Tank Temp
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Crabs McJones
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As long as you're able to keep it 82 and under you should be fine. What I do if my tank temp starts to climb is take a box fan or a fan on a stand and turn it on high and blow it at the tank, this helps bring the temp down a couple degrees in the summer when I cannot turn the A/C on
Otherwise you can get a small clamp on fan from any hardware store or even walmart or target, and have it blow across the waters surface to promote evaporation and that will help cool your tank as well 
jgvergo
Valuable Member
I have a small clamp on fan that is controlled by my Apex. I find it works up to the point when my room temperature get to 82 degrees. It easily reduces the tank temp by 4-5 degrees.As long as you're able to keep it 82 and under you should be fine. What I do if my tank temp starts to climb is take a box fan or a fan on a stand and turn it on high and blow it at the tank, this helps bring the temp down a couple degrees in the summer when I cannot turn the A/C on
I think what you need to be concerned with is temp swings. Let me explain.
If you tank temperature is normally say around 77 and its swinging up to 81.4, then you have a problem. Some corals will not tolerate that and diminish in the long run. If your tank temp is normally around 79 and it got to 81.4, then you don't have much to worry about. Some people run their aquariums around 81 no issues.
If you tank temperature is normally say around 77 and its swinging up to 81.4, then you have a problem. Some corals will not tolerate that and diminish in the long run. If your tank temp is normally around 79 and it got to 81.4, then you don't have much to worry about. Some people run their aquariums around 81 no issues.
I used to run high temps from 79-81 when I got into the hobby years ago. Higher temps = faster metabolism in corals. It also means faster reactions from pests etc.... Now I run my temps from 78-79 in the winter (for more buffer to the "too cold zone') and then drop them to 77-78 in the summer fro more buffer until 82 when I will stress out. As long as your temp swings are less than 3 degrees you should be fine (my temps swings are from 77-80 this week) but anything over 82 is hard on a reef tank, IMO. If you can, Id suggest dropping your set points to give you some wiggle room before the max temp your reef can handle.
Mark Gray
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Well my tank in the garage hit 85 last year no losses have several leathers lots of zoos 1 hammer and 2 SPS I do run a gan blowing across it and tend to loose 4 to 5 gallons of water a day in the summer
biophilia
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It depends what species you keep in your tank, but coral reefs in the wild routinely reach 82-84F on average worldwide (per Ron Shimek). It's not uncommon for the Great Barrier reef to reach the upper 80's for brief periods during the summer, for example -- though bleaching events there have been associated with prolonged temps in the 88-89 range. Many of the corals common in the trade originate from the Indo-Pacific which commonly sees temps of 85-89F. Aiming for 82-85 as an upper limit is probably a safe bet. Temps in the mid 70s are probably more stressful to many of the species we keep than temps in the low 80s.
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