Discussion: Lower Temperatures

[brianjfinn]

I've seen a few people on here state that they keep their reef aquariums at a lower temperature, say in the 72 to 75 degree range, and have noted that their fish are more healthy and seem to have few problems with disease and sickness. For reference, see post #335 and #340 of this thread:
http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1463">http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1463</a>

These are not the only instances where I have heard people say their reef aquariums seem happier at lower temperatures. I'd love to hear some other thoughts and experiences, especially from those that do keep their temps lower. Specifically, what effect does it have on fish health and life span, color growth and coloration, and algae growth.

Jeremy, I'd love to hear your experiences as well, since you're on of the ones that keep their tanks lower.

Talk amongst yourselves...

 

[skriz]

I wish my tank would stay at lower temps. If it did so naturally, it would cure the biggest reef disease of them all...Hole in Wallet syndrome

 

[lilrobb]

I run my tanks at 78F, so take this with caution.

In all chemical reactions the RGT rule applies; it says that for every 10Centigrade of temperature you add to a reaction, the reaction velocity doubles.
So for our corals and fish and all bugs, bacteria etc you slow down their metabolism by about (!) 50% by lowering the temp 10C.
For fish it means they need less food and for bacteria and viruses it means that they spread at only 50%...

Certain exceptions apply...

 

[enderg60]

chemical reactions is one thing, metabolism is another.

Oxygenation increases as temp goes down. It also makes calcium easier to come out of solution.

Ive seen many SPS tanks kept at 72-74 with great results. The only reason I and others keep temps at or over 78 is because its hard and costly to keep temps lower then that.

Thanks to my basement sump, during the winter I can keep my temps at 72ish so I do.

 

[lilrobb]

EnderG60;584713 wrote: chemical reactions is one thing, metabolism is another.

This is true for mammals and all other non-poikilotherm animals - not for poikilotherms (fish e.g.)...

 

[schwaggs]

I use the season variation feature of the Neptune Apex controller. It varies the tank temp from a low of about 75 in January to a high of around 80 in July. When the tank temp is higher, I notice more growth of everything (coral, algae, cyno, etc). At the lower temps, algae growth is very controlled. I don't really notice a difference in the fish health, I don't really have any disease problems at any temp. I notice that my RBTA seems much happier at the lower temps, it opens more and just "seems happier".

 

[acroholic]

My tanks are all in my basement. I have to heat the water very infrequently. The pumps and whatever electrical equipment that come in contact with the water, and the halide lights keep the tank anywhere from 75 degrees in the winter to 78 degrees in the Summer. My chiller runs infrequently.

My personal philosophy is to try to give them the temps they would see in the wild.

 

[jmaneyapanda]

LilRobb;584716 wrote: This is true for mammals and all other non-poikilotherm animals - not for poikilotherms (fish e.g.)...

Actually, Robb, this is innaccurate. The methodologies and understandings of "warm bloodedness" and "cold bloodedness" has changed notably. Metabolisms are what they are (depending on how you define metabolisms). Both poikilotherms and hometherms will behave remarkably similar during colder and hotter spells, in terms of metabolism.

Acroholic;584752 wrote:

My personal philosophy is to try to give them the temps they would see in the wild.

This is where it gets a bit wacky. What are the conditions of "the wild"? Unless we run biotopic tanks with geographically true collections, we really cant do this acurately. Is a reef from the red sea the same as Hawaii? The same as Bali? The same as Australia? Furthermore, for both fish and corals, what about collection depths? How much light? Water temperature? Flow?

I have run my reef at 72 degrees for over 4 years now, and and I have never seen any negative side effect, save for slower coral growth. That being said, I have seen SUPERB improvemnet in fish behavior, condition, and overall fitness. Take that with a grain of salt. Many of my fish are naturally collected in deeper waters. However, many are not. I currently house both fish and inverts which are collected in lagoonal settings sometimes (the the water temp is significantly higher than the 78 we are discussing here). Heck, most everyone here keeps Acros which may be EXPOSED to humid tropical air at low tide in natural conditions (with temps over 90 degrees). We certainly cant consider this in our husbandry.

 

[acroholic]

My fish seem to do OK between 75-79 degrees. I don't let temps get above or below that point, and seems to be the point for my particular setup where the water requires the least amount of applied heating or cooling via my heat pump style chiller. My average temperatures: spring and fall: 76-78, winter 75-76, summer 78-79. Probably all related to outside temps and the thermostat setting and cycling of my home HVAC system.