Ideal Reef water temperature?

[kebber1223]

I have spoken and read so many articles on the ideal temperature range for a reef aquarium and everyone has a different response. Anyone have a good answer with some technical back up?

Also, what does the thought of a refugium on the side of my 150 gallon aquarium do for anyone? How thick of a layer of Miracle mud would one use and then what types of layers to have or contents and how thick on each? I am buying a CPR refugium. Thoughts please?

 

[sandollar]

Consistency is key. Keep your temp between 78-83F without big swings over short periods of time and you can't go wrong.

 

[chris&barb]

In nature water temps are anything but consistent. Temps fluctuate wildly and rapidly.

There's a link to a study here Water Temperatures on the Palauan Reef Tract

 

[dnjan]

I tend to favour 78F as a target. The solubility of oxygen in water goes down as the temperature increases, which is stressful for the animals and puts the tank closer to "the edge" in case of a loss of circulation, etc.

My spare cooling fan kicks in if the tank hits 80F, in order to increase evaporative cooling. During hot periods in summer (I'm in Seattle, so the hot period is generally only a few weeks), if the tank temp climbs to 84 during the day I turn off the MH's and just use the VHO's for lighting.

 

[DonW]

I tend to lean towards stability instead of looking and what the ocean may or may not be doing. Aquariums are so unstable and unhealthy when compared to a real reef every little bit counts.

Don

 

[Sascha D]

In nature water temps are anything but consistent. Temps fluctuate wildly and rapidly.

LOL

I agree with Sandollar and DonW. Wild fish swimming in the unimaginable water volume of the ocean don't have the same stress factors as those swimming in a glass box.

 

[chris&barb]

LOL

I agree with Sandollar and DonW. Wild fish swimming in the unimaginable water volume of the ocean don't have the same stress factors as those swimming in a glass box.

Whats the lol for?

By keeping corals at an unnaturally low and unnaturally static temp the coral becomes conditioned to these low/static temps so in the unlikely event that something happens in our tanks and the temp raises above what it has become conditioned to the corals cant handle it. The upper temperature threshold for most corals is about 88 degrees but most can withstand temp into the lower 90's for short periods of time. Coral bleaching occurs when these thresholds are met or surpassed for extended times. If you artificially condition a coral to lower temps, over time the corals threshold lowers also. This is why you see people have bleaching and crashed tanks when their temps reach the low 80, its because they have kept their tank at static/artificially low temps.

Reed these http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic88809-11-1.aspx?Highlight=temperature

http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic85520-11-1.aspx?Highlight=temperature

It funny how people pick and choose the the natural conditions they want to try to emulate. We stress keeping salinity @ 1.0265 because that what wild reefs are. We stress random chaotic water flow because that what wild reefs have. We stress keeping water chemistry @ or close to NSW because thats what wild reefs have. Why not Temperatures?

Please explain to me how keeping your aquarium temp in the range of what a wild reef would be and what these animals have evolved to for thousands of years, would be any more stressful to the animals?

 

[DonW]

Temperature change I would assume would be a stressor just as it is the wild. I think one less stressor would help. The way you put it also makes very good sense also. I dont really buy the evolution thing but thats just because most are aquacultured from frags in temp regulated systems. Its more of a to each his own thing.

Don

 

[mmn_usn]

I pretty much let my tank flucuate as it does. During the summer I watch the temp and corals for stress. My 55gal temp goes from 70 to around 86 any given day. I read somewhere once that if you continually fluctuate the temps when you lose a day of heat or the tank gets overly hot the damage to the ecosys. is not as bad if you have maintained the temp in a 4degree band... if you get what I mean.

Palau is near Guam... I lived in Guam for 2 yrs and the temps there fluctuate kinda like the temp graph of Palau. 73 is the lowest that I saw in Guam and I saw corals and fish in waters as warm as 90.. the temp swings in Nature are rapid and never really stays one temp for more than a couple of hours.

So here is my 2 cents on the temp. Do what works best for you. If you can maintain the temp in a band you are comfortable with then do it. But for those of us who for the life of them hate having heaters in the tank and can't afford or figure out where to rig in a chiller... Temp swings are ok.

 

[aquariumdebacle]

Not for clams, you will kill them if temps go above 84 F. Are you taking into account that most of our corals are collected at twenty to thrirty feet deep where temperature swings are not nearly as dynamic as shallower depths?

 

[chris&barb]

Not for clams, you will kill them if temps go above 84 F. Are you taking into account that most of our corals are collected at twenty to thrirty feet deep where temperature swings are not nearly as dynamic as shallower depths?

Not for clams how? Clams come from the same areas as most of our corals.

The OP wanted data.

Anyone have a good answer with some technical back up?

Im not seeing any data from anyone, just "no your wrong" Read the links i posted.

Are you taking into account that most of our corals are collected at twenty to thrirty feet deep where temperature swings are not nearly as dynamic as shallower depths

The links i posted give temp readings from surface to about 300 feet.

 

[returnofsid]

Chris and Barb, great links!! After reading them, I've decided I'm going to "dive" a little deeper into this theory. I know I've worried, in the summer, that my tank will get too hot. I don't run a chiller, nor do I have heaters in my tanks. There have been times that both of my tanks have been in the upper 80s for several days on end. I crank up the AC and keep my fingers crossed. Never had any problems. After reading your links, maybe it's not such a critical thing. However, on the other hand, I do understand what Don says in that most of our corals come from aquaculture facilties or other hobbyists tanks, where temps have been more regulated.

This all deserves more research instead of people assuming what they've been taught is correct or assuming that any information otherwise is automatically wrong. Heck, for years, Bioballs where the BEST filtration method that existed!! LOL

 

[Scooterman]

Few more reads

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/2/aafeature2/view
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071129183829.htm
http://ozreef.org/library/articles/temperature_in_a_reef_aquarium.html

 

[sandollar]

If big changes in temperature didn't matter then people wouldn't float their bags when they bring new fish and corals home before adding them to the tank.

 

[dnjan]

I still think that disolved oxygen is a big issue for our (generally overstocked) tanks. As temp increases, so does the metabolism of the oxygen-consuming animals. But the solubility of oxygen in the water goes down. So the tank is getting closer to "the edge". One small glitch (power outage, pump failure, etc) and a higher-temperature tank is more likely result in suffocation of the inhabitants than a similarly-stocked tank at a lower temperature.

Reefs, on the other hand, are lightly-stocked. And have huge influxes of "new" water that is not subject to a pump failure.

I am not saying that a reef tank cannot be perfectly healthy at a temp in the upper 80's. It is just more at risk of a crash.

We do a lot of things to balance the risks in our tanks. For me, shooting for a lower temperature is one of them.

 

[DonW]

There is more involved when it comes to temp. Every tank is different and different species react differently. Its not like all are tanks are replicas of certian biotopes, they are mix of many that we try to juggle. I tend to wonder how fluctuating temps would affect the biological side of reefkeeping IMO just as important as how the corals react.

Don

 

[returnofsid]

Sanddollar, temperature swings that happen throughout the day are much different than the temperature difference that would take place if you cut open a bag and dumped the fish in a different tank temp.

 

[sandollar]

Sanddollar, temperature swings that happen throughout the day are much different than the temperature difference that would take place if you cut open a bag and dumped the fish in a different tank temp.

I am talking about drastic changes not changes period. Nothing wrong with changes in temperature. It is drastic changes that is the problem over a short period of time. Your temperature rises 5 degrees in 20 minutes due to a malfunctioning chiller and then back down 5 degrees the same way and you will probably have a problem. Your temperature drops 5 degrees slowly over the course of 12 hours and you would have less issues. Stability is what I am talking about or a gradual change.

 

[returnofsid]

Sandollar, I don't think anyone here is suggesting that quick temp swings are in any way acceptable. This thread is more about a possible reef myth that many hobbyists have bought into, literally. We've all had it drummed into our minds that consistent temperatures are so important to the health of our reef tanks. Now it appears there MAY be studies showing that keeping such strict consistencies may, in fact, do more harm than good, through creating "conditioned" corals. Maybe, just maybe, we've all worried way too much about higher heats, and have spent tons of money on chillers to reduce the problem...which may not really be a problem.

 

[Scooterman]

One thing about floating a baggie with a fish or coral is not only temps. but the differences in salinity, contaminates from poop over a long trip in that back, lack of oxygen as it gets used up, ph Etc Or maybe not a big issue If you bagged it for across town trip. At the same time one could argue that in some reefs the entire parameters are instantly changed & you would say maybe the species of that particular area is adaptive enough to handle that but this isn't necessary the case for every reef. Some surge from warm to cool waters almost instantly in areas such as India, where as south pacific you may not get much sudden changes at all.

The argument here is what do we know works well for a glass cage, not what might or should work. Let the experienced do the testing & let the questionnaire get answers more suited for their success!

Hows that for an argument?