What's the Lowest Temperature Your Corals Survived?

Dana Riddle · Dec 10, 2017

We got 11" of snow here in Atlanta and power was out for 37 hours. I was totally unprepared - no generator, battery backup, etc. The temperature in the tank dropped to 66.5 degrees F and there will be some (perhaps all) corals lost. So, what's the lowest temp your corals have survived?
I've got plenty of R2R alerts to take care of, so please bear with me while I get things sorted out. Thanks!

jsker · Dec 10, 2017

That is disheartening, here's to you getting lucky!

Fishfinder · Dec 10, 2017

I got down to 71.0 once with no loss

DSC reef · Dec 10, 2017

Sorry to hear Dana. I hit 74-73 last night and all seems good.

Zack K · Dec 10, 2017

Wisconsin Cold weather here set in and my tank was between 70-74 the past few weeks. Just threw in a second heater and back to 79 Mark. Everything is still happy and healthy though.

Dana Riddle · Dec 10, 2017

I transposed some numbers - low temp was 65.6, not 66.5.

Schweezy · Dec 10, 2017

Flow is more important than temp in some cases.

Dana Riddle · Dec 10, 2017

Schweezy said:
Flow is more important than temp in some cases.

Wish there had been some flow, the pumps would have generated some heat.

Pinback · Dec 10, 2017

here's to hoping they pull through. you all did get a lot of snow. i hope you get to enjoy some of that snow though!

andrewkw · Dec 10, 2017

If it gets any colder you might want to think about removing the corals and putting them in bags. It may be easier to keep the bags warm then your entire tank. You could always bring them out to the car if you get really desperate.

Additionally if you still have no power and need oxygen in your tank you can use hydrogen peroxide and potatoes. I've actually kept fish alive like this for a couple of days when I bought fish out of town and somehow lost the air pump I brought with me to keep them alive until I got him. king of diy has a video on youtube but basically all you need is the hydrogen peroxide, a water bottle, potatoes, airline tube and if possible an airstone.

mcarroll · Dec 10, 2017

Dana Riddle said:
We got 11" of snow here in Atlanta and power was out for 37 hours. I was totally unprepared - no generator, battery backup, etc. The temperature in the tank dropped to 66.5 degrees F and there will be some (perhaps all) corals lost. So, what's the lowest temp your corals have survived?
I've got plenty of R2R alerts to take care of, so please bear with me while I get things sorted out. Thanks!

I'm not that familiar with the area, but I'm kinda doubting that anyone down there was ready for 11" of snow! Wow!

Thankfully I haven't been through a cold or hot spell to test my corals in that way. (They've been tested in numerous other ways!)

Good luck!!!

Dana Riddle · Dec 10, 2017

mcarroll said:
I'm not that familiar with the area, but I'm kinda doubting that anyone down there was ready for 11" of snow! Wow!

Thankfully I haven't been through a cold or hot spell to test my corals in that way. (They've been tested in numerous other ways!)

Good luck!!!

Thanks! Yeah, I heard (unofficially) that the record for 24-hour snowfall in Atlanta was beaten by an inch or so. Some corals were losing tissue this morning, others appeared unhappy, while others didn't seem to care that the temp was that low. Keeping my fingers crossed.

mcarroll · Dec 10, 2017

[Crossed Fingers]

Dana Riddle · Dec 10, 2017

andrewkw said:
If it gets any colder you might want to think about removing the corals and putting them in bags. It may be easier to keep the bags warm then your entire tank. You could always bring them out to the car if you get really desperate.

Additionally if you still have no power and need oxygen in your tank you can use hydrogen peroxide and potatoes. I've actually kept fish alive like this for a couple of days when I bought fish out of town and somehow lost the air pump I brought with me to keep them alive until I got him. king of diy has a video on youtube but basically all you need is the hydrogen peroxide, a water bottle, potatoes, airline tube and if possible an airstone.

It never occurred to me to take those corals that I could out, bag them, and put them in the truck. Good idea! Thanks!

prhoades2 · Dec 11, 2017

Hi Dana,
My nano (29 gal) in my bedroom had the heater fail and it was like that for probably a month, tank went to room temp, 68*, and you couldn't tell anything was wrong. Water always felt cold, but never gave it any thought. Zero losses. LPS, a couple SPS, and two bubble tips, along with 3 clowns and a pearly jaw.

Dana Riddle · Dec 11, 2017

prhoades2 said:
Hi Dana,
My nano (29 gal) in my bedroom had the heater fail and it was like that for probably a month, tank went to room temp, 68*, and you couldn't tell anything was wrong. Water always felt cold, but never gave it any thought. Zero losses. LPS, a couple SPS, and two bubble tips, along with 3 clowns and a pearly jaw.

Thanks, you're my Huckleberry!

prhoades2 · Dec 11, 2017

Lol. What's even funnier is that this is the tank that is neglected, obciously.

sde1500 · Dec 11, 2017

temp got down to 60 last month during a 3 day power outage. Zero losses. Could only run a small undersized heater part time on the tank when I was home, best I could do using my car as the power source. Wrapped in blankets otherwise. Power came back on and digital thermometer read 60, so could have been colder at some points.

Syed123 · Dec 11, 2017

70 F due to user error. They were fine but upset.

thunderdood · Dec 11, 2017

Several years ago I bought a used chiller and found out the hard way one day when I came home from work that the chiller never turned off although the light showed on/off at the correct temperatures. The tank around 40 degrees F when I got home from work. My Dendro colonly/frags survived. I lost a couple heads out of 25ish and had some recession.