Cold front in Florida affecting my tank.

[Babygecko1233]

We dont usually need a heater because I'm in Florida so the tank usually stays between 75°-80° . well today it's 52° outside. When I woke up I noticed how cold my house was and went to check the temp..it was 66° ... I was just looking at my tank and noticed all my pulsing Xenia's were pulsing excruciatingly slow..or little to non...which is NOT normal for our tank..even during major water changes..they don't care...so I called out to my husband and was like babe...something is wrong with the tank...we ran perimeters everythings on point...but the temp of the tank has dropped to 70° ....so I've concluded they need their tank temp to be brought back to normal...we have a small led strip light that puts off a lot of heat..we use it on out hermit crab holding tank "hermit jail" ahaha... We put it on the glass top and the tanks temp raised 2° . I don't want to invest in a heater because Id only use it for a couple days...or at least till the cold fronts over ...what temp would the tank have to drop to kill the tank. Deff dont want to lose all out hard work over a freaking 2 day cold front.

 

[Awesome Dennis]

Turn the house heat up or run to petco and buy a cheapo heater.

 

[UCF Alum]

I live in Florida and my heater kicks on year round. You don’t want to invest in one? Go to Petsmart. They have Ehiem heaters that will set you back a mere $25, roughly, depending on the size of your tank.

 

[Brett newell]

Good morning,
I would recommend that you buy a heater. It's more for consistency than anything else. I use the aqueon heaters in all of my tanks. And they're pretty cheap. You can get them on Amazon for about 20$. In my opinion even the swing between 75 and 80 is too much. Sometimes you can also find heaters used on Craigslist for cheap.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Petco/petsmart has relatively inexpensive heaters that you could get just in the event of an emergency. Yeah you'd barely ever use it, but id rather have it and not need it, then need it and not have it

 

[GatorScott]

Where in Florida are you? If you’re around central fl. Most of the shops around me have cobalt neo therm heaters. I’ve had nothing but great results from them. I use a heater year round here but because I keep my house at 73

 

[5altkreep]

+1 invest in at least one heater.
Its not worth risking your tank over $25. Also nice to have if you ever have an emergency and need to make up a bunch of water quick.

 

[olecaptainj]

You still should have a heater. Central Florida gets very cold, no way I would live up there and not have a heater on the tank.

I’d say those from southern Lake O and south to the keys and also closer to the coast don’t really need a heater. The interior portions get colder than the coastal area.

 

[Ento-Reefer]

Just buy the heater and keep it unplugged in the warmer months. It will be cheap insurance and your animals will thank you.

 

[Roggio]

I live in Orlando. Not having a heater is irresponsible and cruel to your inhabitants.

 

[mtraylor]

Its hard to say what corals will tolerate big temp swings. Most corals when shipped go through big temp swings. I guess it depends on the health of the coral and the type of coral. As everyone has suggested. Its probably best to invest in a heater.

+1

Also right now. Dr Foster and Smith has 25% off regular priced items that qualify. Heaters are a good backup policy for you.

Happy Reefing.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

We live in Florida and we have a few heaters that we hang on to in case the temp drops. It's always a good to be prepared. Being that it might cost 25 to 30 dollars is well worth the health of the tank from temp swings IMO.

 

[Babygecko1233]

Thanks guys. On my way to the store now. I'm in south Florida lol. Its crazy for it to be 52° outside

 

[olecaptainj]

Thanks guys. On my way to the store now. I'm in south Florida lol. Its crazy for it to be 52° outside

Your not in South Florida.

Sorry, incoming rant:
I don’t understand why people claim to be in so fla when they are in central or north Florida. It’s a night and day difference....


I can assure you it isn’t 52 anywhere near the temp in sought Florida currently.

 

[DSC reef]

Thanks guys. On my way to the store now. I'm in south Florida lol. Its crazy for it to be 52° outside

Doesn't matter where your at or the "actual temperature". Getting a heater and being prepared is all that matters. Plus, I'm sure it feels like 52 in South Florida!

 

[Legal Reefer]

+1...It will only come on when needed as water temp drops. I would leave it set and plugged in at all times. Better safe than sorry. When you get a heater you may also want to invest in a controller in case the heater ever fails so your tank doesn't over heat. In colder climate areas others use two heaters and a controller.

 

[elisa h]

I live in Tampa fl and keep a heater plugged in at all times. Just for stability. I’d get one for this winter and also so you don’t have to worry about keeping your house at a certain temp.

 

[Jason_1990]

Yeah I'm in Tampa fl also an my heater comes on often. But I keep my place at 73.... last night I flipped the heat on at 70 I don't want there to be to big of a difference between tank temp an room temp. I figure 5-8 degree in difference my heater can make up for it.

 

[GatorScott]

Thanks guys. On my way to the store now. I'm in south Florida lol. Its crazy for it to be 52° outside

Get the neo therm Heater because atleast when it’s not in use it’ll tell you your tanks temp also