I don't plan on bumping it back up yet, I just plan on doing a some more reading about tank temperatures so I can try and decide what would be best for my situation. Plan on hitting SW city today if they are open so I can start working on my refugium and pickup more salt. Can't wait to check this place out, my wife is making me leave my AMEX card and has sent Olivia and I off with a set amount of cash lol.
Howdy, a couple questions about my 55g
- Thread starter tsintse
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Angelscrx
Import Fish
tsintse said:
Sounds like a smart wife!
Elmo18 said:
Very few of the corals we keep come from very shallow (and very warm) waters. While surface water temperatures can be in the upper 80's, that temperature is not maintained very far down. For many of our corals, 80F is plenty warm.
At higher temperatures, the level of disolved oxygen decreases. Also, skimmer efficiency is reduced at higher temperatures. Perhaps for some biotope-specific reef tanks, temperatures in the mid to upper 80's would best. Otherwise, upper 70's to lower 80's are fine.
I wasn't stating the fact that all reef tanks should be at the mid 80s. What I was trying to get at is that reef temperatures do get warmer than 78 degrees. Higher temperatures accelerate coral growth, while yes, dissolved oxygen is lowered, speeds up fish metabolism, etc.
Dnjan, I agree that for some specific biotope the temperatures can change. Instead of keeping corals within such a small range as 78 to 80 degrees, it should be a higher range as 78 to 86. If you are targetting a specific temperature, then let is only wander off +/- 1 or two degrees with not much fluctuations (i.e. do not let morning temps be 78, while the max temp reach 86. If you are targeting 80, then maybe 79 to 81 as the max temp).
Not all reefers keep tanks in 78 to 80, nor do all keep theirs from 82-84.
- Elmo
Dnjan, I agree that for some specific biotope the temperatures can change. Instead of keeping corals within such a small range as 78 to 80 degrees, it should be a higher range as 78 to 86. If you are targetting a specific temperature, then let is only wander off +/- 1 or two degrees with not much fluctuations (i.e. do not let morning temps be 78, while the max temp reach 86. If you are targeting 80, then maybe 79 to 81 as the max temp).
Not all reefers keep tanks in 78 to 80, nor do all keep theirs from 82-84.
- Elmo
Sorry, Elmo; didn't mean to imply that you were recommending mid 80's for tank temps. Just wanted to clarify that there are differences in temperature between surface water (at reefs) and water at depths where many corals are collected. Also wanted to point out the disadvantages (dissolved oxygen and poorer skimming) at higher temperatures.
I fully agree that minimal daily fluctuation is best. And I agree that running your tank warmer in summer can be an advantage if you have difficulty keeping the room temperature down (higher summer tank temperature would reduce the daily temperature fluctuation in the tank). One problem with higher tank temperature, however, is that there is less of a cushion if anything goes wrong (cooling fan dies, chiller fails, etc) before the tank could get fatally hot.
For some purposes, higher tank temps would be good. If I was running a frag growout tank, I would want to run it a bit warmer to accelerate the metabolism (and growth) of the corals. Otherwise, I feel that the slightly slower metabolism (with lower temperatures) is less stressful (especially to fish).
I fully agree that minimal daily fluctuation is best. And I agree that running your tank warmer in summer can be an advantage if you have difficulty keeping the room temperature down (higher summer tank temperature would reduce the daily temperature fluctuation in the tank). One problem with higher tank temperature, however, is that there is less of a cushion if anything goes wrong (cooling fan dies, chiller fails, etc) before the tank could get fatally hot.
For some purposes, higher tank temps would be good. If I was running a frag growout tank, I would want to run it a bit warmer to accelerate the metabolism (and growth) of the corals. Otherwise, I feel that the slightly slower metabolism (with lower temperatures) is less stressful (especially to fish).
DonW
R.I.P.
The reallity is 78 to 81 is probably fine, your fish and corals are going to acclimate. Just pick the easiest number to hit and go for stability. If your tank tends to run at 80 and you can keep it stable at 80 then go for 80.
You really only have so much control over temp and the overall system set-up is going to dictate your average temp.
Don
You really only have so much control over temp and the overall system set-up is going to dictate your average temp.
Don
Wow quite an interesting discussion about temperature there. I noticed that without the second heater if I keep the dial gauged in at 80 it doesn't actually turn on very often. I think with the added light on the refugium I may actually not even need heaters to keep it in the 80s ... especially now that the kitchen area is sealed off to the elements.
Now on to my next chapter I hit Saltwater City yesterday finally and *cough* today. My new testing kits indicated nitrates were alot higher than I thought, ugh 18ppm...luckily I had a fresh batch of RO/DI water sitting in the garage so I could do a water change to bring it down. I have my wet/dry completely empty of bioballs and ready to plumb with some PVC to replace the cheap tubing there now. My question is how long can I disconnect the wet/dry filter before it affects my tank? A day? a week? I have two Aqua-C remora skimmers running on the tank with 3 Maxi Jet 1200's. I need to let a little time go for the PVC cement to dry and didn't know if this will have a serious effect on my system by not running. My opinion is no since really there is nothing in the filter except water but just don't want to do anything foolish
Second, the guy at SW City recommended that instead of putting sand in the refugium I should just fill it with some sort of macro algae. Sounds like a good idea? I was thinking of getting the Brillo algae as well instead of the chaeto, cooling looking stuff!
Sorry for the long winded response but finally got net access back at my house after my cable modem died...Please advise if anyone thinks I'm doing something that will cause my tank to explode or what!
And BTW thanks for the HUGE green polyp colony Eliyah, its all opened up and entertaining us
Now on to my next chapter
I hit Saltwater City yesterday finally and *cough* today. My new testing kits indicated nitrates were alot higher than I thought, ugh 18ppm...luckily I had a fresh batch of RO/DI water sitting in the garage so I could do a water change to bring it down. I have my wet/dry completely empty of bioballs and ready to plumb with some PVC to replace the cheap tubing there now. My question is how long can I disconnect the wet/dry filter before it affects my tank? A day? a week? I have two Aqua-C remora skimmers running on the tank with 3 Maxi Jet 1200's. I need to let a little time go for the PVC cement to dry and didn't know if this will have a serious effect on my system by not running. My opinion is no since really there is nothing in the filter except water but just don't want to do anything foolish Second, the guy at SW City recommended that instead of putting sand in the refugium I should just fill it with some sort of macro algae. Sounds like a good idea? I was thinking of getting the Brillo algae as well instead of the chaeto, cooling looking stuff!
Sorry for the long winded response but finally got net access back at my house after my cable modem died...Please advise if anyone thinks I'm doing something that will cause my tank to explode or what!
And BTW thanks for the HUGE green polyp colony Eliyah, its all opened up and entertaining us
With no sand in your sump, it will be easier to vaccum out accumulated detritus (rather than having it settle into the sand). Just make sure you have easy access to your sump for periodic cleaning. If you want sand for a refugium, it might be better to put that into a second sump (or separate chamber) that water gets to after it has had a chance to "slow down" and allow the suspended detritus to settle (into an area more easily cleaned).
IMO, a detritus settling chamber that is easily cleaned is an issue in sump design/planning that is often overlooked. I know I omitted that in my planning (and end up with detritus settling in a portion of the sump that is a real pain to get at for cleaning).
IMO, a detritus settling chamber that is easily cleaned is an issue in sump design/planning that is often overlooked. I know I omitted that in my planning (and end up with detritus settling in a portion of the sump that is a real pain to get at for cleaning).
Angelscrx
Import Fish
If you don't have any filtration in your sump right now then it should be fine running the tank without it. You want to let the cement cure for about a day or two. PVC cement usually cures in 24hrs depending on how much you use. Brillo pad and cheato macros are great for fuges. Stay away from Cualerpa if you don't plan on having it lighted 24/7.
