What Temperature Do You Keep Your Tank At ?
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Delareef123
Well-Known Member
wow, I have been a 75 with a chiller. sounds like I will slowly bring temp up. Glad I saw this.
Leo
Active Member
Mine is the 3/4. Way to big for my Red Sea 250. I used to have a 125 gallon with a 30 gallon sump. At least now it takes only a few minutes to cool it down. And I wasn't about to spend several hundred on a new one. There's nothing wrong with a used one. Lots of them out there.
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Blue Space
Well-Known Member
78-79
Oxylebius
Well-Known Member
It all depends on the corals you have. Some corals come from deep water (e.g. deepwater acros) and other corals are used to shallow lagoons (e.g. gorgonians) and then there is everything in between.
Lagoons can get quite warm at 81-84 degrees while deep water can get into the low 70s and colder.
And then there is also seasonal variability
Winter months (approx. December-March): 78-80 degrees F. / 25-26 degrees C.
Summer months (approx. April-November): 81- 84 degrees F. / 27-29 degrees C.
What this means for us with corals in our tanks?
Most people keep tanks between 78-81 degrees w/o issue. Luckily some corals are tolerant of temperature ranges and can acclimate to a variety of water temperatures (within reason). And if you had picked up a frag from a coral that is already living healthily in an aquarium, then most likely you shouldn't have any issue with it in the 78-81 range. One thing to note though, anything above 82 degrees is pushing the limits of heat tolerance for some corals and you are risking a bleaching event.
I've been lucky enough to dive in 8 different locations in the tropics (Pacific, Caribbean, FL Keys) and with every location the surface of the water is nice and warm (~80 degrees) and when diving at deeper ~60-75 feet, the water is noticeably cooler dropping into the low 70s and all along the way I saw different species of corals.
So, if you are really concerned about temperature, do more research on the coral you have in your tank and find out what it's preferred temp ranges are.
Alternatively, temperatures between 78-81 degrees should be fine.
Avoid temperature swings in a 24 hour period. Consistency of temperature goes a long way in keep corals alive.
Lagoons can get quite warm at 81-84 degrees while deep water can get into the low 70s and colder.
And then there is also seasonal variability
Winter months (approx. December-March): 78-80 degrees F. / 25-26 degrees C.
Summer months (approx. April-November): 81- 84 degrees F. / 27-29 degrees C.
What this means for us with corals in our tanks?
Most people keep tanks between 78-81 degrees w/o issue. Luckily some corals are tolerant of temperature ranges and can acclimate to a variety of water temperatures (within reason). And if you had picked up a frag from a coral that is already living healthily in an aquarium, then most likely you shouldn't have any issue with it in the 78-81 range. One thing to note though, anything above 82 degrees is pushing the limits of heat tolerance for some corals and you are risking a bleaching event.
I've been lucky enough to dive in 8 different locations in the tropics (Pacific, Caribbean, FL Keys) and with every location the surface of the water is nice and warm (~80 degrees) and when diving at deeper ~60-75 feet, the water is noticeably cooler dropping into the low 70s and all along the way I saw different species of corals.
So, if you are really concerned about temperature, do more research on the coral you have in your tank and find out what it's preferred temp ranges are.
Alternatively, temperatures between 78-81 degrees should be fine.
Avoid temperature swings in a 24 hour period. Consistency of temperature goes a long way in keep corals alive.
Coraljunkie
Well-Known Member
75 to 77 no chiller
dgilbert2
Well-Known Member
By coincidence I was talking to my LFS about temperatures yesterday and he feels 27.8C (82F) is too warm so have now turned my STC-1000 down to 25.7 so the cooling fans kick in at 26. His advice was to go for 24 to 26C (75 - 79F).
Talon33
Active Member
My tank runs around 75-76 with no heater or chiller. Seems like mag runs pretty warm which I am fine with. Less power consumption and no chance of a heater failure. Everything seems happy. When I get an apex I may go ahead and run a heater and just tell the apex to shut the heater off if the temp were to get too warm.
Jared410
New Member
I contacted Red Sea about it. I stated that it was working around the 81-82 range and their reply was that was normal operation. I am guessing Red Sea presumes 81-82 is Reef Spec. With my added fan i built i am now right around 80. I think that will work for starting some corals. I will just try and make sure they are the ones that like the warmer water.
If you haven't read this... it's a great read... IMO 81-82 range is fine...
http://www.ronshimek.com/salinity_temperature.html
a couple of extracts...
The most rapid growth of most corals is generally around 27°C to 29°C (80.6°F to 84.2°F)
In 1999, Kleypas, and her coworkers, published data on coral reef temperatures (Table 1) (Kleypas, et al, 1999). They examined and summarized published data taken from separate measurements on over 1000 different coral reefs. It is worth remembering that these data were gathered prior to the recent increase in temperatures attributable to global warming and probably reflect more-or-less “normal” conditions for the last couple of centuries. The data in the average column are probably the most pertinent. The average temperature calculated for all 1000 + coral reefs was 81.7°F. Over all reefs, the average lowest temperature observed was 76.4°F, and the average highest temperature was 86.4°F. One way that these data could be interpreted would be to say that for most corals and coral reef animals, the best conditions would be between 76°F and 86°F, with the average being about 82°F.
Now that I have changed out my T5's to LEDs I am running 79-80 F , but for over 6 years now my corals have thrived at 81-83F
http://www.ronshimek.com/salinity_temperature.html
a couple of extracts...
The most rapid growth of most corals is generally around 27°C to 29°C (80.6°F to 84.2°F)
In 1999, Kleypas, and her coworkers, published data on coral reef temperatures (Table 1) (Kleypas, et al, 1999). They examined and summarized published data taken from separate measurements on over 1000 different coral reefs. It is worth remembering that these data were gathered prior to the recent increase in temperatures attributable to global warming and probably reflect more-or-less “normal” conditions for the last couple of centuries. The data in the average column are probably the most pertinent. The average temperature calculated for all 1000 + coral reefs was 81.7°F. Over all reefs, the average lowest temperature observed was 76.4°F, and the average highest temperature was 86.4°F. One way that these data could be interpreted would be to say that for most corals and coral reef animals, the best conditions would be between 76°F and 86°F, with the average being about 82°F.
Now that I have changed out my T5's to LEDs I am running 79-80 F , but for over 6 years now my corals have thrived at 81-83F
Talon33
Active Member
I think you are as well running temps into the lows 80. Warmer temps means faster metabolic rates for all life forms. I am sure I would see much better coral growth if I bumped my temp up. May have to devise a little personal experiment on my coral growth and temp. If I can keep all other variables the same that is.
Would you have to replace snails and other CUC inverts more frequently??
8 degrees or so can make a huge difference in the metabolic rate of ectothermic invertebrates assuming they are ectothermic!
Would you have to replace snails and other CUC inverts more frequently??
8 degrees or so can make a huge difference in the metabolic rate of ectothermic invertebrates assuming they are ectothermic!
CDMSeaLife
Active Member
77 to 78 with chiller. Darn good thing I'm using a chiller because are a/c went out last night and repairman won't be here until tomorrow! (We live in Las Vegas.)
Trinhy
New Member
Before I got a chiller for my RSM250 my tank was running at 28.5c/83f now the chiller keeps it between 25c/77f-26c/78f. Everything seemed quite happy at the higher temp but spring hadn't even started yet and I didn't want to see what the temperature would get to in Summer! The tank runs so warm im not even sure the heater ever turns on.