Eric Borneman:
There are relatively few tropical coral reefs that are in the 70's except perhaps slightly more subtropical ones during winter or those that happen to exist in areas of persistent upwelling or colder currents. Few of the animals, especially corals, are collected from these areas. Temperatures on the reefs where are animals are collected are generally always above 80 and generally below 88. Daily swings of from 0-12 degrees F are not uncommon and can happen several times a day. Temperature is truly not one of the things to worry about in tanks unless you can say what strains of zooxanthellae are present, where the corals were collected from, what species (and thus their environmental sensitivity), synergistic stressors (as corals do well near their upper thermal limits) and to ensure that temperatures do not exceed, say, 90F for extended periods of time. A swing from mid70's to 90 (for example, a heater malfunction) that lasts for a day will probably cause problems for some animals if they are acclimated to a constant temperature. The problems with losing animals from temperature related events is what happens when they die in a closed system and most of the mass tank losses from such events is probably not a direct result of high temps alone. But, I also feel that given the multitiude of things that can go wrong in tanks and the fact that they are tanks withouth the inherent variability of the ocean, that pushing temps to the uppper limit where they might be happiest in the wild may not be ideal in tanks. So, I think 82-84 is right where you have some safety margin in upper thermal limits and within the range where most tropical reef corals and those collected for the trade do best.
Jonathan Bertoni:
I target 82 F as the base temperature for my tanks. I haven't seen any reason to go lower for a tropical reef tank. I agree with Eric's analysis. There's a lot of studies in this area, if you want to do some research.
__________________
Jonathan Bertoni
Hobby Experience: 8 years
Steve:
b]I was recently told that home reef tanks should be within the 72-78 range due to higher temps can:
1. raise the chances of viral & bacterial infections
Nonsense, poor husbandry techniques are mostly responsible for the various types of coral infections, fish diseases, etc.. that we see in our tanks. Purchasing sick or infected fish & corals that are stressed, along with not QTing these animals, has more to do non-survival of these organisms than elevated water temps. What about bleaching & RTN, etc... I guess you could blame those things on increased temps as well? In a stable & properly cared for reef system, none of these things should be any problem.
2. cause a decrease in oxygen while increasing metabolism in fish, corals, algae, bacteria, & other organisms which further depletes oxygen
While it is true that elevated water temps hold less O2, this would not cause any problem in a reef system with temps between 80 to 84 degrees F. Especially with proper water flow & tank water volume turnover.
3. cause massive spawning that a small tank cannot handle
Really? Most aquarist that I know have never had a coral spawn in their tank, let alone "massive" spawning. What corals are doing the "spawning" anyways?
4. cause excessive algae outbreaks
Again, many things can cause excessive algae growth. This is mostly due to lack of proper husbandry techniques & not allowing a reef tank enough time to stabilize prior to loading it up with organisms, etc...
5. cause you to be too close to the "threshold" of death
WOW! In that case I better lower the temp of my tank IMMEDIATELY if not sooner. Others should do the same... LMAO!!
Steve
Chuck
I have maintained sps for over 10 years and lps and softies for at least 15 years. I used to keep temps at 75-78 degrees and never had a problem. Fast growth, healty corals, long term. Now I keep temp at
82-84 for at least 1 year now with mostly sps,some lps and 1 or 2 softies
mushrooms gorgonians etc. NO PROBLEMS nice color,fast growth and great polyp extension etc..The only reason I raised temp is because of electricity bill . I actually feel(personal opinion only)that the corals look healthier at the higher temp..I might add that I have about 2800 gallons an hour going through my 265 gallon system plus I have another 1100gph on a surge system. I do believe that at any temp you need very good water flow but it is much more imperitive at higher temps.
There is no answer to this temperature question because we are all having success at many different temperature levels and because our systems are all fingerprints with not one being the same it is all speculation and can go on for ever. Pick a temp and go with it..
Just my unscientific opinion based on personal observation
Take care
Bob Fenner:
Is 82 degrees +/- 1 degree (stable) ok for a reef?
<For the vast majority of the species kept by aquarists, yes>
I can attest to the fact that if your corals and/or fish came from the indo-pacific regions, most notably Indonesia and the Philippines, then they were in water temperatures that range from a short seasonal low of 80 (rarely gets that low) to highs in the upper 80's. Most corals, depending on their specific reefs location, do see a temperature range during each 24 hour period that can go from 82 to 86,88 in a matter of just an hour or two during tidal changes. I take water temps on the reefs every time I snorkel or dive and over the last four years can say without a doubt, that 82 is a year round average. For a daytime high, on a sunny day, with a falling tide, the reefs here see 86 to 88 even at depth (60').
I don't care what arguement is made or how well said and convincing such arguements may be, it makes no sense to me regardless of said arguements to keep any animal outside of its normal environmental conditions. Being that the Philippines is considered by most all marine biologists to be the center of reef diversity, that fact alone tells me that 82-84 is what all of that diversity prefers to be in. We try our best to mimic the conditions that our pets evolved in for a reason, and I will never understand or agree that changing their prefered temperature is a good idea.
Chuck
