55g reef tank at 82 degrees?

[ibanezboy]

Hey everyone,
I was wondering if I could get away with running my 55gallon reef tank at 82 degrees and not purchase a chiller. I actually had one for a while, but for a variety of reasons, I just don't want to use it anymore. The temp in my tank goes to is 82-83 degrees by mid day with no chilling.

will this have a significantly deleterious effect on coral... most of what i have is mushrooms, brains, and a few sps frags.

anyone with any experience or opinion on this?
also... does that mean I should heat the tank at night? .... otherwise it will drop to 76 degrees or so.

thanks
joe

[stingythingy45]

Ok,read this 3 times and still don't know what you're asking.
The only thing I'm sure of is you have a 55 gallon reef tank.
Have no idea how your tank is reaching 82-83 degrees with no heater....perhaps lights?.
And you're wonder if a temp. swing of 8 degrees is Ok for coral.
I would have to say YES!

[phish guy]

82 is fine. most natural reefs are around there anyway. but as far as letting it drop to 76 at night and then bring it back up to 82, thats to much change for 1 day. try keeping it round 80-82 all the time.

[fatrip]

i would say put a fan on your lights and maybe some evapoarative cooling on your sump with a fan. an 8 degree swing from night and day is very bad, put a heater on at night... it will start to stress your corals and they wont be doing to well, esp your sps. and your fish will not like this as well.

[samb]

It seems keeping your tank warmer at night may be a bigger concerns as temperatures drop in the evenings (especially in the East). My 60g drops to about 78 at night and climbs to 82 during the day. I have my heater set at 76, and do not run a chiller.

During the peak of the summer, I''ve had temperatures swings of 77 - 83, with no negative effects on the fish or corals..

[MalHavoc]

82 is fine. If it was me, I'd use a heater set at 80 or so, and most of the time it'd stay off.