Temperature spike

[tomaquar]

I just threw away a heater that had been acting up for a couple of days. Last night the temp of 70 when I went to bed and it was 90 when I woke up.

Two questions:
1. How badly does something like this stress
Montipora
Acros
Zoas
Softies

2. How quickly should I lower the temp?

Thanks

 

[gnashty]

what temp do you nromaly keep it at? you say it was at 70 when you went to bed? a spike of that much in such a short time could really reak havoc...

how does everything look? bring the temp down real slow.....where is it at now?

 

[bobz]

I would agree to come down slowly, damage is probably already done but a significant quick drop will compound the problem. IMO, the best approach is too drop the temp slowly to the normal range 77-78, i assume and assess the damage over the next couple of days, if you are lucky the corals will be ok. i lost a couple of sps and montipora colonies due to a temp drop while i was out of town. good luck!

 

[mvm]

Look at your corals. Are they OK?

 

[brianjfinn]

Like the others said, you want to bring the temp down slowly. Go ahead and invest in a decent heater. I think the damage may have been done, I don't think many corals will survive a 20 degree temp swing, except the softies maybe. I hope for your sake I'm wrong.