Originally Posted by TX Reef
Why don't you do some reading......temperatures would have to go well into the 90s for any of those levels to be affected.
Oh, and please tell me how a 3 degree temperature change on a reef in the ocean during the day is any different than in my tank........
It may not be. I don't know off the top of my head what you do to your tank or don't do. On the other hand, if you use additives, or a calcium reactor, or CO system, or your lighting times, or your tank inhabitants, or what you feed, or what your substrate is made out of, etc.
In a living ocean however, a 3-degree fluctuation will not affect the parameters as it would in an enclosed system. In an enclosed system, nearly everything is symbiotic (same as the ocean though), there is just less of it to use in a tank.
I have done plenty of reading on the subject, LOL. I have also done about 15 years of testing. For instance, the symbiotic alga zooxanthellae that resides within the tissue of the more common hard stony corals is more susceptible to higher water temperatures. It does not work as effectively at higher water temperatures because it slows down the enzyme process that the zooxanthellae produce. Needless to say, that higher water temperature are also known for producing lower PH levels and altered acidity levels in the water. This in turn can and usually will substantially drop the alkalinity levels. These changes begin to take place at about 84-86 degrees. That is just off the top of my head.
If you have run your tank that hot and do, then that is great that you are having success. I have a whole library of Biology books and some good ones that I can recommend. If you would like, spend a few bucks on Marine Biology school. You get to dive and all sorts of stuff while learning in the process.
