Who has the coldest reef tank?

[mort]

I keep mine at 24c which is about 75f. Not had any problems with growth or health of sps but more importantly don't need to panic when the temp raises a few degrees in the summer.
We had a really hot summer (well hot for england) and the temp shot upto 28c (82f) for a few weeks and I did need to dose a fair bit more, so the sweet spot for growth is on the upper end but you need to factor in if you can keep that temperature stable.

 

[choss]

I run mine between 77 and 78. But temp is extremely stable - very gradual (if any) swings despite running a Metal Halide w. cooling fan. I have found that stability may be more important than a few degrees one way or the other as long as its within an acceptable range.

 

[jsker]

78.4 winter, 78.6 summer. I run my heater with a controller and test the temp with a H.A.S.P. grade thermometer maybe once a year.

 

[CC13]

H.A.S.P. grade thermometer

Which one do you use to test?

 

[jsker]

Which one do you use to test?

Cooper 481. link work well

 

[vanpire]

This should stir things up a bit.
http://www.ronshimek.com/salinity_temperature.html

This is a great article with logical arguments. And I like it because I keep my temperature at 80 night and 82 day in the summer and 78 night and 80 day in the winter. The 2 degrees is due to halides. I live in AZ and these temps are easy to maintain. But I still have to use a heater in the winter. Corals grow well and all animals seem very healthy.

 

[saltyhog]

My tank runs from 79.3-79.6 the vast majority of the time. On rare occasions when my wife turns up the thermostat it gets as high as 79.8-80 but not for long.

 

[lilbitreefer]

I keep a tight rein on my temp. 77.5-78. I think it would be interesting to see lower temps. I have heard of old sailors log books describing crystal clear waters with beautiful brightly colored corals in the chesapeake bay. That place gets cold annually so if they can grow there then where else could they be growing.

 

[mta_morrow]

Good to hear that it’s working out for you. I currently have a mixed reef so I might try slowly lower it a little.



Hey Mike!
We only stayed open about a year after we moved locations. I decided I really needed to spend more time with the family so I sold everything and closed shop. I just finally got an aquarium set up at home but it’s in the chilly unfinished basement hence the cold reef question. Here’s my build thread if you want to follow.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-65g-rimless-reef.490095/

Hope all is well!
Joel



That’s some good information for sure. This is a hard part for the hobby as things moving towards aquaculture because you never really know where it all comes from. I Do find it odd that in general most hobbiest run more towards what appears to be the the higher side.

If you look at the poll results you see a bell curve like you would expect, but there are only outliers only towards the cold side. Seeing this makes me think hotter may be worse than cooler compared to the average reefers aquarium temperature.

Once I finish the basement I plan to eventually build a much larger system where heating will be a significant amount of the energy costs to run it. It kind of makes me wonder how warm or cold some of the huge public aquarium reefs run.

Thanks Joel

I will catch up on your build tonight!

 

[Saveafish]

We run geothermal and for the most part keep upstairs around 70 year round and I honestly haven’t checked the basement but it feels a little cooler. I’m hoping once I finish the basement and insulate the planned fish room that it will help.

I’m thinking long term and my concern is that I’m looking at around a 400g glass display or possibly Significantly larger if I go fiberglass or plywood so let’s say possibly even a 1000-1500g display. I would assume heating 700-2000 gallons of water to only 74ish is much more cost effective than running things up closer to 80 on something that large.

So, with you on this'll. I run geo too. 70 on level and basement runs 68. Hoping slamming Mh will ballance the temp about 75deg. Side note. With sump in the basement I'll never have to worry about it too hot... yes I've noticed that growth slows at lower temps. O2 levels are higher at colder temps. Problems happen slower, giving me more time to correct it.

 

[srad750c]

74.5 is my lowest, 77.6 is highest, average is 75.5. It’s dependent on my house temp. I’m too scared to get a large heater for my sump.

 

[ZaneTer]

If anyone is interested I have had my tank drop to 12’c/54’f....ATO pump failed so DT cooled completely but sump stayed warm. It stayed like this for around 2 days.

Acropora - dead
Pocilliopora - dead
Seriatopora - dead
Xenia - dead
Blue sponge - dead

Montiporas - completely unaffected as though nothing had happened at all.

 

[tastyfish]

would agree if this site wasn't based in that place in the world that uses that temperature measurement - and given the fact that its used by everyone in that place from 5 years old to 105 years old. Get over it. Great Britain uses the pound - should that be 'criticized'? among several other examples. Get over it. LOL.

LOL, I think you've taken my post far too seriously. Since you mentioned currency, I think you should do it properly and if you insist on using imperial measurements, you need to drop decimalisation on your currency. So Shillings, Farthings, Pence, Florins and crowns... lol

PS: Tank temperature is 26.5C with a 0.2C total swing

 

[Graffiti Spot]

What was your take-away from this article - from my reading - its a lot of various studies with no conclusion as to how it applies to a reef tank. Again not - meant to be critical - but it seems like information from lots of different places with no connection and no message...

All I got from it was that certain animals do best in certain temp and salinity ranges. They went on to try and relate that to hobbyists struggles and why they have more problems than scientists which I really don't see as being true at all.
I don't see temp and salinity as anything that will determine a corals health in an aquarium as long as its kept stable and above 75 degrees and 34 ppt. Most corals are collected from the same general regions and I don't think we have ever pinpointed temp or salinity as being a cause for a corals health issue, if they were kept to the general standard.

 

[Graffiti Spot]

If anyone is interested I have had my tank drop to 12’c/54’f....ATO pump failed so DT cooled completely but sump stayed warm. It stayed like this for around 2 days.

Acropora - dead
Pocilliopora - dead
Seriatopora - dead
Xenia - dead
Blue sponge - dead

Montiporas - completely unaffected as though nothing had happened at all.

Wow, I knew montipora was hardy but thats pretty crazy. Where do you live that your house stays that cold?

 

[KenO]

We run geothermal and for the most part keep upstairs around 70 year round and I honestly haven’t checked the basement but it feels a little cooler. I’m hoping once I finish the basement and insulate the planned fish room that it will help.

I’m thinking long term and my concern is that I’m looking at around a 400g glass display or possibly Significantly larger if I go fiberglass or plywood so let’s say possibly even a 1000-1500g display. I would assume heating 700-2000 gallons of water to only 74ish is much more cost effective than running things up closer to 80 on something that large.

Use your geothermal to heat the tank. My brother has a geothermal system and it seems like he has excess hot water. He even had his house setup to run the hot water on a recirculating setup so he has instant hot water at every sink and shower.

 

[joelbegt]

Use your geothermal to heat the tank. My brother has a geothermal system and it seems like he has excess hot water. He even had his house setup to run the hot water on a recirculating setup so he has instant hot water at every sink and shower.

I will have to look into this when the time comes. Our water heater is tied in, but I was under the impression that geothermal only makes excessive heat during the summer when it’s pulling it out of the hot air.