Is my temp too low?

[FishboyDave]

Im 3 weeks into my 150 and I have noticed that my temp will not raise above 78f. Everyone esle told me that the medal halides (which are 2x 250w 14000k) would raise my temp higher but there not. They run 10hrs a day now and I currently do not have a heater. Overnight is drops to 74f.
Is this something I should worry about?

[Game Over]

Not really my temp is 74-76 right now and summer 75-78.5 that's on a 220 with sps and lps and softes. But you can cut your lights back to only run about 6/8 hours

[dots]

A heater is something you need to maintain temp

[21093r53]

I shoot for 78 to be honest...and whatever you can have consistently is what you need to shoot for

HTH CHeers!@

[FishboyDave]

Everyone had me scared that my temp was going to be to high and I needed a chiller. Is 78-82 ideal?

[21093r53]

78-82 is ideal...for me lights on = 79.2-79.7 lights off = 78.1-78.6

[Skeptic_07]

ehh.. a 4 degree swing isn't really deadly, but not healthy. in the summer, the tank will get warmer. you probably wont need a chiller if you have the tank in an air conditioned room.

[pkirby]

You probably won't need a chiller, assuming the room stays a constant temperature, like skeptic indicates. I would be a little concerned with the 4 degree swing in temperature though. I personally would try to keep it within 2 degrees or less...

[lisafoster]

78- 82 is ideal. I woud get a heater though so it only swings about 2 degrees.

[aquadventure]

It would my vote to stabilize it as best you can and the addition of a heater would be the way to do it.

[greenbean36191]

Don't bother with the effort trying to stabilize the temperature. A 4 degree daily variation is well within what is experienced on the reefs in nature and there is no evidence that such fluctuations are stressful in any way to reef organisms. In fact, the research consistently shows that temperature fluctuations increase the resistance of corals to thermal stress and at least in juveniles, improve photosynthetic efficiency. Chasing a stable temp will cost you a lot of unnecessary money and stress and won't do your animals any favors.

My only advice would be to buy a heater and a controller that will turn it off if it breaks. While 74 isn't dangerously cold, it is below the minimum temp of 76 that the average coral reef sees. An average of about 82 or 83 is ideal, but anywhere between 76-86 is fine. In increasing your temp though, you shouldn't increase the maximum temp by more than about a degree every 2 weeks though.

[bnumair]

my tank temp ranges from 78-80 all day all yr long. but i have 2 500w titanium heaters and 1/2hp chiller to keep it balanced.

[Tankdiver83]

You most definitely should have a heater. It is very hard on everything in your system to have that type of fluctuation in temperature. You need to keep it at 78 but not let it move more than 2 degrees.

[Uncle Salty 05]

I haven't used a heater for anything other than raising the temp of WC water in years. The dangers of a malfunctioning heater far outweigh the benefits IMO. If you keep the temp in your house relatively stable heaters are not needed.

[kmasonbx]

Why is a 4 degree drop a concern? In the wild wouldn't the drop in temperature be similar if not more drastic from day to night?

[gweston]

I keep my tank 77-78. 74 sounds a tad low, but shouldn't be harmful. I'd be concerned myself though. My tank use to fluctuate up to 2 degrees with my old heater. With the new one it fluctuates 0.5-1 degree.

I'd suggest using a slightly oversized heater. Or a pair of heaters on a controller. If you want to avoid temp swings.

[NirvanaFan]

Don't worry about a 4 degree fluctuation. It shouldn't hurt anything. Ever been swimming in the ocean and hit a really cold patch of water? Corals are exposed to this all the time. They are used to fluctuating temperatures. I aim for about 80 and don't worry. Honestly, I haven't looked at the temperature of my tank in months.

Just like GreenBean said, Chasing temperature will get you nowhere, and with a higher electric bill.

I used to watch the temperature in my tank all the time. It would see about a 4 or 5 degree swing each day. One time my wife and I went on a weekend vacation. She messed up the thermostat when she left and the heater in the tank decided not to turn on. I got home to a house around 50 degrees, and a tank in the low 60s. I quickly brought the temperature up to the about 70 and then brought it up gradually to the normal temperature. I ended up loosing my green bubble tip anemone and one acro. It could have been a huge disaster. I think one of the main reasons why I didn't lose everything had to do with the tank seeing high and low temps daily.

So, shoot for a temperature and aim for it, but let it fluctuate a few degrees.

[tnias]

Controllers are very nice and offer the option for you to set the temperature that they operate. While it may not be necessary for you to have a heater but if you loose heat for some reason it may drop below 74 and cause series loss.

I keep my temp between 79-80 all the time. The controller also will shut off my lights if it gets too hot. I highly recommend a controller which gives you the oportunity to monitor multiple conditions in your tank and alert you if there is a significant change.

[MaxxdOut]

You need a heater - And I would also recommend a heater controller to keep it in check. There is no reason to skip this relatively cheap necessity.

[FishboyDave]

Ok. Thanks to everyones feedback. Ill keep an eye on it since its almost summer... well its always summer here but it gets hotter. I keep my house at 72 so Im hoping I wont see spikes in the temp. I guess we will see. It will be a month or so befor I start adding corals. Im going to start off slow with some zoos and Im thinking of sticking some green stars on my overflow box just to cover it. I think I might wait awhile before adding sps and lps because I really want to do some more research on them just to make sure. Anyone with sps and lps experience that would like to give me some helpful advice (the do's and don'ts would be great) My main goal with this tank is to avoid it looking like a "frag tank" by this I mean I dont want hundreds of frags, just a handful so in 5-10 years my tank looks great. Im in no rush for the perfect looking tank. I want all of my corals to start as frags so that Im not taking them from the wild. Thanks for all advice

[kduen]

I will contribute this. I do have a heater for my tank. I even have it plugged in and set to where about I would like the temperature. My tank is curently fluctuating between 77-80 per 24 hours. Now the heater that I have in the sump is a little 100w and I have a 90 gallon tank. I have never seen or have proof that the heater has turned on because of a temp drop. I have tested it many times to make sure that it works which it does. My house is always about 70 degrees and the tank has never fluctuated more than those three degrees. Just because it's plugged in doesn't mean that it is going to be running.

Also as greenbean said and there are many others who believe it as well, that those little swings within 4-5 degrees will actually help you out in the long run. What happens when you keep your tank rock steady at "X" degrees when the power goes out for 2-3 hours cause some guy just smashed into a power pole. Tank temp is gonna go down and those inhabitants aren't going to be real happy since they were always kept constant. If they experienced a little swing then not such a big deal.