Are Our Temps Low?

[tdileo]

Not sure if Chemistry is the correct section but I think it is and figure it can always be moved if not. However I’ve been thinking about the temperatures in our systems. I believe that most people run their tanks around 77/78 (25C). Looking at the most popular locations that corals and fish are brought in from, that’s a lot lower than what is seen in nature. Here are some examples.
Bali, Indonesia typically ranges from 81-84°F. That also goes for Fiji. Hawaii is said to be around 77 in the winter and 82 in the summer. Of course each of these numbers will differ depending on water depth and specific locations. Has anybody actually tried keeping a reef tank at a higher temperature like is normally seen? I’d like to hear some input and I think I will try on my system and see how it goes.

 

[Justfebreezeit]

I run mine at 80, The problem with going to much higher (from what I've read) is that say you run your tank at 84. If something happens and it raises a few degrees the dissolved oxygen in the water becomes a real problem for the fish.

If it raises from 80 to 84 its not a big deal.

 

[tdileo]

I run mine at 80, The problem with going to much higher (from what I've read) is that say you run your tank at 84. If something happens and it raises a few degrees the dissolved oxygen in the water becomes a real problem for the fish.

If it raises from 80 to 84 its not a big deal.

Of course they will eventually fail but theoretically if the temperature probes on a controller and the internal one on the heater would never fail, would it be better for our animals to run tanks at these higher temperatures though? I’m just trying to come up with why we run our tanks so much lower than is found in nature.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I aim for 80. There are differences between tanks and the ocean that make higher temps more risky for most reefers, such as what might happen in a power failure on a warm day, possibly stopping flow and warming the water further.

 

[Sleepydoc]

I aim for 78º in the winter, 80º in the summer. Living in MN with my tank in the basement, it's already hard enough to keep the temp at 78º, and I evaporate almost 1 ½ gallons a day. If I increased it to 80 I'd practically have to hook the tap up to my ATO to keep it filled.

I haven't seen any hard data on temps and coral growth/health; my impression is that most corals will tolerate 78º just fine, given time to acclimate. Fish certainly can. The heater in my QT came unplugged accidentally once and the temp dropped to about 68º. I only noticed when I was feeding them and the water seemed rather cold - the fish seemed perfectly content!

Another advantage of lower temps is higher dissolved oxygen content vs 80 (or 82-84º)