Can 70 degree water kill corals?

[kat 4]

Our water temp accidentally got down to 70 degrees. Could that be killing our corals? We lost a leather and I had to pull that off a rock it was attached to..and a couple other corals ( mostly leathers) look a bit bad. Our mushroom coral has retracted all its tentacles. It's 77 degrees now but not sure if that is what hurt them or not...Thanks

 

[zepplin48138]

I hope not mine dips down to 70 somethimes during a cold night. I have not seen any affects though.

 

[brandan]

Originally Posted by zepplin48138
I hope not mine dips down to 70 somethimes during a cold night. I have not seen any affects though.
You should really look into a heater (for the sake of your inhabitants). Big temperature swings are not good for anything in an aquarium. Anything over 2* is asking for trouble in the long run, especially if it is a daily 5-7* swing. What is the temperature during the day?

 

[brandan]

Originally Posted by Kat 4
Our water temp accidentally got down to 70 degrees. Could that be killing our corals? We lost a leather and I had to pull that off a rock it was attached to..and a couple other corals ( mostly leathers) look a bit bad. Our mushroom coral has retracted all its tentacles. It's 77 degrees now but not sure if that is what hurt them or not...Thanks
In my opinion, you are not providing enough heat for the corals to grow. I keep both of my SW tanks at 81-82*, with awesome growth from all my corals, SPS, LPS, and softies. Have you tested anything else in the tank also, amm. nitrites, nitrates, pH?

 

[kat 4]

Everything else is fine in the tank ....we do have a heater but the metal halides had been heating it just fine during the summer so we took it out just for the summer. My husband did a water change and it was a little too cool and he didn't notice until the next day. So we put the heater back in and it's doing fine - just lost 1 leather.
We have about 20 in nitrates that we can't seem to ever lower....

 

[dragonboy]

I usually keep mine at 78 to 80 but its hard to keep the temp at consistent level. Yeah you need a heater for winter cause it drop pretty quick for expected cold weather. I'm thinking of getting a really good thermometer that keeps things constant.

 

[wangotango]

Most heaters have built-in thermostats so they probably wont turn on if the water is too warm, so there isn't a point in taking them out. That low of temperature can kill stuff yes imo. Try to keep it constant around 80 +/- 2 degrees.
-Justin

 

[mudplayerx]

I would say that 70 degrees over a prolonged period would significantly reduce the lifespan of most marine critters.

 

[teen]

^ most TROPICAL marine critters that is.
i had my temp drop to about 52 degrees last winter when i was away on vacation. came back and i lost about half my sps. considering the water was that low, im suprised everything didnt die. i didnt loose any clams or fish.
imo, 70 isnt a good number, but if it does dip that low, you shouldnt have many losses.