Temperature for 55 gallon SW tank

[denise2854]

What temp would I Put my 55gallon saltwater tank at. Its currently being set up and the water is flowing in!

 

[TropicalNorth]

23c to 29c is acceptable (73f to 84f) for most critters but aim for a stable temp around 25c to 27c (77f to 81f). The most important thing is to keep it stable whatever temp you aim for.

 

[Amphiprion]

FWIW, average reef temperatures end up somewhere around 82 degrees. Depending upon where the corals and/or fish are found, they can actually regularly experience fairly substantial temperature (and salinity) changes.

 

[reefplayground]

I like to keep my reefs @ 75F or so. Cooler water holds high levels of oxygen. I do it mainly for that reason. If you want faster growth on your corals/fish, might take it up to 79-80.

 

[Amphiprion]

The difference in oxygen capacity between 75-82 is negligible (maybe half a ppm). Beyond that, 75 is a somewhat unnatural temperature--only the coldest reefs are ever that low.

 

[egkid]

I dont know if I allowed to link to other websites but there's a really good thread on reefcentral on how temperature swings can be beneficial to your tank. It says that swings of about 5 degrees or so can make your livetsock more hardy to a major temp spike such as a heater staying on and getting the tank up to 90 degrees.

I'll look for it now but I'm on lunch so if I cant find it in time I'll post the link when i get off work.

 

[Amphiprion]

I agree that swings do tend to make things more tolerant. That is why the most stable tanks have issues the second one mechanism of control goes down. I purposely let mine swing ~5 degrees.

 

[egkid]

Ahh, found it. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1575175

My tank's temps also swing from around 77-78 at night to 81-83 during the day, and once to 87 degrees when I forgot to turn on my fan (nothing was affected)