Best Temp for your Reef

[steveaus10]

I run 80-82. I would like it lower but for some reason my ranco controller (which controls my fan) gives an error for any other temp than 82.

82 must be your default ?I do not use controllers so am not real familiar with them

 

[steveaus10]

Very interested in the Temp logic for Reef tanks. Coming from freshwater planted tanks I am curious if the same natural state logic would follow?
My tanks stay around 78 during the day with a natural drop of max 5 degrees at night, matching the light cycle.
I would think it would be beneficial to provide a natural current in the tank that simulates warm and cold currents but not sure how that would best be achieved in a small closed environment. Maybe short bursts of chiller at random times would help?

Saving up to purchase the new Reefer Peninsula to go in our house which just started being built. I figured why build a wall when you can just put in a separation tank. I wonder how many walls we really need? =

You like so many of us on here are addicted lol

 

[Second Shot]

82 must be your default ?I do not use controllers so am not real familiar with them

It was stored in a hot attic while I was out of the hobby for a few years. Think the heat got to it. It just won't hold the setting for any other temperature. There's an apex in my future at some point.

 

[jsker]

78.3 On and 78.5 off year round.

 

[Bdog4u2]

In the wild reefs swing several degree from morning to night and my tanks have always increased around 2 degrees with lights on with no issues

 

[PatW]

I scuba dive the reefs in the Caribbean quite a bit. When water temps reach 86 degrees, problems with coral bleaching can occur. Key Largo is about as far north as hard corals get. The water temp there gets into the low seventies. I would guess that hard corals would have problems in the sixties, but no one is going to keep a reef tank that cold or at least not intentionally.

Poikilotherms, cold blooded critters, metabolic rate slows at lower temps. Also the water can hold more dissolved oxygen at low temps.

I would think that one could maintain a reef tank anywhere between 72 and 82 degrees.

 

[Sharvey103]

With the chiller set it runs year round 78-79

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Very interested in the Temp logic for Reef tanks. Coming from freshwater planted tanks I am curious if the same natural state logic would follow?
My tanks stay around 78 during the day with a natural drop of max 5 degrees at night, matching the light cycle.
I would think it would be beneficial to provide a natural current in the tank that simulates warm and cold currents but not sure how that would best be achieved in a small closed environment. Maybe short bursts of chiller at random times would help?

Saving up to purchase the new Reefer Peninsula to go in our house which just started being built. I figured why build a wall when you can just put in a separation tank. I wonder how many walls we really need? =

I'm so jealous! That Reefer Peninsula is hot. You are going to love it. Make sure to do a build thread.

 

[Prolude006]

I'm so jealous! That Reefer Peninsula is hot. You are going to love it. Make sure to do a build thread.

I will most definitely do a build..mostly because I will need help from the fine folks here! =)

 

[Envisionist22]

Im at a pretty constant 78-79 Degrees.

 

[BlickMech]

77 is what I am dialing my chiller at but it takes 1 to 2 degrees higher to get it to kick in. If you have corals ( asuming you did a little homework and stock with coral from the same region) designate temp for them rather than fish. Fish are more tolerant to temp but not coral they host zooantha and are soft tissue or just produce Skeletons and if you choose to raise their metabolism you need to be in check with your parimaters because your tank will be susseptible to swings. So stress can be from more than just one variable. Check stock acutual sea temps for the time when mesured growth was a factor rather than what some reefs are experiencing wich is bleaching and die off. Look up good years for reef gains because of so much die off being reported.

 

[User1]

I just looked at my last dives in around Cozumel and surface temp was around 81 Fahrenheit at surface and around 77 at depth - which was 65ft. This was a drift dive based on my log and about 45 minutes give or take. So it will vary. Same here in Monterey when surface will read 59 - 61 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and then reach 44 at depth which is usually 100 - 114 feet first dive then 60 - 70 second dive.

My reef bounces between 78 - 81. I don't mess with it unless the fish or corals complain.

 

[KenO]

Just setup 2 new aquariums. A 130 and 250 gallon. Both tanks are plumbed to the same sump in my fish room. Plan is to not have a heater and let the temp fluctuate during the year. I'm in AZ, where it does get hot, but we run the AC during the summer at 77-79 degrees in the house and the tanks seem to stay around 77 degrees with the AC on. We are now in the fall and we can keep the windows open and the temps in the house will drop to 71-73 at night with the windows open. The tanks seem to be hovering around 76.5 to 77 in a 24 hour period. I think they will be just fine. My 4 submersible pumps which are feeding the tanks are consuming about 275W. So it's like running a heater all the time. I still have a couple of other small pumps that will need to be installed for my ATS's and frag tank, so I don't feel a heater will be necessary. All my lights are LED.

 

[PranK]

I've always been told to have my temp around 26C (~79). My tank has really been struggling lately and over the weekend I noticed that my Inkbird temp control was far too low (incorectly calibrated) with temp at 23 - 24C (~74-75). After fixing the calibration and getting tank up to temp again I started noticing Euphyllias coming out more and SPS polyps appearing again.

So, considering the obvious benefit of a higher temp for me, I'm wondering whether the source of all our livestock plays a part in optimum temp? In Australia it's illegal to import any kind of aquatic livestock, so all my ccorals and fish have come from Australian reefs (mainly north Great Barrier Reef). You guys in the States and Canada likely have some livestock from Florida and imports from Indo, Fiji, etc (just guessing, I don't know for sure). Maybe my livestock requires the higher Great Barrier Reef temperatures than North American livestock?

Pure speculation. I have no idea if this is right. I just find it interesting that a fair few of you guys have stated 74-75 when my tank really didn't like that.

 

[doughboy]

I set my heater to turn on at 73 and off at 73.5.
If I set it higher, I will run my electricity bill up from late fall to early spring.
My tank runs way cooler now with a DC pump, and all summer long, the fan never turned on (set to turn on at 80).
Just checked the apex temp chart. last summer, avg was 77, and slowly going down. the current avg is 73.6. Heater now turns on 30 minutes a day now.

 

[Prolude006]

Not the same as a tank but for reference here is the NOAA list for Average Ocean temps. Quite a range and I imagine currents of hot and cold are always hitting reefs. https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/all_meanT.html

 

[SKYHIGGh]

No idea never used a heater or anything to check temp and I live just north of key largo. Anytime ive ever checked with my chef thermometerI was around 78

Not that this comment-helps since I rarely check

For arguments sake theoretically it should be a wide range of acceptable temps since most corals that we buy are aqua-cultured anyways so by the time I get a 1inch Frag it has probably even passed down many times and has learned to adapt. We all have common sense and know 60s is to cold and 85 is definitely warm water. So probably does not matter if you don’t go beyond those numbers if your tank is used to it. Stable is the key in reefing right? I think as it goes summer to winter here in sfl my tank is good it’s a natural slow drop in temp. Now maybe in Wisconsin it F******* freezing and you wake up and your fish are frozen I dunno. That’s why I started with theoretically [emoji23]

 

[Cory]

The optimal calcification temperature is between 26 and 27C. Above or below that and calcification slows dramatically.

 

[a4edwin]

Does a power head affect the temp of a heater if it’s right next to it?

 

[Cory]

Does a power head affect the temp of a heater if it’s right next to it?

It might. Id keep it away if possible. A powerhead will add heat to the aquarium itself.