Whats your Lowest Temperature?

[Smann]

My main Tank runs 77-79 with heaters and chiller. The tanks I set up in the garage I decided to go lower since it will be harder to keep the temps up so I have chiller set at 77, it has a heater plug and a 2 degree swing. The temp is dropping every night and the heaters are coming on at 75, this morning it was 74 and they are still on

Whats the lowest Temp you let your tank drop to?

[Danik]

During summer my tank goes from 76 to 80F. Winter stays steady at 78F.

[kilmca]

I allow it to get down to 77 at night and then the heaters kick on.

[Rick]

Mine doesn't drop that far right now (76/77) but when I set the first one up it would drop to 72 at night.

[jason7504]

i let mine get to around 80 in the summer and most of the year and drop to around 77-78

[racefan]

Mine averages between about 78-80

[reef165]

in nature the water temp gose down at night, the colder water from the deep ocean is coming ashore without the sun to warm it. Im not sure if theres a temp reading you can find from a reef at night but I would think that you are well above the at risk temp.

[downhill_biker]

I have my heater kick on at 78 degrees, and it works pretty well. I think more important than temp is consistancy in your temp. Whatever it is keep it stable.

 

When I moved my temp dropped to mid 50's, and I lost several things, but most corals survived. Fish didn't fair well, but shrimp lived...corals are a lot tougher than we give them credit for.

[Rick]

If using ocean temperatures as a basis then they are not very consistent. From day to night they will normally only change a degree or two but from day to day they may change a few degrees and from week to week they will often change by more. Using the Southeast Coast as an example (primarily because it is what area I am the most familiar with) the temperatures this week are in the low to mid 80's however last week they were a couple of degrees warmer. Much down there depends upon where the gulf stream is flowing which has a much greater impact than day and night does. When the gulf stream pushes up close to the shore late in the summer or early fall the temperatures will reach up towards or even slightly above 100 degrees. During late winter or early spring the temperatures are much lower. As I recall down into the low 70's depending upon how much cold water pushes down into the area. Oddly enough while we keep our reefs around 78 degrees this is actually a good bit lower than the normal temps where most of what we put in our tanks come from. Personally I think the most important thing about temperature is not whether it is always a consistent temperature or even what that temperature is (within reason) but rather that there isn't a drastic temperature change over a short period of time. The ocean is huge and because of this it takes quite awhile for big temperature changes in it to occur but nevertheless they do change. An interesting experiment would be to see what raising the temperature 2 degrees a week would do. I'm guessing we could reach 90 plus degrees by doing so slowly (rather than the rapid rise we saw with the last heat wave) without any serious problems. At the same time I think it could go the other direction down to the middle or upper 60's as well. My current plan is to continue allowing my tank to fluctuate with the room temperature (It stays about 2 degrees above the room temp) and just keep the room temperature between 68 and 78 degrees. My room temperature fluctuates by a few degrees from day to night which doesn't seem to be having a negative effect on anything. Keep in mind I am far from what could be considered an experienced reefer. I'm going off what I know about ocean temperatures instead (which is an area I do know a bit about) and attempting to apply the same to the aquarium. Next summer I will have a better idea whether this application of real ocean temperatures to my reef aquarium is viable or not. I may find I have to actually plug the heater hanging in the back of the sump in.

[Michael7979]

I try to keep my tank between 77- 80 degrees.

 

But I have woke up in the morning, (around the 5-6 AM timeframe), and found my tank around the 74-75 mark, a few different times. Doesn't seem to hurt anything.

[finch6013]

I have seen my tank get as low as 72 and as high as 83

[markdadof2]

I run from 77.3 to 78.4. I find that with the chiller, heater and my controller things stay very stable. I MAY need to get a larger heater as the winter comes around.

[Rick]

I have seen my tank get as low as 72 and as high as 83

 

Mine hit 86 when the recent heat wave first hit before I threw some fans in front of the hood. At that point all of the creatures were crawling out of the sand and moving toward the top of the tank. That was the only thing notable about it though.

[Smann]

I think I will be able to keep it within a few degree swing but I think I will try the lower end range and see how it does say 75-77. I will probably have to supply some kind of heat when the temps really drop, my garage is finished but not well insulated

[gawf4fun]

I don't use a heater in my tank as the closed loop pump and return pump keep my tank's natural low temperature at 77 degrees.

[theJenchild]

Mine has been as low as 74 over night, and as high as 82 during the day, although I try to run it around 77-78

[Ocean In a Box]

I keep my tanks at 74 and let them heat up to 77-78 by the lights throughout the day.

[Hoss]

I'm setting up a 55g right now and hadn't bought a heater until today. This past week nighttime temperatures hit the low 50's, and I assume this tank got close to that temperature. Surprisingly, the Duncan and Candycane corals that are living in there showed no signs of stress whatsoever...even so I'm glad to have a heater now and will be keeping it at 79 degress.

[Smann]

Thanks for the replys, That makes me feel better that there are some keeping tanks at the lower end. I read about a few but its reasuring to hear from those that actually do it

[Ocean In a Box]

I kind of look at it like this. In Jakarta which is where a ton of corals come from, the average temperature at the surface is 27c or approx 80f. The water cools down the deeper you go and most corals are harvested at near 20-25 ft. Sometimes much deeper. The water will drop several degrees at those depths. I would think the average temp would be around 75-77 degrees at those depths. I run a little on the cool side during the summer because it gets so freaking hot when those lights come on. I get nervous when I see my temps at 81-82 at mid day. Winter I bump up the tanks to 75 and let the lights warm them up to about 76-77.

[pledosophy]

On the reef tank the heater is set at 76F, on my planted tank it is set at 68F.

 

Things are doing well.

[snowpunk]

I don't run a heater or chiller on my 75g. I have both but just like to let the temps swing a little. That way when it gets crazy hot or cold, the little bit more swing the tank makes won't put everything into shock so bad. Things seem to be doing good so I guess I can't complain. The dual 400w bulbs(about 6" off the water) heat it up pretty good during the day then at night it drops back down. If it's really hot for a few days I'll let the fans in the hood run all day and try to keep my downstairs cool to aid a little. I'll be revisiting this topic when I get a new tank set up though.(scratch)

[Rick]

I don't run a heater or chiller on my 75g. I have both but just like to let the temps swing a little. That way when it gets crazy hot or cold' date=' the little bit more swing the tank makes won't put everything into shock so bad. ..........[/quote']

 

So I'm not the only one that does this. I was beginning to wonder.(scratch)

[CCR]

Mine has been down to 74.5 lately as I keep the windows open at night. Then up to 81 with light on later. I'm going to put the 800WT. heater on line today to kick in at 76. In the summer it was getting 79 to 84, then I turned light off. Even with a total water volume of about 210 tank 75 sump...- sand, rock, equipment. I have always let the tank swing as the ocean isn't stable. I have also found that it makes the corals and fish hardier. Man the fish are so hungry at higher temps. they almost take my fingers off.

 

This will be the FIRST time using a heater and I'm still skeptical.

My biggest fear is the heater sticking on!!!! Not the tank cooling down.

Really is the major reason I never used one as I read more posts of tanks cooking to total disaster from heaters sticking on than from any other reason, for tank wipe outs. Including power failing.

 

IS EVERY BODY READY FOR WINTER POWER OUTAGES!!!

 

I can tell you from past experience that at 85.5 your emeral crab are toast.

[Michael7979]

..... I'm going to put the 800WT. heater on line today to kick in at 76.....

 

IS EVERY BODY READY FOR WINTER POWER OUTAGES!!!

 

 

Get yourself a controller for the heater.

 

Still wanting a generator too.