tempature questions

[b2fly]

hello...i'm thinking about setting up my 72 gal bowfront tank. i will be using live sand and live rocks with lionfish, triggerfish, grouper, eel, and maybe a few more aggressive fish. and i was wondering if these fishes can live in a high temp water. the room temp will be in the range of 83-85 most of the time.

 

[tthemadd1]

water temp is a lot lower than regular room temperature. I used to keep my tank in a lower level of my house, about 80 degrees plus. Still needed a heater to keep it warm. I would guess that in the room, the water temp was still around 70 or lower. I would get a heater just in case...

 

[ophiura]

Wow, that is not my case...with lights, pumps, etc the water temperature is higher. I'm not entirely sure why it would be cooler than room temperature :thinking: I think you could have a problem with tank temperature if, when running, it gets much higher than that.
But I'll tell you know, you can't have all those fish...not to mention "a few more" in that tank. :nope: That is WAY overstocking, IMO...I would get more advice on that from the start. :yes:

 

[guineawhop]

it definitely is way overstocking. also lion fish with triggers not a good idea as well. triggers tend to pick on them. the reason why water temp is usually cooler than air temp is because water loses heat faster than air and the water temp diffuses into it's surroundings, or at least that's what i've been told.

 

[ophiura]

:notsure: Water loses heat much slower than the air, due to its high specific heat. This is why the ocean temperatures remain relatively stable, and why the oceans can moderate coastal temperatures. This stability means that animals in the wild experience minimal fluctuation in daily temperatures...and why we strive to keep stability to avoid stressing them.
If we have a generally constant room temperature, at say 78 degrees, then add pumps and lights, the water, IMO at least, should be a bit warmer than room temperature. Because there is a lot of "leaking" of heat in a tank, and fluctuation in room temperature, tank temperature can fluctuate much more than in the real world but I don't see where it would be generally cooler than room temperature if room temp is constant. :thinking: But, if room temperature was gradually getting warmer then there would be a lag time with the tank appearing to be cooler as it is very slowly warming. Or perhaps I'm in some sort of thermodynamic anomaly

 

[lion_crazz]

I think the fish would be okay at a constant 83 degrees. The important thing is to keep the water temperature constant. Don't let it fluctuate. That is how fish come down with ich. Also, with that high of a temperature, make sure you have A LOT of flow and water movement because the fish will need more oxygen if the temp is higher.
Also, reconsider how many fish you want to keep in the tank. A dwarf lion would be fine, an eel would do okay, a toby puffer would be fine, but you do not want any triggers in that tank because triggers pick at lions and eventually kill them. If you find a smaller grouper, that would be okay, but eventuallyt any grouper will need a bigger tank. Stay away from the ones that get so large so quick, like the panthers.