Questions regarding temperature...

[as40]

Hello all.

I know I've never been really concerned with my freshwater tanks. I live in Southern California (unfortunately ), but don't have air conditioning. The temperature in the freshwater tanks typically begins the day around 74-76, and ends it a little higher around 80-82. Never been an issue though, the fish seem fine with it, as do the plants.

But with my saltwater tank, I'm a bit more concerned. I know that pretty much everything in the tank is more sensitive to water conditions and temperature. My questions are as such:

1. Are the fish more hardy than the corals/inverts to temperature?

2. I try to control my temperature more than in my FW- It starts the day somewhere between 76.0-77, and ends around 79.0-80. Is this too much of a swing over the period of a day for the corals/inverts/etc., or can they tolerate this okay?

3. I'm worried because it's getting hot and it's not summer yet. Should I invest in a "chiller", and if so, what brand/size for a 60 gallon, and how much approximately do they cost?

Thanks for any help/advice that can be offered on these questions.

 

[gbolton]

That swing should be ok. As long as you dont go over 82 mine swings 78-82 everyday.

 

[mogurnda]

1. I don't know. As long as things don't fluctuate too wildly, everybody seems OK.
2. Although some go to great lengths to keep their temps within one degree, your swings are fine. I'd be a little more generous with maximum temperature than gbolton. My tank certainly gets up to 84 in the summer, and the corals look quite happy.
3. If your tank will go above 85 for a prolonged period, you may need a chiller. Or you can try fans over the surface, to convect the heat from the lights and increase evaporative cooling.

 

[gbolton]

I guess my reasoning for saying 82 is I have a larger tank it take longer to cool back down from 82 as it is. I guess a better measure would be how quick is the temp changing and how long does it stay at the higher temps.

 

[mogurnda]

Agreed.

Another reason I set the temp ceiling a little higher was that Ron Shimek was trying to convince people that normal reef temperatures were higher (85-86 degrees) than most reefers kept their tanks. Although most will agree that was hooey, the fact that he and others tried it without lethal effect implies that it can't be that bad. Kind of a backwards argument, though.

 

[gbolton]

Yeah I really do question what the actual tolerances for temp are. I have see some major swings both ways and have little to no effect. I have seen lack of current or improper lighting have worse effects than temp.

 

[vegasadam]

Hi there as40 I am very much a newbie with only about 4 months in saltwater but I live in Las Vegas and we have had temps last week in the high 80's low 90's and my temp did the same as you. My fish and it is just a FOLR setup were fine with the 76-82 slow swing during the day. Remember i am new to this but just had the experience as you and live in the same part of country as you so I wanted to throw my 2 cents in.]
Good Luck Adam

 

[as40]

Thank you everyone for the replies! The information reassures me. What I did just as a temporary aid while we go through our "hot" period is this, to help reduce how quickly the temperature raises at the beginning of the day:

I have the tank in the dining room where there's a ceiling fan. I turned it on to circulate the air above the tank, and leave it on all day while I'm gone.

I also borrowed a couple of children's wooden building blocks and placed one on either end of my lights (underneath) to act as "legs", giving about 2" of air space between the glass top and the lights to reduce the heat.

My lights get increadibly hot; unfortunately there wasn't a fan or anything that came with them, but this seemed to help yesterday.

Once again, thanks for the info Adam, Dave, and gbolton!