[prow]

i would be careful keeping temps in the mid 80's. some creatures like it most dont though. the higher temp will increase metobolic rates which inturn increases O2 demand. in the wild this is not as much of an issue as it is in our closed systems. in the ocean O2 saturated water circulates and keeps the O2 levels right. our tanks are very limited in there ability to keep the water saturated with O2, at the lower temp ranges our tanks struggle with this, let alone at higher temps. why good circulation is so important. even if your creatures/fish can adapt to the higher temps and your O2 levels stay good, at best, the higher temps will still decrease their life span in the long run.

keeping the temps stable, not flucuating too much, is also important. about 2-3 degrees change is what i shot for, 79-82 is where i like mine. depending on where you live in cali you just might need a chiller. i live in so. cal. and need my chiller. the temp high yesterday was 83, 3 days ago it was 65. summer it gets worse. one day its 100- 2 days later its in low 70's. you will have to play with everything alot if no chiller. in florida using fans and such is a good option. here in redondo redondo beach not the best option. in florida it is very humid, cali is not its more of a dry climate. so using fans and such here in so cal you will be going through mass top off water, from all the evaporation. salt creap becomes a issue aswell as moisturizing the walls and furniture and all that. plus you will have to play with everything, adjusting this and that daily. even then you may find your temp elevating and fluctuating more than you want. **it does get tiring adjusting daily. i need my chiller here in so cal (aswell as my heater) and i went with T5's for lighting to avoid buying a chiller but in the end after going through reverse lighting, bought a ac unit, adding fans all over, buying the most efficient pumps/powerheads i still needed a chiller.


one other thing to think about is if you have a glass tank or acrylic. i have an acrylic. acrylics are better at keeping temps stable, because it is a much better insulator than glass, but once the temp is up, its much harder to get it down. on the flip with glass tanks the heat and temps will flucuate more depending on what the exterior enviornment is doing, but once the temp goes up, its much easier to get the temp back down. a steady or unsteady exterior temp is more of a determant with glass than acrylic as temp changes will occur faster in a glass tank. (ac/fans in the house works better with glass tanks, dosent effect acrylic tanks as much unless its left on all the time) dont think i said this well i hope you get it. eeeeee reefon'