new(larger) reef tank, what temperature to run it at?

rusty scupper · 07/19/2007, 10:44 AM

hello all,

new to the board and looking forward to talking tanks with people. i have had a bunch of freshwater tanks and had a 10 gallon mini reef but just switched it to my 72 bow.

heres my first big question:

what temp should i run my 72 at? i want it to be a full reef tank. i just broke down my 10gallon mini reef, which i had set at 78*F. i am getting really serious into the tank now and need to know what i should do to make a great reef tank.

i currently have 80 pounds of live sand, maybe 25 pounds live rock, tons of micro star fish, some small scarlet& blue crabs, 1 green ocean crab, 1 sea urchin, a clown fish, a yellow tail damsel, spagetti finger, kenya tree, zoo's, 1 piece of coral(sorry not to up on names of corals yet), and tons of those small feather dusters that come out of the live rock and some stupid aiptasia.

the tank is as said a 72 bow, i have a jbj light with 10,000K daylight and blue actinic, a amiracle wet/dry filter and thats it currently. its been running for about a week, it is looking really good. i have a redsea protien skimmer i am going to put on as well as a few powerhead/wavemakers and i have one of the redsea wavemaker control box.

so what temp is best to set my heater to? i want to put coral and some anenomes in the tank along with more crustaceons and a yellow tang. sorta want to make the whole nemo crowd for the kids if possible. i cant remember how many watts my heater is but i know its plenty big for the tank when i had it freshwater.

coral question: i cant remember the name of my one piece of coral i have. my (2) 50/50 mini compacts blew up on my mini reef within a month and half of each other and i had only a 15 watt crappy buld on the tank for about 4 weeks. this coral opens up and comes out lke an anenome, its yellow and orange. did it almost die from no good lighting? it sorta comes out a bit but i havent seen it be fully open in about 2 months, it still does some movement but hasnt fully opened. also my zoo's havent come out yet since the light issue. i am thinking its the water is to cool for it all. also the orange/yellow coral has a small ridge of white on the upper edge of the middle, is that dead area? will it come back?

any info greatly appreciated! thank you! also i can email a pic of the coral if someone maybe could help me! thanks.

rusty scupper

drummereef · 07/19/2007, 10:47 AM

78F is fine. I currently run my reef at 80F.

To Reef Central

griss · 07/19/2007, 10:50 AM

I keep my tanks between 80 and 82. But, 78 is fine as well.

Phong33 · 07/19/2007, 01:06 PM

Anywhere between 78-82 is fine. The important thing is to keep it stable as much as possible.

As a side note, I'm assuming that your lights are PC. If you want to do a full reef, I'd highly suggest upgrading your lights. Good luck!

The Jawfish · 07/19/2007, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phong33
Anywhere between 78-82 is fine. The important thing is to keep it stable as much as possible.

As a side note, I'm assuming that your lights are PC. If you want to do a full reef, I'd highly suggest upgrading your lights. Good luck!

agreed

greenbean36191 · 07/19/2007, 01:52 PM

I run mine between 78-86.

kkyyllee · 07/19/2007, 01:54 PM

yeah just keep it between 78-84 86 would be a bit high i think

LockeOak · 07/20/2007, 02:18 PM

In my 10G I have a daily swing from 78-79 at night to 82 in the afternoon, kind of unavoidable in a small tank. A 72G should be more stable, aim for 80 degrees, +/- 2 degrees depending on the temp of the room and the season.

mr_o98 · 07/20/2007, 03:39 PM

My tank runs between 78-82.

Dubbin1 · 07/20/2007, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LockeOak
A 72G should be more stable,

Don't count on it. Bigger tanks mean bigger pumps and bigger lights

07/19/2007, 10:44 AM	#1
rusty scupper Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: reef-central, ct Posts: 45	new(larger) reef tank, what temperature to run it at? hello all, new to the board and looking forward to talking tanks with people. i have had a bunch of freshwater tanks and had a 10 gallon mini reef but just switched it to my 72 bow. heres my first big question: what temp should i run my 72 at? i want it to be a full reef tank. i just broke down my 10gallon mini reef, which i had set at 78*F. i am getting really serious into the tank now and need to know what i should do to make a great reef tank. i currently have 80 pounds of live sand, maybe 25 pounds live rock, tons of micro star fish, some small scarlet& blue crabs, 1 green ocean crab, 1 sea urchin, a clown fish, a yellow tail damsel, spagetti finger, kenya tree, zoo's, 1 piece of coral(sorry not to up on names of corals yet), and tons of those small feather dusters that come out of the live rock and some stupid aiptasia. the tank is as said a 72 bow, i have a jbj light with 10,000K daylight and blue actinic, a amiracle wet/dry filter and thats it currently. its been running for about a week, it is looking really good. i have a redsea protien skimmer i am going to put on as well as a few powerhead/wavemakers and i have one of the redsea wavemaker control box. so what temp is best to set my heater to? i want to put coral and some anenomes in the tank along with more crustaceons and a yellow tang. sorta want to make the whole nemo crowd for the kids if possible. i cant remember how many watts my heater is but i know its plenty big for the tank when i had it freshwater. coral question: i cant remember the name of my one piece of coral i have. my (2) 50/50 mini compacts blew up on my mini reef within a month and half of each other and i had only a 15 watt crappy buld on the tank for about 4 weeks. this coral opens up and comes out lke an anenome, its yellow and orange. did it almost die from no good lighting? it sorta comes out a bit but i havent seen it be fully open in about 2 months, it still does some movement but hasnt fully opened. also my zoo's havent come out yet since the light issue. i am thinking its the water is to cool for it all. also the orange/yellow coral has a small ridge of white on the upper edge of the middle, is that dead area? will it come back? any info greatly appreciated! thank you! also i can email a pic of the coral if someone maybe could help me! thanks. rusty scupper

07/19/2007, 10:47 AM	#2
drummereef Team RC Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: STL Posts: 14,754	78F is fine. I currently run my reef at 80F. *To Reef Central* __________________ -Brett 180g Marineland Starfire In-Wall 278 gallon system

07/19/2007, 10:50 AM	#3
griss RC Mod Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: In The Jungle (Wildwood, MO) Posts: 29,214	I keep my tanks between 80 and 82. But, 78 is fine as well. __________________ George Current Tank Info: 40 Gallon Breeder

07/19/2007, 01:52 PM	#6
greenbean36191 Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 10,598	I run mine between 78-86. __________________ Some say the sun rises in the East. Some say it rises in the West. The truth must be somewhere in the middle. Current Tank Info: tore them down to move and haven't had the time or money to set them back up

07/20/2007, 03:39 PM	#9
mr_o98 Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Pen Argyl, PA Posts: 600	My tank runs between 78-82. __________________ Sometimes I amaze even myself. I feel like I have TWO brilliant minds. Current Tank Info: 90g fish only tank, Green Chromis, Ocellaris clown, 6 line Wrasse, Convict Tang, Foxface Lo, Decorator Goby, Lemon Drop butterfly, Flameback Angel - 30g sump, Euro Reef skimmer, 2 250w MH

07/19/2007, 01:06 PM	#4
Phong33 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 371	Anywhere between 78-82 is fine. The important thing is to keep it stable as much as possible. As a side note, I'm assuming that your lights are PC. If you want to do a full reef, I'd highly suggest upgrading your lights. Good luck!

07/19/2007, 01:54 PM	#7
kkyyllee Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: rescue ca Posts: 963	yeah just keep it between 78-84 86 would be a bit high i think

07/20/2007, 02:18 PM	#8
LockeOak Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Athens, GA Posts: 839	In my 10G I have a daily swing from 78-79 at night to 82 in the afternoon, kind of unavoidable in a small tank. A 72G should be more stable, aim for 80 degrees, +/- 2 degrees depending on the temp of the room and the season.