Daily temp fluctuation. 80.9-82.5 ok?

[mitchelliii]

Right now I am seeing a varience of approx 1.5-2 deg. temp change in a day.

This seems to be high based on everything I read here.

morning temp 80.9. afternoon temp 82.5

Primary test of tank happiness says this may be ok as everything is happy.

Is this ok long term and is 80.9 too high in the first place? Several books indicate not to exceed 80.

Thanks -Scott

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Scott,

You are fine. Normal reef temp is 80-87. The reason you do not want to get too into the high range (84+) is due to increased algae growth and decreased oxygen in the water. Your corals and what not will go crazy at a higher temp though, they love it. Your temp swing is normal and will not harm anything.

 

[glxtrix]

IMO, usually reef keepers will keep their temp a lil lower so the "just in case" happens with temp raising too high its a bit easier to catch befor hand. But like said by brandon, youre doin good. Personally tho, I have a controller on my tank to have a fan kick on once the temp hits 81....I'm just paranoid like that.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

I agree with Lee. We cant treat our tanks like it is the ocean. The ocean wont swing temps like our puny X gallon tanks (comparatively). I would caution anyone who runs their tank prophylactically above 80 degrees, unless they have a significant chiller in place. Otherwise, it wouldn't be unreasonable at all for the temp to get above 85 on a hot day. At a higher temp, it will cause corals to bleach, fisgh to die, and other bads things.

I vote to get your temp down.

 

[simon_kruger]

I run mine at 78F. I guess most others do the same or close to the same. Why dont we setup a vote on temp. Good idea to see where others are sitting.

The reason for 78F is for summer temp. We keep our house at 78F and it helps the AC unit.

 

[petrasb]

Maybe this is why I have lost 4 fish in the last few days.
May temp is between 84-86. My corals look very good though. I was thinking it could be a case of my skimmer being too small. I have a CCS 220 and a total of about 300gal with everything. My ammonia,nitrates, and nitrites are ok, along with everything else. Any thoughts? Its like the fish stop eating and slowly die? So far $400 in 4 days in lost fish.

 

[schwaggs]

I agree that a 1.5 degree swing isn't too bad. To get a tighter range you will need a sequential temp controller (like the ACIII) and/or a chiller. I agree with the others that I would shoot for 78 as a min and 80 as a max.

 

[simon_kruger]

Hi Petrasb,
The higher the temp the faster the fishes metabolism. Thus they need to eat more to survive. I'd suggest a chiller if you haven't got one already.