Temp problems

[ugluk]

When I first started up my tank I had 2X150w Top Fin heaters I bought from Petsmart. My Temp was a constant 85 degrees until I took one of the heaters out. The temp went down to a constant 80-81 degrees. The first warm day when temps were in the 70s the temp in the tank jumped right up to 85 again. I unplugged the heater to see what would happen and the temp in the tank the next morning was around 78. I turned the heater back on again at its lowest setting and my tank has been running a constant 82 degrees even though the temp outside has dropped to the 40s.


My question is what should I do now? It is either because the heater I own is crappy or the wattage is to high which I doubt. So is the answer through yet more money at new good quality heater instead of two crappy ones? If so which heaters are good ones? Thanks

[cward]

I would try to keep the tank temp at 77-78F rather 85F. I have used the Won Bros Pro Heat II heaters for years with good luck. Having two heaters is nice in case one craps out. What does your tank temp drop to with no heater?

[Randall_James]

I do not run heaters in tanks over 50G or so. The house cools to 62 at night and 69 during the day. Tank temps are at 74-75 in the AM and around 81 at night when the lights go out. Summer requires my 120MM fans during the day to keep the 81 range (house is 78-80 during summer)

[amike5]

I use an 8" fan to vent my sump area. It disipates the heat from pump, cools the water, as well as relieving humidity under the stand and promoting gas exchange.

[drummereef]

Definitely invest in a good heater. Ebo Jager makes quality ones. I have had good luck with the Visi-Therm Stealth I've been using too. Temp fluxuations are very hard on your inhabitants especially inverts like shrimp and such. I would suggest using one to avoid such fluxuations. Use a fan to cool the tank during summer months. You will evaporate more so watch your top off.

[Randall_James]

I do not think the temp fluctuations are that big of a deal as long as they are not instant in nature.

I do not loose inverts or other animals and my shrimp spawn every 30-60 days.

In the real world, reef temps go up and down with the tides and currents enough to make you jump out and put on a wet suit

I would imagine that changes of more than 3-4 degrees is not ideal but mine have done this for a number of years without livestock loss

[shag26272]

yeah but the water temp in the ocean doesnt really go up and down during a few days period the air is colder above it at night but the water stays pretty constant

[Randall_James]

No it goes up and down in a matter of hours, when the tides roll in, the temp nosedives.., closer to the bottom, seems the more it drops.

[shag26272]

scroll down to where it talks about temps and how it affects corals, any swings from neg 5 celcius and plus 2 ,

http://www.marinebiology.org/coralbleaching.htm

[shag26272]

so its saying if the temp drops 5 degrees Fahrenheit from 80 to 75 for 5-10 days they will start to bleach if it swings this much over the course of 1 day thats even worse im sure

[ProAccordV6]

i was having problems nearly identical to the ones you described. I switched my heater to an ebo jager and its been locked on 80.5-80.9 ever since.

[comfort_racing]

i was having somewhat similar problems. i just sat up my 75 gallon, and with the heater set at 75 degrees my tank sat at 85.8 degrees. i ended up turning it off and after 5 days it is finally down to 79.8 - 80.1. i reach in and touch my in-sump pumps and they are cool. so i guess it is my room conditions not in the tank.

i shut the air ducts leading to the room (10'x12' room) left the return open and turned on the ceiling fan. made a big difference. im sure once the A/C kicks on in a month or two i will need the heater on again.

[greenbean36191]

scroll down to where it talks about temps and how it affects corals, any swings from neg 5 celcius and plus 2 ,

http://www.marinebiology.org/coralbleaching.htm

so its saying if the temp drops 5 degrees Fahrenheit from 80 to 75 for 5-10 days they will start to bleach if it swings this much over the course of 1 day thats even worse im sure

You missed the key word: anomalous. They aren't talking normal swings, which can be as much as 15 degrees F per day. They are talking about a reef that normally sees a high of about 86 being exposed to 90 degrees for a few days (a 2 degree C increase). Also notice that they're using C, not F. A 5 degree C drop from 80 F would be to about 71.

A reef's temperature does vary several degrees over the course of the day, and even within a few hours in most places. There are a few stable reefs, but those are the exception. 4-6 degrees is more the norm. If corals couldn't withstand those fluctuations there would be no reefs. Stress tests have shown that except for corals from more stable areas, the corals show no stress response to normal fluctuation. You wouldn't expect to see stress responses from any of the animals we keep when they're exposed to natural fluctuations, and there isn't any empirical evidence showing that they are.

[shag26272]

I didnt miss the Fahrenheit to Celcius conversion, i said from 80-75 Fahrenheit which is about 3 degrees celcius like the article said, i would say 4-6 degrees Fahrenheit wouldnt be extreme , im not en expert by any means but I just could not see running a heater, they are one of the cheapest pieces of equipment that you have, and I know for a fact that in my aquarium that my livestock does better with a 3 degree or less fluctuation

[Randall_James]

I think that keeping the temp levels in such a narrow range could actually be disadvantageous.

As most species tend to strengthen with some stress, I do not see why a coral colony would be any different.

My tanks "seem" to do just fine without the heater and the 6-8 degree swing every 24 hours.

I wonder if it could also prepare the livestock for a power failure if it ever occured and the temp dropped from the normal range?

[shag26272]

im sure it all depends on the species, alot of things would tolerate 8 degrees just fine

[ugluk]

Originally posted by drummereef
Definitely invest in a good heater. Ebo Jager makes quality ones. I have had good luck with the Visi-Therm Stealth I've been using too. Temp fluxuations are very hard on your inhabitants especially inverts like shrimp and such. I would suggest using one to avoid such fluxuations. Use a fan to cool the tank during summer months. You will evaporate more so watch your top off.

I was looking at the cooling fans and wondered how they worked. I assumed that the fan should be blowing on the top of the water but they look like squares with no attachments to hook to the side so I could angle it on the water. So by its design it looks like it would just shoot straight over the water. I have eggcrates for my hood so I would need to take them off. Am I correct on this assumption?

[shag26272]

he didnt mean a fan to cool the lights which you should use anyway, something like a clip on fan , blowing across your sump, or top of your tank

[markandkristen]

i wouldnt run a heater without a controller. your just asking for a cooked tank. my reefkeeper has a controller. just my opinion. i had a titanium won brothers that showed 78 on the dial and 97 in a tank that luckily had no livestock excpet floating cooked pods.

i also find it hard to believe that a tank fluctuating over a course of a hours from different temps could be fatal. just doesnt add up. but thats me are you telling me that in the coral reefs its a constant 78.6 degrees. i doubt it. almost nearly impossible

[Abynum1]

I know for a fact that dropping a lobster into a pot of boiling water is definitely fatal.
Its also bad on my cholesterol.

[comfort_racing]

no, i agree, if you have alot of under tank heat a fan would be needed to cool under the stand. i dont have that problem thank goodness, but it wouldnt hurt me to have a puller fan to help with humidity.

[greenbean36191]

I think that keeping the temp levels in such a narrow range could actually be disadvantageous. As most species tend to strengthen with some stress, I do not see why a coral colony would be any different.

This is true. Brian Helmuth did some work where he took corals of the same species from a lagoon (fluctuating temps) and the outter reef (more stable) and did stress tests on them at elevated temperatures. The lagoonal coral kept on plugging along normally, while the coral from the stable regime showed severe stress.

Also, lots of inverts don't sexually mature without at least long term temperature variations, and won't spawn without short term fluctuations. That can be a good or bad thing depending on what you want from your tank.

[michaeldaly]

The 85 degrees, is also fine, I run my tank in summer between 13 - 83 and in winter the tank is colder.