Reef Temperature: A second Look

[GARRIGA]

Can’t recall what temps we kept corals in the 90s and have come to believe 78 the preferred value. Could just be I’ve heard so often that it’s become fact vs current thought process. Below is a live stream by Reef Bum with Jake Adams where he suggested we might be keeping them too cold. Mentions 82-86. I know 84 seems to be tolerated based on what others have mentioned yet considered 86 borderline bleaching event. Curious what those who were around during the halide days recall their temps being and how hot they ran their tanks. As well as those today running cooler LED yet perhaps purposely running hotter than 78 or inadvertently forced to experience warmer waters.

Learned something new. Iron helps defeat dinos. Something I started adding for other reasons during my recent outbreak and perhaps the reason it went away.

 

[The_Paradox]

I still run metal halide and try to hover around 80 degrees. Twenty years ago I remember them being 82-85 pretty much year round until chillers became more common.

 

[GARRIGA]

I still run metal halide and try to hover around 80 degrees. Twenty years ago I remember them being 82-85 pretty much year round until chillers became more common.

Any issues at 85? Recall most ran chillers with halides. Plus best keep pumps external. Everything was about offsetting the heat from those lights yet can’t for the life of me recall what temp most actually ran at

 

[randomfishdude]

I keep my tank at 79 in winter and 82 in summer.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

Jake talked about higher temperatures several times, but I also remember an interview where he gave the water temperature range of the studio. It was low if I remember correctly( Colorado). 76 or so.
Personally, I run tanks in the 76-78 range. It seems like corals want to expel or consume zooxanthellae at higher ranges. I believe there is faster growth, but a higher tendency towards bleaching if something goes awry.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

Also, I don't think the higher temperatures ridding a tank of Dinos was very repeatable.

 

[GARRIGA]

Also, I don't think the higher temperatures ridding a tank of Dinos was very repeatable.

I heard that a few times of using 84 but no clue how often it worked or purely anecdotal and perhaps some other changes why they were defeated.

 

[TX_REEF]

i ran at 80 degrees on the system I had in college and everything was happy as could be.

 

[GARRIGA]

I keep my tank at 79 in winter and 82 in summer.

Any issues at 82 in summer?

 

[The_Paradox]

Any issues at 85? Recall most ran chillers with halides. Plus best keep pumps external. Everything was about offsetting the heat from those lights yet can’t for the life of me recall what temp most actually ran at

Most of the issues were invert related. Corals all did fine except mushrooms.

 

[randomfishdude]

Any issues at 82 in summer?

Nope... not at all. I mainly do the diffrence because it triggers certain species to breed.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

I heard that a few times of using 84 but no clue how often it worked or purely anecdotal and perhaps some other changes why they were defeated.

From what I remember, some of the people it worked for were unable to replicate the results even in the same tank.

 

[fish farmer]

I keep my tank at 79 in winter and 82 in summer.

I do similar now, 78 winter, 80 in the summer, I rarely set the summer temp on the heater now it just runs around 80. When I didn't run air conditioning it would bump to 82.

To me it is more about a potential drastic change, like cooler in the winter in case I lose power....my tank dipped into the upper 60's when I lost power for 12 hours a couple weeks ago, but didn't experience any coral issues. I frequently have upper 80 and 90 degree temps in Vermont now, so the AC is on cool or dry mode, keeping it low 80's during the day.

I lost a tank to a three day 99 degree heat wave, no AC hooked up at the time....that was too hot.