. 75-76... you're golden, especially with the Indo-pacific corals you are likely keeping (IP is, generally though not always, a few degrees cooler than the Caribbean).

 

Cheers

Mike

[Integral9]

I don't know where I heard this, but I always thought 75 was the ideal temp for the zooxanthella algea and above 82 photosynthesis stopped all together. I just found a study proving that wrong though.

 

"61 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit" With stability being the key factor (like you said) as a temp shock can cause the cell walls of the zooxanthelea to rupture.

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/coralreef/CRcoralreefs.html

 

My 9gallon LED tank runs at 75 F. The critters in there look very happy. My other tanks are closer to 78-80 and critters in there are fairly happy as well. I would drop the temp in those tanks to 75 as well, but I don't have a chiller.

Edited August 7, 2008 by Integral9

[Sikryd]

geeze what i woulndt give to have issues with my tank temps being too low... shoot for 78to80

 

Yeah, we like it on the nippy side...literally

Thankfully we have all energy efficient stuff. It makes a big difference in expense.

 

Right on, I guess I won't mess with it. From the ACIII graph it looks like we have about a 1 degree swing, so thats good.

Edited August 7, 2008 by Sikryd

[Highland Reefer]

The following is a link to a disccussion about what are the best temps & salinity by Dr Craig Bingman & Rob Toonen. He keeps his tanks between 80-82 for reasons disclosed in this thread: http://www.reefs.org/library/article/bingman_toonen.html

 

A lot of it has to do with where your corals come from. I've been keeping my tank between 80-82 since I read this article. Most of us do not have a species specific tank.

Edited August 7, 2008 by Highland Reefer

[Lisa Julia Photography]

Wow..seems to be quite a varied range....i am having a HECK of a time keeping below 82 in my nano..will be getting fans...would like to be around 78..not too hot..not too cool. I only have softies.