How cold is too cold?

[cich-o]

last night I was messing with a shroom I got and I have to unplug my heater to plug an overhead light so I can see without the canopy, well I forgot to plug my heater back. This morning my temp was 70-71°F and my tang was dying, after iI wrestled him away from a crab I seperated him but when I returned from work he is dead. I also used some super glue gel on the shroom could it be that or was it temp? All inverts are fine and parameters are good but pH a little high at 8.6 ( been there for a week)TIA

[Boogiechillin]

71 is a little low, but it was likely the rapid shift that killed the tang rather than any given temp. I would slowly warm the tank back up over the next 24-48 hours and work the pH down over the next week, no more than .1-.2 per day. (eg, nothing more drastic than 8.6 to 8.4 in a 24 hour period).

[OrionGirl]

I agree. SW fish aren't used to sudden, complete temperature changes. Many FW fish can take it--they are used to a sudden water change of a few degrees. SW fish, on the other hand, never have a reason to adapt, because the entire ocean just doesn't drop temp in large units. Most reef-safe crabs won't go after a fish unless the fish is pretty well on the way out. If the crab had ahold, it's not a good sign for the fish.

I'd get a splitter for the outlet, so you can have both of them plugged in.

[cich-o]

I solved the outlet problem before I left the house this morning, such a stupid mistake :mad:

[Elmo]

Did you have any Caulerpa in the tank?

[cich-o]

Yeah, quite a bit actually. Why?