Pick one temperature setting... only one.

[Shoelace]

This may seem like a noob question and the horse is beaten dead, but I think it's got a different twist.  I've been reading Holmes-Farley and Ron Shimek's articles about temperature and I see ranges like 76-83 or 82-84.  That's what most of the forum threads give also.  With my nano, I realize that I can get a pretty darn small range of temperature fluctuation if I program my Apex right for chiller/heater controls.

 

If you were to pick ONE temperature degree setting to keep your temp at, what would it be?

 

78 for lower metabolism, disease control?  81 for more growth and because natural reefs hang out there?  Where do your corals/fish seem to be happiest?  I anticipate some people might say it doesn't matter as long as the fluctuation is minimized.

 

Who do you believe?

http://www.ronshimek.com/salinity_temperature.html

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

[TheyCallMeMr.703]

I try to run my around 78 Typically, Sometimes it goes to 80... But only when it gets warm ( sometimes even slightly higher then that).

Nonetheless, Some look happier when its warmer??? But others don't... I just run mine at a reg. 78 because Everyone seems happy...

Edited October 6, 2013 by TheyCallMeMr.703

[Mattiejay6]

My tank hangs around 77.5..

[epleeds]

mine goes from 77.5 to 81.5 daily.  stays a bit warmer in the summer months...  I don't have a chiller which is the only way i know to keep it at one temp constantly.  

[smallreef]

Oh...I keep mine cool...so it's usually 74-76 and at its highest hits 78... Mainly for the fact that my house is fairly cold and no one in any of my tanks have ever seem to cared...

[Shoelace]

Thanks for the responses.  I guess I understand that these temperatures that people are posting are where your tank is running based on ambient temperature, power use, etc., but if it were a perfect world, where would you want it to run?

[s2nhle]

My tank is running around 77-82 degree and everyone is happy with the temperature fluctuation. Higher temperature causes more evaporation so more rodi fresh water feed to the sump as ato.

[BowieReefer84]

78

[Cliff Puckstable]

79.5 F

[Orion]

79 here. With my basement ambient temp, and apex my temp never varies more than 0.5 degrees.

[mling]

79.  Cool basement, heater even comes on in summer !

[Shoelace]

Things that make you go hmm.  So is Ron Shimek wrong?  He wants to run warmer because the average temperature of most coral reefs in low 80's.

[Mattiejay6]

I think a lil warmer is good for a breeding environment.. But I mean coral come from all over the world and it depends how deep the coral are taken from because temperatures drop deeper you go.. And at night time I'm sure that even the coral that are in the higher temps probably go through temp drop at night.

Edited October 6, 2013 by Mattiejay6

[sachabballi reef]

mine goes from 77.5 to 81.5 daily. stays a bit warmer in the summer months... I don't have a chiller which is the only way i know to keep it at one temp constantly.

Im same range

 

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[YHSublime]

mine goes from 77.5 to 81.5 daily.  stays a bit warmer in the summer months...  I don't have a chiller which is the only way i know to keep it at one temp constantly.  

 

This is what my Apex has been telling me as well. Except I go up to 82. I thought it was a bit high, but everything does well.

[FrankieGee]

My tank usually stays at 79.  I have a small heater in the sump and I have air on all day.  It might go up to 80 but that's because we would keep the doors open in the house to let some sun in.  All my fish seem fine and no issues.

[howaboutme]

Things that make you go hmm. So is Ron Shimek wrong? He wants to run warmer because the average temperature of most coral reefs in low 80's.

He was wrong on many things....

 

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[jaddc]

Honestly, I don't think it matters. Everything will acclimate to the temperature. All you want to do is avoid wide swings. For each degree of heat, you are spending money on electricity and there isn't much to be gained.

 

It makes the most practical sense to lower the temp to ~75 in the winter to ease up on the heater and warm it to 80-82 in the summer to ease up on the chiller. The shifts should be done gradually -- like a degree a day or slower. 

 

I'm in central ac/heat. So I lower my tank temp so that when I do a WC I don't need to heat my new water. The temp swing is only 5 degrees, and no one in the tank has cared so far. 

 

Also, temp swings from hot to cool are less harmful/stressful than cool to hot. 

[Scott_LM]

He was wrong on many things....

 

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Really, what about? DSBs?

 

I don't think Dr Shimek is wrong regarding the article.  It seems to be based on Science and It poses some interesting facts/thoughts.  I agree with his conclusion and it ultimately answers the question referenced in this thread.  The optimal temperature is based upon the livestock present in the aquarium.  The problem here is unless you are going for a specific biotope, there may not be an optimal temperature for all life in the tank.  Rather simple concept; we may put a wide range of animals in our tank that come from all over the world.  Some may do better in warmer tanks, some may do better in cooler tanks.  Same goes for salinity and potentially other chemistry.  So the answer is it Depends! 

 

There was a trend years ago to try and maintain specific biotopes.  I don't see too many threads any more regarding trying to mimic a lagoon in fiji or the reef crest in the Solomons.  So unless you are doing this and only gathering species that thrive in this habitat then the best you can do is go for averages.  The problem with averages is the outliers are often forgotten.  Or in this case the outliers are not going to do as well as others.

 

In my experience ( I am not a marine biologist, so take this with a grain of salt) over the last 13 years is you have to find what works for you and your tank. 

 

Higher temp = higher metabolic rate = normally greater growth = Often less room for error if something goes wroing

 

Lower temp = lower metabolic rate = slower growth = more room for error until reaching the lower extremes of temp range

 

Given that I like growth but am not the best with maintenance/routines I keep my tank at 80 degrees.  I feel this gives the best of both worlds. 

 

-Scott

[smallreef]

Also, lower temps means higher dissolved oxygen levels in the water....that's one of the reasons I don't throw a heater in during the summer and that's why I leave my averages the same year round...

[howaboutme]

Yes..bit I digress..

 

My tank stays between 78 and 79 degrees and the heater is always in use even in the summer as we have our house set to between 71 and 72 degrees.

[Origami]

I run mine at 78 all year round.

 

However, there's good logic in running your tank at a low temperature (like 76) in the summer and a high temperature (like 82) in the winter. The reasoning behind this is, in the event of a power outage, the tank stays in a "safe" range for longer. That is, in the summer, the temperature in the tank will typically climb upward when power is lost, and downward in the winter.

[Coral Hind]

If I had to pick I would say 78, but I would never run my tank at a constant temp like that. I would have the tank temp follow the seasonal change, a lower temp during winter and a higher temp in the summer to save on the power bill. I know that goes against what Origami wrote above but I feel the power consumption to run a chiller and heater is more than what is needed and is not worth it. Plus, with this being a nano, having the temp at 82 in the winter will not buy you much time since the temp is not stable in such a small amount of water and the drop to the cooler room temp would be larger and faster then if the tank was already at 76. The larger swing could be more stressful than the actual lower temp since it is farther from what the coral is already conditioned to. Just my opinion.

[Shoelace]

These are really interesting points about temp and power outages. I agree with a nano it's not really an issue but with a big tank with a large thermal mass, a couple of degrees may buy you a couple more hours of life during an outage.

[londonloco]

My apex is set for:

 

If Temp < 78.0 Then ON 

If Temp > 80.0 Then OFF 

 

and that's how it runs, daily.