Water Temperature Fluctuations to Mimic Seasons?

[Kal93]

I've been thinking about mimicking seasons in my tank by allowing my tank temperature to fluctuate every 4 months by 2 degrees (i.e. December = 74 degrees, March = 76 degrees, July = 78 degrees). Has anyone tried this? I know that coral and fish spawning is tied to the seasons, so for breeding purposes this might be important, but for the general reefer are there any potential advantages/improvements that could be induced by mimicking seasons?

 

[Doctorgori]

Just my opinion but from a vid I saw I thought the photo period and/or solunar lighting was the main variable. I’ll follow for the education. Sounds plausible temps being a key variable, why not?

As for temperature variations being negative; not sure as until recently I never bothered heating anything over 100g, relied just on ambient room temps and never noticed anything negative really (fluctuations over 24hrs never exceeded 2-3 degrees F) ...again large tank, midwest USA.

 

[dvgyfresh]

I think it would be interesting to see the behavioral changes , but I think for the healthiest fish just keeping it stable is proven to work. I’m going to relate this to snakes : you can keep them warm / same temp all year with no changes, but if you lower the temp in the winter they can go into hibernation mode and accept food only once every month or so (if eat at all). It is also important for breeding to mimic the seasons

 

[X-37B]

I think it would be interesting to see the behavioral changes , but I think for the healthiest fish just keeping it stable is proven to work. I’m going to relate this to snakes : you can keep them warm / same temp all year with no changes, but if you lower the temp in the winter they can go into hibernation mode and accept food only once every month or so (if eat at all). It is also important for breeding to mimic the seasons

Agree. The ocean is vastly different than our tanks.
Interesting idea but im keeping mine stable at 79-81 year round as it has ways worked for me.
Same with all the other parameters I keep, stability wins.
I keep snakes and their temp and humidity requirments need to be very stable.
Different species require considerably different temps and humidity levels to survive.

 

[dvgyfresh]

Agree. The ocean is vastly different than our tanks.
Interesting idea but im keeping mine stable at 79-81 year round as it has ways worked for me.
Same with all the other parameters I keep, stability wins.
I keep snakes and their temp and humidity requirments need to be very stable.
Different species require considerably different temps and humidity levels to survive.

Agree on all points, I bring up the seasonal changes because I have bred false water cobras and giving them the seasonal changes makes them “active” for breeding , rather than one eating the other lol

 

[vetteguy53081]

I personally would not. There are certain rules and requirements to successful husbandry of fish and coral and one is . . . . . S T A B I L I T Y . Keeping it stable is og higher importance than trying to duplicate lunar schedules.

 

[Mical]

Apex Classic Dashboard has seasonal tables fo sunlight, moonlight to coincide with seasonal changes but their temp tables show 78.5 year round - just an FYI

 

[burningmime]

I personally would not. There are certain rules and requirements to successful husbandry of fish and coral and one is . . . . . S T A B I L I T Y . Keeping it stable is og higher importance than trying to duplicate lunar schedules.

That depends on what your goal is, though. If you're trying to get corals to spawn/breed, you might be able to tolerate some losses due to unstable conditions. Also, you'll probably want to adjust these things slowly as to not shock anyone.

 

[vetteguy53081]

That depends on what your goal is, though. If you're trying to get corals to spawn/breed, you might be able to tolerate some losses due to unstable conditions. Also, you'll probably want to adjust these things slowly as to not shock anyone.

Especially in a mixed reef or having specimens from cold water and warm water regions. . . this is NOT advised. His goal is clear- to duplicate the ocean cycle per season. No one does that.

 

[Kal93]

Of course; stability is key to a successful reef. By no means am I suggesting playing around with salinity or nutrient levels. Temperature, however, seems to be more flexible (again, of course, through gradual, small changes, not large swings every day/month). For instance, in my system, I have a 1 degree shift throughout the day. On this forum, I've seen the majority of successful reefs held between 76-80 degrees and a few held at cooler or warmer temperatures.

My goal isn't to replicate the seasons per se. I haven't come across any threads where someone has tried to promote coral/fish health and was wondering whether there could be potential benefits to nature-like temperature shifts. One potential benefit I mentioned was spawning; others could be reduced metabolism (which could increase fish lifespan, although this could compromise coral growth); periodic lower water temperatures could increase oxygen concentration in the water, etc.

In other words, I'm just (mildly) questioning the dogma for the sake of curiosity

 

[Gablami]

I would do it to save on heating and cooling costs. In the summer around 79-80, in the winter around 77-78. I don’t think there’s much harm to that.

 

[Matthew Hood]

I personally would not. There are certain rules and requirements to successful husbandry of fish and coral and one is . . . . . S T A B I L I T Y . Keeping it stable is og higher importance than trying to duplicate lunar schedules.

I would disagree there are rules and requirements. Are things in the hobby the same as they were 10 years ago? People that try and test push the hobby forward.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I would disagree there are rules and requirements. Are things in the hobby the same as they were 10 years ago? People that try and test push the hobby forward.

So you’re saying that changing par and moving around light schedules quarterly is a healthy regimen although light affects algae, food sources for some coral and the results are often slow growth, poor coloration and even mortalities.

 

[Proteus Meep]

There has been at least one scientific research project carried out which shows coral's are hardier to stressor events with less chance of bleaching and so on if fluctuations in temperature are allowed to occur, as opposed to corals that are kept in very stable temperature environments

The main goal of the research if i remember correctly ( it was about 10 years ago I was reading the research papers) Is to find/create these hardier corals/zooxanthelae combo's to then help repopulate with these hardier specimens the decimated areas of reef due to bleaching events due to climate change

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger"

 

[homer1475]

So you’re saying that changing par and moving around light schedules quarterly is a healthy regimen although light affects algae, food sources for some coral and the results are often slow growth, poor coloration and even mortalities.

Did you even read the OP? Where did he mention changing any lighting? Pulling things out of your !@#$? Ever wonder why apex includes seasonal lighting schedules for all over the world? You can mimic any lighting from anywhere in the world.

The op wants to mimic seasonal TEMP changes, to see if he can get corals to spawn. No where did he mention changing anything besides temp.

I say go for it, nothing would ever progress in this hobby if someone didn't push the boundaries.

FWIW my tank fluctuates daily between 78 and 81, and I have yet to see corals spawn.

 

[Kal93]

So you’re saying that changing par and moving around light schedules quarterly is a healthy regimen although light affects algae, food sources for some coral and the results are often slow growth, poor coloration and even mortalities.

I'm not interested in changing light schedule, nutrient levels, or salinity--stability is a good thing. I'm only questioning the whether there are potential benefits [perhaps coral/fish spawning and increased fish lifespan (increased oxygen saturation and decreased metabolism in cooler periods)] if slight, gradual temperature fluctuations are implemented. The only negative I can see is reduced coral growth in the cooler periods, but perhaps this rebounds in the warmer periods.

I'm going to try this. Most likely there will be no noticeable difference, but I'm curious

 

[vetteguy53081]

I'm not interested in changing light schedule, nutrient levels, or salinity--stability is a good thing. I'm only questioning the whether there are potential benefits [perhaps coral/fish spawning and increased fish lifespan (increased oxygen saturation and decreased metabolism in cooler periods)] if slight, gradual temperature fluctuations are implemented. The only negative I can see is reduced coral growth in the cooler periods, but perhaps this rebounds in the warmer periods.

I'm going to try this. Most likely there will be no noticeable difference, but I'm curious

I missed and thought it included light schedule
We experience daily temp changes as soon as lights go out , so I don’t see anything significant happening as far as spawn or response to seasonal temperature schedules

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Here's an interesting article discussing temperate changes and other factors in inducing coral spawning:

Coral mass spawning predicted by rapid seasonal rise in ocean temperature

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2016.0011

" Our findings suggest that a rapid increase in SST provides the dominant proximate cue for coral mass spawning over large geographical scales. "

 

[josephxsxn]

My friends tank has an RBTA that when the tank gets over about 81f it will split. Otherwise it tends to just hangout.

 

[Kal93]

Here's an interesting article discussing temperate changes and other factors in inducing coral spawning:

Coral mass spawning predicted by rapid seasonal rise in ocean temperature

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2016.0011

" Our findings suggest that a rapid increase in SST provides the dominant proximate cue for coral mass spawning over large geographical scales. "

My friends tank has an RBTA that when the tank gets over about 81f it will split. Otherwise it tends to just hangout.

Very interesting ... maybe I need a rapid rise (5 degrees over 1-2 weeks) to encourage spawning then. Thanks for the reference and experience!