Tank temp?

[JasonA]

Is 78-79* too warm ??

Been reading more that 75 is about the best

What do you guys think and where do you keep your tanks at?

Thanks,
Jason

[OrionGirl]

For some fish and inverts, that may be too high, but not too far off. We keep our tank at about 78, and it's risen to 85 on particuarly hot days. Not ideal, but it hasn't been lethal yet. By June, we usually unplug all of out heaters, anyway. The lows are never bad, and it means the highs are kept to a lower level.

[VoodooChild]

I keep my tanks at 80-81. No probs.

[kreblak]

There doesn't seem to be any concensus what so ever on what the ideal temperature is for a marine tank. If you read 3 different books, you will get three different temperature recomendations. The primary thing is to make sure that your temerature isn't flucuating. I keep my tank at 79. My LFS recomends 74. Voodoochild says he read that the mean temperature of the water in the world's reef ecosystems is 82.6 degrees. Draw your own conclusions, but 78-79 should be fine, IMHO.

The only problems I have ever encountered was when my water temperature got down to about 72 during February. The tank heater was having trouble keeping up in such cold weather, and my fish got really sluggish. I got a higher watt heater, the tank returned to 79, and everything was fine.

[OrionGirl]

Keep in mind that there are lots of fish and inverts that pop up in the hobby that do not come from tropical waters. The little Catalina gobies, for instance-these are cool water fish. They will die in warm waters, simply because their metabolism is not built to run that high, for long periods of time.

Just as in FW, there are a wide variety of temps for the ocean. The difference between the Atlantic and Pacific is startling--but then so is the difference between Florida and Maine. Fish can tolerate a wide variety of temps, but higher temps = higher metabolisms, and this can shorten their life. Keep in mind that the ocean temp does fluctuate throughout the seasons, as well. Tide pool creatures can tolerate wider swings--they are used to pools that can climb 10-15 degrees, then drop quickly as the tide comes back in.