Why Heaters?

[sweetreef]

I been reading on some threads about people and there heaters for me i have never never used a heater in my tanks and as well as my lfs i go to they dont as well i can maby understand if your house is always cold but think of this the ocean always goes threw temp changes it never stay the same i have seen my lfs tanks drop to the low 60s and fish and corals where just fine iam just saying people can save money in not buying them as well saving space in there tanks...My tanks with no heaters only jumps up and down from 76 to 78 and stays that way all the time and as for my house heat i leave it on 70 in the winter months...

 

[sov82]

Why do you think many of the world's coral reefs are dying/receeding or flat out dead? Temperature Change.

 

[thomas712]

Its a matter of keeping things stable in the tank, like salinity, oxygen levels, and trying to prevent any temp shocks to the animals that we keep.
Thomas

 

[infalable]

I keep my house at about 67 degrees. My tank at 80.1. If I dont use the heater then...well you do the math. There is no way to keep a constant temp without the heater. Keep in mind that stressed fish are more suseptable to disiease.

 

[scott9311]

sweetreef... I just posted the following on Monday, so it should show you just how important maintaining a constant temperature is:
'I was away this past weekend, and upon returning yesterday, I noticed my pump was running very loud. I turned it off and put my hand in the sump to pull it out, and I noticed that the water felt very, very, warm. I looked at the temp and it was 92 deg. I immediately turned off my MH's, and gradually added cooler water to try to lower the temp in my tank. The temp started coming down and was around 82 deg by the end of the evening (78-79 deg is normal for my tank). I kept the PH's running all night for flow, but my sump pump was off. But, because of my stupidity, the temp this morning was 72 deg. I failed to realize that my heater was in the sump and wouldn't hold the temp in the tank with the pump off. I immediately noticed my CB and Hippo (and a Peppermint Shrimp) were dead; my Yellow Tang was lying on it's side (but doing better now); my male Perc is still not doing well (but fem seems fine); LB is ok; and GC's are fine. I have yet to spot my Dragonet and RG. (And I just noticed my CB Shrimp lost a front claw.)'
As you can see, the change in temp over a 24 hour period was the killer. Luckily, the remaining fish came around and are doing fine. Even if your tank maintains a constant temp w/out a heater, I think it's worth a few extra dollars to make absolutely sure it does by using a heater.

 

[nm reef]

My display ranges from a low of 76 or so to a high of around 81 depending on the season. Currently the range is more like 78-80 daily. The filtration...sump and 55 gal refugium are in a concrete floored room that is not heated as well as the rest of the house and the temp drops in there so I keep a pair of 300 watt ebo jagers one in the sump and one in the refugium to prevent any temp drops below 76 ... they seldom kick on but when they do its a preventative measure to avoid any serious temperature fluctuations.If I can maintain temp in the back room filtration then maintaining a consistent temp in the display becomes much easier. Eventually I plan to install a decent dual stage chiller to reduce temp swings down to 78-80 year round...until then heaters can be a dependable preventative measure for keeping the temp of the entire system above a low of around 76 degrees.
Does that make sense????:thinking: