SPS Temperature Range Poll

[hiepatitis]

What is the target temperature for SPS keepers tanks?

[Brewen]

The controller is set up chiller on 80.5 heater on 79.5 chiller off 80 heater off 79.9. It is tough to keep any cooler with the warmer months and my lights. JMHO

[Nuuze]

Let me start from my old lighting...

When I had 2 150w / 4 39w T5's I had a 1/10 chiller that I had set to 80, so it turned on at 81 and off at 79. It ran every couple hours a day while the MH were on for about 15-20 minutes at a time. This is with the house temps around 79-80 degrees.

When I upgraded to 2 250w / 4 54w T5's the 1/10 couldn't hang anymore, it would run longer than 20-30 minutes at a time when it came on, even with a fan on blowing from one end to the other of the tank. So I replaced the 1/10 to a 1/4 chiller.

With the 1/4 chiller and the new lights the chiller came on 10-15 minutes at a time, on at 81 and off at 79. But it was coming on more often like every hour or so.

Couple a weeks ago I decided to play around with the temp settings and changed it to 81 on the chiller so it comes on at 82 and off at 80. Well, since the change now the chiller only comes on maybe once or twice a day now. So far everything is happy in my tank and no visible stress. It's funny how 1 degree can do that, my tank is pretty steady around 80-81 during the day and 79-80 at night right now. Hopefully this will help on the energy bill and the chiller only needs to be on, on the warmer days. HTH.

[trueblackpercula]

I think in nature the range is 72 to 77
Michael

[Horace]

There have been alot of discussions about temp, and what we should go for. Actually in nature the temp can swing up to close to 90 degrees in some reefs. However, I dont think you can compare our corals to those situations. Here is the problem, just because SOME corals can withstand that, does not mean that ALL corals can. The corals that can withstand that have grown accustomed to that over thousands of years. For example, there are some who will show you pictures of exposed reefs and say "look, these SPS can live while exposed to air/heat for hours". I challenge pretty much anyone here to expose thier corals to metal halide w/ no water for even 1-2 hours. My guess is I would have no takers. Again, the corals that can withstand that have grown accustomed to that for a long time, and all the ones that couldnt have died, and now only the ones who can are left. Anyway, all I can say is, for me, I do not push the envelope when it comes to stressors. Am I perhaps making my corals a bit more sensative to a problem should one arrise, perhaps, but Im not about to let my tank get to the high 80s or expose them to the halides for hours just because some reefs do it in nature.

[wentreefgirl]

My chiller is set on 80. In the eves during the summer it stays pretty much around 79. The hottest its gotten is 83.

[Casshern]

72-75 for me. But as of late it's been bouncing up as high as 82. Damn summer

[gws3]

79-81.5 with only canopy fans. has been working for me since the chiller broke.

[RichConley]

Originally posted by Horace
There have been alot of discussions about temp, and what we should go for. Actually in nature the temp can swing up to close to 90 degrees in some reefs. However, I dont think you can compare our corals to those situations. Here is the problem, just because SOME corals can withstand that, does not mean that ALL corals can. The corals that can withstand that have grown accustomed to that over thousands of years. For example, there are some who will show you pictures of exposed reefs and say "look, these SPS can live while exposed to air/heat for hours". I challenge pretty much anyone here to expose thier corals to metal halide w/ no water for even 1-2 hours. My guess is I would have no takers. Again, the corals that can withstand that have grown accustomed to that for a long time, and all the ones that couldnt have died, and now only the ones who can are left. Anyway, all I can say is, for me, I do not push the envelope when it comes to stressors. Am I perhaps making my corals a bit more sensative to a problem should one arrise, perhaps, but Im not about to let my tank get to the high 80s or expose them to the halides for hours just because some reefs do it in nature.

The same could be said about the mid 70s.


My temperatures have been anywhere from 71 to 90 this summer. I haven't lost anything.

Again, the corals that can withstand that have grown accustomed to that for a long time,

So true, which is why it blows my mind that people try to keep temp stable.

[RichConley]

Originally posted by Casshern
72-75 for me. But as of late it's been bouncing up as high as 82. Damn summer

Why that low? Theres not a single tropical reef that has that sort of temperature. You're severely retarding coral growth.

[MiddletonMark]

Originally posted by RichConley
My temperatures have been anywhere from 71 to 90 this summer. I haven't lost anything.

And do the corals look good?

After a while, it's hard to go on conclusions from a tank that I've never seen a pic of.

[MiddletonMark]

Originally posted by RichConley
Why that low? Theres not a single tropical reef that has that sort of temperature. You're severely retarding coral growth.

There isn't a single reef?

What about Fiji, where it's in the mid 70's most of the year?

[or so Walt says ... ]

Originally posted by Walt Smith
Dear All,
It seems we are all at both ends of the field here. A couple of things to point out / remember. I am basing my comments on 16 years experience in the South Pacific (Tonga and Fiji) where the water temp for most of the year is mid 70’s at 8 ft – 20 ft. where most of this stuff is collected. During our summer months, if we are unfortunate to get hit by “hot spots� (traceable on the NOAA maps from their site) the temp can reach into the low 90’s and most of the coral dies or becomes bleached. In 1999 – 2000 season we lost over 90% of the entire coral reef on the eastern side of the Island and in most of the northern group (Yasawas) because of these hot spots which can be very discriminative with some reefs bleaching and less than a mile away everything is OK (or most of it) and there is really no telling where these spots will hit from year to year. Just last year I lost almost all of the corals on my farm racks spread over 7 different sites and while we monitored the temps bi-weekly some spots hit 92 (60 feet down) and others only hit 88 …. Still all died off. The racks we were able to move to much lower water had a higher success rate but some did still die. The racks we were not able to move had almost 100% mortality and the dance goes on from year to year as this now seems to be a regular annual occurring event. Dr. Bruce Carlson comes down almost every year to monitor some of the reefs he has labeled and we work together as he sees the same phenomena occurring while we all scratch our heads. It is because of his research and our daily observations that we are now beginning to understand more about the bleaching events that we can not control as we sadly just watch Mother Nature take its course.
Now, I’m just a dumb coral farmer and collector from Fiji and not a scientist but please consider these points.
• I have seen a lot of reference to Caribbean temps. How many corals do you have in your tank from this region …? None! How many species of Acro grow in this region …? Few compared to Fiji and Tonga which is where most of the corals in your tank come from.
• Fiji and Tonga are considered sub-tropical zones and you actually have to where a jacket in Tonga during the winter months and the water is freezing. I have spent up to 5 hours per day in this water and I usually come out blue.
• If you have managed to acclimate the corals in your tank to the low 80’s and they are doing fine then great I don’t doubt this but please remember that you are skating on the edge with this temperature thing.
• Your corals may grow faster but they have hollow legs and have accelerated growth leaving weaker structure. This may be acceptable in a home aquarium but reeks havoc on the reef as corals shoot up and break off under their own weight.
• I have nothing to gain by telling you the truth about the water temps where I have worked and lived for the past 16 years but you can argue that 80 – 82 works best for you and if it does great. However, I do think that some of the references to stability are also important points to consider.
• Will your corals die at 80 - 82 … probably not. Is it the natural conditions at which they occur in nature … defiantly not.
• Keep in mind that the corals from Indonesia are a different matter where the water IS warmer but I still recommend mid to high 70’s as a medium range to keep your mix well and happy.

Again, my opinions are just based on years of experience and I do not have any books to sell just friendly advice to offer.
Hope this helps clear a few things up or you can just take me out back and shoot me.
Forums like this are very good for sharing information and I hope you all do well with your captive reef at whatever temp works best for you.
Best to all,
Walt

[Deepsea2005]

I voted for 79-80
However, it's never happened in my tank.
My 300g newest tank, which is running since last September 2006,
has this specs ever since.
Winter and Spring: 78-79.5
Summer 79-83

[Scuba Dog]

It's more a matter of electrical and gas usage for me in the summer I keep the tank around 82, and the winter I keep it around 76 to 78.

[Wazzel]

Summer 80-82
winter 78-80

No chiller, just fans. In the winter I need to use a heater to keep the temp from falling to much at night.

[Paulairduck]

Originally posted by RichConley
The same could be said about the mid 70s.


My temperatures have been anywhere from 71 to 90 this summer. I haven't lost anything.



So true, which is why it blows my mind that people try to keep temp stable.

I have to say you have the hardiest reef, that temp swing would probably kill everything in my tank, I hit 84 this summer, when I forgot to plug in my chiller and I lost a real nice mille colony, and thing's were looking bad. I run my tank @ 79-80, and chiller is set @ on 80.5 off @ 80, heater kick's on 79 off @ 80, with the difference in the controllers I see 78 to 81 @ various times.

[aquarius77]

I run my SPS reef 77-78. I had the temp jacked up thinking i would up metabolisim and get some insane growth and i ran into all kinds of problems.

[jmkins]

Originally posted by RichConley
My temperatures have been anywhere from 71 to 90 this summer. I haven't lost anything.

I just lost my 3yr old reef that constantly had a 4 degree daily swing between 78-80 in winter and 80-84 in summer. I recently went on vacation and had my tanksitter shut off my AC. When I got back my tank was at 86 after the lights were off for around 8hrs, I'm guessing that the tank hit 88 or 89. Not only did I lose 20/22 sps colonies or frags I also lost 2 fish.

What is your secret and why do so many other reefers have problems when they have drastic swings in temp? Over what period does your drastic temp differential happen? Given the success that most sps keepers have had by keeping their temps regulated, and given my recent problems, I would suggest at the very least trying to minimize temp swings. Whether or not that causes adaptation and can lead to loss from an equipment failure there is plenty of safeguards that can be put into a tank to minimize problems. Might as well err on the side of caution with such a potentially devastating variable.

[GSMguy]

i lost a ton of stuff at the begining of the summer now i have the aquacontroller jr and fans keeping me from 77-82 and its working great the AC was off last week for a couple days tank hit 85 no losses.

[silvers]

look at water temps in the keys right now almost 90. same for fiji and there are drastic temp swings that come with the currents.

[danskim]

I'm at 81-83.

[Fliger]

I'm between 77 & 79. I've had wider ranges and done fine - but I feel comfortable here. My chiller kicks on at 79 - takes it to 77 and repeat. I read a thread, I believe from Teco saying that if you don't give your chiller ample time to cool/settle - it can damage the chiller, so making the range any tighter might be dangerous. They also did some studies with temperature ranges and the 2 degree swing was not harmful to corals. Not sure if they saw negative results with wider swings.

Originally posted by MiddletonMark
And do the corals look good?

After a while, it's hard to go on conclusions from a tank that I've never seen a pic of.

Can you talk to the RC power that be? I have some people on ignore and when someone quotes the "ignored" it shows up on my screen. Good for the occasional entertainment however.

[RichConley]

Originally posted by Paulairduck
I have to say you have the hardiest reef, that temp swing would probably kill everything in my tank, I hit 84 this summer, when I forgot to plug in my chiller and I lost a real nice mille colony, and thing's were looking bad. I run my tank @ 79-80, and chiller is set @ on 80.5 off @ 80, heater kick's on 79 off @ 80, with the difference in the controllers I see 78 to 81 @ various times.

Those temp swings would kill everything in your tank....


but thats because you keep your temp stable. Stability in temperature does nothing but cripple your corals ability to thermoregulate.

[Kinetic]

My tank was at a stable 79-80, but then I heard that I could try dropping the temp a bit to perhaps get better growth. Just a try, I put my temp down to 76-77, and without scientific procedure, my tank took off in terms of growth and color! Nothing else changed, as far as I know.

On my next tank I will run 76 degrees on average.

[HDAlien]

In winter my tank runs stable at about 75.5 (ACIIIpro). During the summer it fluctuates from 75.5 - 77.2. My chiller kicks in at 77.2 and brings the tank down to 76.3 and the cycle repeats. I can get the system down to 75.5 during the summer if I open up the house in the morning before it gets hot.