Temperature swing

[Mike Yaniz]

Hello everyone... I can say i am a newbie at reefing and i had an issue with my temperature last night. I went ahead and placed a fan over my canopy yesterday to lower my temp. It was at 80F and i wanted to lower it some. Well i checked the temp this morning and it was at 74F. Can this one time swing affect my corals and/or fish. Or should i be worried. Thanks for the help!

 

[Brew12]

Hello everyone... I can say i am a newbie at reefing and i had an issue with my temperature last night. I went ahead and placed a fan over my canopy yesterday to lower my temp. It was at 80F and i wanted to lower it some. Well i checked the temp this morning and it was at 74F. Can this one time swing affect my corals and/or fish. Or should i be worried. Thanks for the help!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

Stability is very important to a reef tank but I doubt this will cause an issue. It really will depend on the types of corals you have. People forget that shallow corals can be uncovered at extremely low tides for several hours and be just fine. Some deeper water corals will be much more sensitive. Its something you should monitor and try to avoid but odds are you will be fine.

 

[dylana407]

What is the cause of the temperature swing?

 

[Mike Yaniz]

Thanks Brew12.. I live in miami florida and the past couple weeks have been really hot. My canopy is a closed canopy and noticed its been getting a little hot in there. So yesterday i directed a fan in the canopy and forgot to place it on a timer. I checked the temp this morning and it was within the range at 74F, but the swing was about 6 degrees overnight. I was thinking about a chiller but i really do not have room for it. My other idea is too make holes in the back of the canopy where they cannot be seen and direct a small fan blowing over the lights that turn off and on with the lights. I was just concerned about the coral and fish due to the large swing.
Also, even tho i am in miami florida should i have a heater in my sump? and if so at what temp should i have it at?

Feels nice to be in a friendly hobby. I uploaded a recent picture of my tank. Please be kind it is my first aquarium, but i would like any input. Thanks to you all for your help.

 

[Brew12]

Thanks Brew12.. I live in miami florida and the past couple weeks have been really hot. My canopy is a closed canopy and noticed its been getting a little hot in there. So yesterday i directed a fan in the canopy and forgot to place it on a timer. I checked the temp this morning and it was within the range at 74F, but the swing was about 6 degrees overnight. I was thinking about a chiller but i really do not have room for it. My other idea is too make holes in the back of the canopy where they cannot be seen and direct a small fan blowing over the lights that turn off and on with the lights. I was just concerned about the coral and fish due to the large swing.
Also, even tho i am in miami florida should i have a heater in my sump? and if so at what temp should i have it at?

Feels nice to be in a friendly hobby. I uploaded a recent picture of my tank. Please be kind it is my first aquarium, but i would like any input. Thanks to you all for your help.

Looks great!
Yes, you should have a heater in your sump. I also strongly recommend using a heater controller to prevent a "stuck on" heater failure from cooking your tank. I like to keep my system around 77F.

 

[Mike Yaniz]

Thanks Drew12. I tend to over think things and drive myself crazy. Is there a heater that you can recommend to me that i can purchase on amazon? thx

 

[dylana407]

For many corals, 80F is not the upper threshold. You might want to do a bit of research about your corals. It's best to use a temperature controller.

 

[Brew12]

Thanks Drew12. I tend to over think things and drive myself crazy. Is there a heater that you can recommend to me that i can purchase on amazon? thx

I would say these would be good options.
https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Elec...r=8-2&keywords=aquarium+heater+and+controller
https://www.amazon.com/EHEIM-Jager-...s=aquarium+heater&refinements=p_89:Eheim&th=1

 

[Brew12]

I would also recommend reading the temperature section (actually, the entire thing is great) of this.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

 

[Mike Yaniz]

Thank you daylana and drew12.. I noticed it was an issue when my goniopora started to die off. but then learned these are really hard especially for newbies like me. I will be purchasing the heater and also a clip on fan for my canopy. Thanks.
As you see on the picture of more or less whats inside would you suggest feeding daily? ive been feeding corals and fish every other day. My water parameters are good. My nitrates are just a little high.

 

[Mike Yaniz]

Drew12, the links you sent me.. one is the heater and the other is a controller for the heater correct? i cant just buy one i should get both? thanks

 

[Brew12]

Drew12, the links you sent me.. one is the heater and the other is a controller for the heater correct? i cant just buy one i should get both? thanks

I would get both. Every heater will eventually fail. Often they will fail on and cook your tank. Set the heater for the temp you want to control and then use the controller to turn the heater off if the tank gets too hot. Cheap protection compared to the cost of livestock.

 

[Mike Yaniz]

awesome. thanks again. now i do not feel so dumb asking questions here. and Lord knows i have a lot.

 

[dylana407]

Never feel dumb asking questions even if some people make you look dumb.

 

[dbl]

Mike, you've gotten great advice here. I live across the alley from you on the other coast. So even though it's hot most of the year, as suggested, pick up a heater and controller. It won't kick on all that often but it will keep things a little more stable.

 

[ezell_tonya]

Thanks Brew12.. I live in miami florida and the past couple weeks have been really hot. My canopy is a closed canopy and noticed its been getting a little hot in there. So yesterday i directed a fan in the canopy and forgot to place it on a timer. I checked the temp this morning and it was within the range at 74F, but the swing was about 6 degrees overnight. I was thinking about a chiller but i really do not have room for it. My other idea is too make holes in the back of the canopy where they cannot be seen and direct a small fan blowing over the lights that turn off and on with the lights. I was just concerned about the coral and fish due to the large swing.
Also, even tho i am in miami florida should i have a heater in my sump? and if so at what temp should i have it at?

Feels nice to be in a friendly hobby. I uploaded a recent picture of my tank. Please be kind it is my first aquarium, but i would like any input. Thanks to you all for your help.

Mike I find my temp starts running a little high if I don't have my AC. Ive found just to have peace off mind to run my AC in the house to keep the temp controlled in the house to assist in controlling tank temp. I also have a temp controller. I use the Apex Jr. I keep my temp between 78 and 78.5. Welcome to R2R. I'm a newbie as well. In the hobby for 9 months. I've found the members to be super helpful!

 

[Mike Yaniz]

Thanks a lot to everyone. Got me the heater and controller. Set it to 77F and the tank seems to be happy. I appreciate you all.

 

[VicGon90]

I would get both. Every heater will eventually fail. Often they will fail on and cook your tank. Set the heater for the temp you want to control and then use the controller to turn the heater off if the tank gets too hot. Cheap protection compared to the cost of livestock.

Just how will the controller turn off the heater?? I mean like do both have to be connected or linked the heater and the temperature controller ? I just can't wrap my head around that as to how will it turn off the heater if they are no connected and the heater is a manual heater where it won't turn off unless manually gets turned off

 

[Brew12]

Just how will the controller turn off the heater?? I mean like do both have to be connected or linked the heater and the temperature controller ? I just can't wrap my head around that as to how will it turn off the heater if they are no connected and the heater is a manual heater where it won't turn off unless manually gets turned off

In this case I was referring to a heater with a built in thermostat and a not overly precise controller. If you use different heaters or controllers what you want to do may be different.