Water temp

rferraro21 · Apr 2, 2017

New to fish tanks, live in Florida so it's pretty hot, we keep the house at 77, my tank is between 80 to 82 usually. Is that an ok temp for fish and coral? If I remove the glass cover will that cause the temp to go down a little?

rferraro21 · Apr 2, 2017

Also are there any risks with removing the cover besides the obvious free Willie situations, or my lights somehow falling in?

thaitopher · Apr 2, 2017

Once you add a light strong enough to support corals your temp will probably rise another several degrees

thaitopher · Apr 2, 2017

Best to keep it around 78 generally

rferraro21 · Apr 2, 2017

Any way to cool it besides a chiller or lowering the house temp

Bradley Crocker · Apr 2, 2017

A fan blowing across the surface of the tank.

Bradley Crocker · Apr 2, 2017

And you could do a screen top diy here http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/sumps-tanks-refugiums/diy-screen-tops.html

Or custom for your bow front from Artfully Acrylic, or a number of others. https://reefbuilders.com/2016/04/11/clearview-aquarium-lids-from-artfully-acrylic/

The screen (or no top) will reduce the temperature a few degrees, by increasing evaporation.

Andrewalex11 · Apr 2, 2017

Be aware that keeping a tank without a lid that is 80-82 degrees will cause rapid evaporation and having an ATO to keep stable sailinity is a must, a tank that size will drive you up the wall if you try to sit there with a 1 gallon jug topping it off several times throughout the day. Another thing to consider is that if you don't use a chiller and you use a fan across the top of the water or run it without a heater is the fact that your temperature might swing +/- 1 or 2 degrees and though for our hardy corals this is a minimum stress and won't effect much but can have a big impact on some other corals so pay attention to at least trying to keep the temp consistent at best and be careful with what corals you add.

Side note I've read a few articles where there has been reports of faster growth at temperatures that are stable at 80-82 degrees, but that's all speculation.

PatW · Apr 2, 2017

I dive reefs in the Caribbean often. Temperatures in the low eighties are common on heathy reefs. However, if it gets over 84 degrees, you risk coral bleaching. Many people prefer keeping their reefs at 78 degrees. It gives a margin of error. You can get a controller and have it turn on a fan when the tank gets warm and turn on a heater when the tank gets cold. Since you are cooling the tank by evaporation, it is best to have an auto top off. Actually, it is a good idea to have an auto top off in any reef tank.