Water Temp Question

[creston]

My tank water stays about 84-86 is this to hot for corals and fish? I floated a bag of ice in the water and got it down to 82 the other day, but it went back up to the 84-86 range. I have not heater going at all, the room temp stays about 84 when im gone and 78 when Im home. I cant afford a chiller and I dont want to stick an ugly fan on the top. If I add cool water as a top off everyday should it be ok? Just dont want to fry the little guys. Also its a 29 Gal Bio Cuber set up with stock lights. They run for about 8 hours a day. The tank doesnt really cool off lower than 84 at night and hasnt gone higher than 86 in the day.

 

[forsfed50]

82 is the border of stress and possibly death. 72-78 is ideal. i wouldnt
let it get above 80.

 

[creston]

I just hate how it heats up... I will try to cool it some more with ice tonight, maybe if I get it down to about 75 or so it wont rise as high and stay stable around 80.

 

[forsfed50]

fluctuations in temp is not reccommended either though. consistency is one of the ways to be more successful in this hobby. can you regulate your house
temp to say not to exceed 79-80? if so you may be able to use some fans to keep the heat from the lights in check. what kind of lights? enclosed/canopy,
open to air? once you have the warmest point stabilized at 80 or preferrably less get a heater and tune it in to turn on at say 1 degree or 2 less to keep
the constant temp. that will prepare you for when temps drop later this year
as well. the water temp doesnt really sway very quickly in my 75 gal it takes
a couple of days.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by forsfed50
http:///forum/post/3085606
82 is the border of stress and possibly death. 72-78 is ideal. i wouldnt
let it get above 80.
Actualy in the reef it can get up to 90...hobbyists keep their tank at 78 to slow things down. It won't hurt the fish or coral to be at 86. In fact the fish will be happier.

 

[fishstick4sale]

it really wont kill anything, some hot days my tank gets to 86 an stays around 85, now when people say its dangerous and deadly if your temp rise and drop quick thats false. if it moves up slowly within a few hours ur ok now if it moves up within minutes then it can be dangerous but i wouldnt worry about your temps now. but you should look into a chiller to keep it around 78-80 atleast.
i read somewhere, where it said low temps your coral will look full an healthy but grow slow, warmer temps your coral will look awesome too but grow at a faster rate. eh i dunno about that

 

[coral keeper]

Originally Posted by forsfed50
http:///forum/post/3085606
82 is the border of stress and possibly death. 72-78 is ideal. i wouldnt
let it get above 80.
Who on earth told you that??? My 28 gallon SPS/LPS dominated reef with clams gets up to 86F occasionally during the day during summer and the tank was set up for almost 2 years. No I'll effects here. It would get up to 82F during the day on my 180 reefs. No I'll effects here. My 8 gallon biocube would get to 83F or so during the day. No I'll effects here.

 

[creston]

Thank you all for the answers. I was kind of wondering about some of the answers. I have been to Hawaii and the water has been about 76 or so, and I have been to the Keys and the water temp was around 86 so I was wondering why that would be bad in an aquarium. Also the ocean temp changes a degree or two throughout the night. I was able to get my water down to 80 last night. I left the lid open on the canopy to let the heat escape from the lights today. I also set my air at 83 instead of 86. When I get home ill check the temp. I have to take my water to be tested today and hopefully Im ready to add some residents to the tank Right now its just LR and LS.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by creston
http:///forum/post/3086118
Thank you all for the answers. I was kind of wondering about some of the answers. I have been to Hawaii and the water has been about 76 or so, and I have been to the Keys and the water temp was around 86 so I was wondering why that would be bad in an aquarium. Also the ocean temp changes a degree or two throughout the night. I was able to get my water down to 80 last night. I left the lid open on the canopy to let the heat escape from the lights today. I also set my air at 83 instead of 86. When I get home ill check the temp. I have to take my water to be tested today and hopefully Im ready to add some residents to the tank Right now its just LR and LS.

This is exactly my point...some critters do need cooler temps like sea horses for example. However most reef fish like the warmer temps. Hobbyist keep a cooler tank to slow down growth so they can keep an eye out if problems happen, like cyano.
A healthy tank has no problems with the warmer temps, the critters like it. However...the smaller the tank the faster things go wrong, and must be addressed. A 55g is a nice size and it grants a little room for error.
Some coral also prefers cooler temps such as Xenia. So read up on any critter you intend to get and make sure they all can live together under the same heat and water needs.

 

[creston]

Flower - Thanks! Do you or anyone else know a good site that will tell me about each fish, for example the aquarium size, temp etc...

 

[extinct 1ne]

It's a bit high, maybe get it around 78-80.

 

[creston]

I have it down to about 81-82 ill keep watching it to make sure it stays. I left my lid open today I think that helped a lot.

 

[forsfed50]

if this is in fact bad info than it is my fault for believing what i
was told when i set up for coral. in my own defense i just cooled my tank
down instead of risking the lives of my animals. however everybody seems
to keep writing 78 or so. that is what these forums is for to get more
opinions. at least my aparently false info would do no harm. have a nice day.

 

[bullitr]

my tank run 80.5 to 83.1 during the summer and 75 to 78 during winter. i think 84 degree is my max and daily swing should not be more than 3 degrees. i been doing this for 5 years on my reef tank.

 

[bullitr]

Originally Posted by creston
http:///forum/post/3085592
My tank water stays about 84-86 is this to hot for corals and fish? I floated a bag of ice in the water and got it down to 82 the other day, but it went back up to the 84-86 range. I have not heater going at all, the room temp stays about 84 when im gone and 78 when Im home. I cant afford a chiller and I dont want to stick an ugly fan on the top. If I add cool water as a top off everyday should it be ok? Just dont want to fry the little guys. Also its a 29 Gal Bio Cuber set up with stock lights. They run for about 8 hours a day. The tank doesnt really cool off lower than 84 at night and hasnt gone higher than 86 in the day.
you should really invest on a chiller .it not that expensive compared to amount of work you don't have to do. and your livestock will be happy