What temp do you guys keep your reefs at?

[Fishguy2727]

I have heard conflicting information about the ideal temp for reefs, what do you guys keep yours at?

[NickFish]

Depends, reef or FOWLR?

FOWLR can go between 76-82 I believe, although optimum temps would probably be 78-80.

The natural reefs are at 82, so if you want to make it completely natural that's what I would set it at.

Mine however is at 80 right now. I personally wouldn't go any lower than 78 or any higher than 82.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Well, since he did specifically ask about Reefs... LOL

I keep mine at 78. You have to adjust for the heat transfer from powerheads and if you have a submersed return pump on your sump. Lighting also can come into play, not so much if you have PC, T5, or LED lighting but if you have Metal Halides then you get a lot of heat transfer from lighting. I have 1x300w and 1x250w heaters for my reef and I have them both set at right around 76 in order to compensate for the heat transfer from equipment.

[cocoa_pleco]

mines 82f, which is NSW. My heater is set at at 80f since the halides bump it up 2 degrees

[NickFish]

Well, since he did specifically ask about Reefs... LOL



Oops, true that. He was just talking about a FOWLR in his other post, so I assumed it still was. My bad.

And ya, then there's heat transfer. I don't relaly get any heat from my powerheads, but I do from my lighting. I have T-5s and I still get a degree or two.

You can put the heater on a timer to adjust for temp changes from lighting easy, when your tank is cycling and curing you'll have plenty of time to adjust for that kind of thing.

[kaybee]

Reef tanks generally require stable temperatures. Stability is perhaps more important than any one particular temperature.

Any temperature between 74F-84F would be acceptable, as long as there is little or no flucuation. So a stable 78F or 82F are perfectly fine. A tank that is 74F in the morning and 84F by evening might have some stress issues.

[oldhead]

Mine sits at 77 most of the time and sometimes will make it to about 79. It was near 83 before but I've added a small fan blowing across the top and working to dial in the temp so that it's as constant as possible.

[zackish]

My tank is set for 79 but now that it's summer it runs 82-83.

[TowBoater]

Mine goes to 78 when lights are out and up to 81 during lights on.

[Dave66]

Mine are controlled at 77 degrees.

Dave

[Fishguy2727]

You shouldn't have to adjust your heater to compensate for extra heat except maybe turn it up. Your heater should automatically shut off when at or above the set temperature. If pumps and lights add heat the heater should simply turn off, not be set any lower. Setting it lower allows it to drop when lights are off, allowing for temp instability. As stated stability is vital. So if your lights raise it two degrees, really you need to raise the heater temp two degrees so the temp stays stable. This way if the lights are adding heat, the heater will just turn off and the temp will remain stable.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

My lower heater temp doesn't really make a difference since I only have Power Compact lighting, I just keep it turned lower because it was higher and I picked 76. Powerheads and a return pump can add a lot of heat to the water.
If you are using metal halide lighting then the only way to avoid temp fluctuation from night to day is by using a chiller during the day to keep the temp down and the heaters during the night to keep it up.

[Fishguy2727]

Yeah, I was thinking if the heat is bumping up that much cooling efforts are warranted, which may include a chiller if other cheaper methods fail (or a cooler lighting system).

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

If you have the money to shell out for one, the new LED systems are incredible. Extremely energy efficient and 0 heat transfer. Even better than that, they can be used to accurately simulate a day/night cycle and the phases of the moon.

[Fishguy2727]

No money for that, and I already ordered the Coralife T5 anyways. It will cost me about $35 or so.

[oldhead]

If you have the money to shell out for one, the new LED systems are incredible. Extremely energy efficient and 0 heat transfer. Even better than that, they can be used to accurately simulate a day/night cycle and the phases of the moon.


Any links to these systems? I would love to check one out.

[spudbuds]

My heater kicks on at 77.5 degrees and during the day the lights get me to a shade below 79 degrees.

BTW, I've done some reading (I can't remember where) that suggests temperature fluctuations on a reef are quite large varying 5-10 degrees in as little as an half an hour. So, I'm wondering where this notion of necessary consistency in our tanks came from? Or is my research just way off?

- Bill

[squirt_12]

Mine is at 82F but I might slowly notch it down to about 80F.

[kaybee]

...I've done some reading (I can't remember where) that suggests temperature fluctuations on a reef are quite large varying 5-10 degrees in as little as an half an hour...

Temperature flucuations indeed occur. Some gradual, others quite significant as you have mentioned. The fact that conditions vary at different reefs, and even at different depths at the same reef, and that corals are a diverse group with different levels of hardiness or sensitivity must be also considered.

Corals originating from reefs which routinely experience significant temperature fluctuations have adapted to those conditions, and are capable of adapting to even harsher conditions (such as being completely exposed to the air, tropical sun and even rain while out of the water for hours during low-tide conditions which occur on a routine basis). The effectiveness of these adaptions (including tolerance to temperature flucuation) tends to fade when those corals are removed from those environments.

Different types of corals have different types of tolerances, and even corals of the same species in different locales have different tolerances. As an example, the Australian Institute of Marine Science states, "corals at Magnetic Island in the central Great Barrier Reef can happily stand 30.5°C (87F) for 20 days, but just 90km away at Davies Reef, the same species of corals will bleach within a day and at Great Keppel Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef, they would be dead within a day."

Providing stable temperatures eliminates the possibility of temperature stress.

[Halelorf]

Any links to these systems? I would love to check one out.

Here is one that I found. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+10704+18689&pcatid=18689 I was looking for one that i've seen online before that is really insane. It runs around $3,000 though so I won't have it for a long long time. :thumb:

[NickFish]

Here is one that I found. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+10704+18689&pcatid=18689 I was looking for one that i've seen online before that is really insane. It runs around $3,000 though so I won't have it for a long long time. :thumb:

Those things are amazing!

[jimpierce]

I keep mine between 78 and 80 degrees.

[kaybee]

...and also from the makers of the Galileo for corals with more intense lighting requirements (and more expensive LED systems):
http://www.solarisled.com/Products/tabid/56/Default.aspx

[Fishguy2727]

Records like those fluctuations are rare and do not represent global trends. These animals are used to environments that are just about as stable as this planet offers. And every species, population, and colony has its own limitations.

[Halelorf]

...and also from the makers of the Galileo for corals with more intense lighting requirements (and more expensive LED systems):
http://www.solarisled.com/Products/tabid/56/Default.aspx

This is the one I was looking for earlier. Couldn't remember the name but they look really nice.

[oldhead]

Holy crap those are expensive, I'll have to wait till they drop in price and I can actually see some in action.

[kaybee]

From what I've heard from other hobbyists in my local area there's a fairly new SW LFS in town which has Solaris LED's over all (or most) of their coral systems. I'll have to make it over there one of these days to get a first hand look at them.

[spudbuds]

I agree that stability is good and that's why I maintain it. I just thought I'd throw that our there for discussion. Thanks for the info.

- Bill

[jttt3]

78F during the winter since the tank heater turns on and 82F during the summer because I keep my AC at around 80F and the pumps, filter, and lighting heats up the tank a couple degrees from room temp.

I've heard that the LED systems are great for soft corals and your average SW tank, but don't cut it if you do hard corals. I'd definately get one if I could get a comparible product to the compact flourecent lighting at around $200.

[jaymz]

78 keeps fish and corals happy