temp confusion

[mysterybox]

Dear moderators & successful SPS keepers:

I realize that most tanks are in the 78-82 range, so I'm not sure if a 2 degree swing from 80 really matters as long as all things are stable, but lately, I have been bombarted with experienced keepers stating 76-78 is the way to go (Including Sprung & Delbeek's The Reef Aquarium Volume 3)

On the other hand, Eric B. IS THE CORAL BREEDING GURU! He breeds them from spawning in captivity & has been very successful for many, many years. What do you think?

Here's my post to Eric:



Dear Eric,

I really liked your interview & Q&A on 120! It was very enlightening, and it was great to hear what your passion was. Also, I have a question on temp. For the last 2 years, i have kept my temp at 80 degrees 24/7. This has been very easy. While my lights are on, my sump fan keeps it at 80F, & at night, my heater keeps the temp at 80. I was thinking it might be better to let it swing to 78 degrees at night. I was told that stonies do better at a slightly lower temp, & the 2 point swing would closely mimic nature. I would keep the temp at 80F during the day. What do you think?


Ralph



Eric Borneman


There are relatively few tropical coral reefs that are in the 70's except perhaps slightly more subtropical ones during winter or those that happen to exist in areas of persistent upwelling or colder currents. Few of the animals, especially corals, are collected from these areas. Temperatures on the reefs where are animals are collected are generally always above 80 and generally below 88. Daily swings of from 0-12 degrees F are not uncommon and can happen several times a day. Temperature is truly not one of the things to worry about in tanks unless you can say what strains of zooxanthellae are present, where the corals were collected from, what species (and thus their environmental sensitivity), synergistic stressors (as corals do well near their upper thermal limits) and to ensure that temperatures do not exceed, say, 90F for extended periods of time. A swing from mid70's to 90 (for example, a heater malfunction) that lasts for a day will probably cause problems for some animals if they are acclimated to a constant temperature. The problems with losing animals from temperature related events is what happens when they die in a closed system and most of the mass tank losses from such events is probably not a direct result of high temps alone. But, I also feel that given the multitiude of things that can go wrong in tanks and the fact that they are tanks withouth the inherent variability of the ocean, that pushing temps to the uppper limit where they might be happiest in the wild may not be ideal in tanks. So, I think 82-84 is right where you have some safety margin in upper thermal limits and within the range where most tropical reef corals and those collected for the trade do best.

[aquarius77]

I would follow Erics advice to you, it makes sense. I have been running 78-80 and stressing when it gets higher, i will relax now.

[rlabriola]

i run my tank at a consistant 80 to 82 during the summer and 78 to 80 during the winter.

i do have a chiller and an aquacontroller 3 which allows me to assign seasonal temps. this option is pretty cool.