Help! My tank reached 84.5

eperez25 · 06/15/2006, 09:37 PM

The A/C in my home broke this afternoon and when I came home, my tank read 84.5. That is deinately the highest it got. I looked around at everything still seemed alive. I quickly brought the temperature down for the next hour until the A/C was fixed.

Do you think I ruined by LR or DSB? I still have pods everyhwere and the sponge and zoo that came on my LR are still there.

What do you think?

Elio

Bambalamb · 06/15/2006, 09:48 PM

84.5 is not necessarily toxic to your tank. However, rapidly bringing that temperature down will be. When the A/C broke, the temps rose gradually. They should be returned to normal the same way - gradually. Immediate changes in temps are not good.

jwhitlow1031 · 06/15/2006, 10:49 PM

a tank could actually be kept fine at that temp... its the quick changes that are bad.. slow down and it'll all be alright

bertoni · 06/15/2006, 10:50 PM

My tank has hit 85 more than once without any signs of trouble. What's the base temperature for your tank?

ACBlinky · 06/16/2006, 12:03 AM

Our apartment gets pretty warm in the summer, despite a hardworking a/c unit and ceiling fans. All our tanks are at 84F - 86F right now, nothing's showing any sign of stress at all.

jeffb3t · 06/16/2006, 01:06 AM

Don't worry too much about it. My tank hits 87 with a chiller in the summer and stays that way for a couple months. Coral are a lot stronger than many think. They survive temps in the 90s in natural tidepools but the water quality is much better than many of our tanks as well. To me, that seems to be the key.

eperez25 · 06/16/2006, 07:19 AM

That is a relief. My tank normally stays between 79-81 degrees consistently. I brought down the temerature from 84.5 to 80.3 within a 5 hour period. It rose from 80 to 84.5 in about 4 hours.

I checked everything this morning and all seems well. That is another question I had for the group. What is the best way to bring temperatures back down if this were to happen to me again?

I went out and bought a small fan and positioned it to run across the top of the water and turned off all powerheads, my lights, and my skimmer. My HOB emperor was the only thing I left on.

Thanks for the responses,
Elio

eperez25 · 06/16/2006, 07:27 AM

That is a relief. My tank normally stays between 79-81 degrees consistently. I brought down the temerature from 84.5 to 80.3 within a 5 hour period. It rose from 80 to 84.5 in about 4 hours.

I checked everything this morning and all seems well. That is another question I had for the group. What is the best way to bring temperatures back down if this were to happen to me again?

I went out and bought a small fan and positioned it to run across the top of the water and turned off all powerheads, my lights, and my skimmer. My HOB emperor was the only thing I left on.

Thanks for the responses,
Elio

oct2274 · 06/16/2006, 08:07 AM

some very reputable people have shown that optimal conditions for corals are in the 82-84 degree range.....depending on the fish it won't be an issue either. Some of the most highly populated areas of corals in the worlds are at temps above 84 degrees and thrive....and some still are above 90!

eperez25 · 06/16/2006, 08:45 AM

So why is it that temperature is such a varying thing? Some sites will give you a recommended temp of 74-78 for certain livestock. Others will give you temps of 81-84. Is it really that arbitrary or is there a recommended temp? I saw a poll on this site and it seemed that the majority of folks maintained theirs in the 79-81 range.

I figured I would go with the crowd and maintain that now. I have however read that the temperature isn't as important as consistency and avoiding large swings in temperature.

Elio

Frontosas · 06/16/2006, 08:57 AM

Piggy backing on this, what's the highest temp the tank can get before die off? Thanks.

oct2274 · 06/16/2006, 09:34 AM

i'll see if i can find the article i just read yesterday debating this....

oct2274 · 06/16/2006, 10:10 AM

bah....it might take me awhile to find this article.....i've been searching everywhere and can't find it again haha....basically it is kinda a debate between Dr. Shimek and others about optimal temperatures for a reef and him putting everyone in their place saying optimal is below 80 haha. I read so many posts on RC yesterday I may never be able to find it. I will continue to search. This really is the only time I wished that my history wasn't erased on my work computer every time I closed my browser

GARFVolunteer · 06/16/2006, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Frontosas
Piggy backing on this, what's the highest temp the tank can get before die off? Thanks.

I noticed an SPS RTNing Sunday and went to look into what might be wrong. My temp controller failed to turn the chiller and the temp increased to 87.9 degrees... Cycling the power to the controller fixed the problem for now.

I like to keep my tanks at 78 degrees. Sure the metabolism is slower but I consider that an advantage.

Before I added the chiller, I struggled to keep the tank below 84 degrees. IMO the tank over all looks better when the temp is kept at 78.

Thanks,

Scott

bertoni · 06/16/2006, 02:32 PM

The maxiumum temperature a tank can tolerate depends on its base temperature. I target 82 F as the base temperature, since that's a reasonable estimate of natural conditions. 86 F is likely not a problem. 85 F definitely isn't.

06/15/2006, 09:37 PM	#1
eperez25 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 187	Help! My tank reached 84.5 The A/C in my home broke this afternoon and when I came home, my tank read 84.5. That is deinately the highest it got. I looked around at everything still seemed alive. I quickly brought the temperature down for the next hour until the A/C was fixed. Do you think I ruined by LR or DSB? I still have pods everyhwere and the sponge and zoo that came on my LR are still there. What do you think? Elio

06/15/2006, 10:49 PM	#3
jwhitlow1031 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Elk Grove, Ca Posts: 455	a tank could actually be kept fine at that temp... its the quick changes that are bad.. slow down and it'll all be alright __________________ Some call it an obsession, i call it...well, yea its an obsession : ) To see pics of my tank click the little red house. Current Tank Info: 54 Gallon Corner tank, 130 watt pc lighting, 150watt MH, 140+ pds live rock, 2.5 inch sandbed, 3 powerheads and wavemaker, skimmer, etc, etc...lol

06/15/2006, 10:50 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	My tank has hit 85 more than once without any signs of trouble. What's the base temperature for your tank? __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

06/16/2006, 12:03 AM	#5
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	Our apartment gets pretty warm in the summer, despite a hardworking a/c unit and ceiling fans. All our tanks are at 84F - 86F right now, nothing's showing any sign of stress at all. __________________ "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef, 30g sump/refugium, LED lighting, 100lbs LR, coral beauty, flame angel, blue & yellow tangs, gobies, damsels, 6-line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, dottyback, clown pair, rabbitfish, shrimp, crabs, CUC.

06/16/2006, 02:32 PM	#15
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	The maxiumum temperature a tank can tolerate depends on its base temperature. I target 82 F as the base temperature, since that's a reasonable estimate of natural conditions. 86 F is likely not a problem. 85 F definitely isn't. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

06/15/2006, 09:48 PM	#2
Bambalamb Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 102	84.5 is not necessarily toxic to your tank. However, rapidly bringing that temperature down will be. When the A/C broke, the temps rose gradually. They should be returned to normal the same way - gradually. Immediate changes in temps are not good.

06/16/2006, 01:06 AM	#6
jeffb3t Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Okinawa, Japan Posts: 1,327	Don't worry too much about it. My tank hits 87 with a chiller in the summer and stays that way for a couple months. Coral are a lot stronger than many think. They survive temps in the 90s in natural tidepools but the water quality is much better than many of our tanks as well. To me, that seems to be the key.

06/16/2006, 07:19 AM	#7
eperez25 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 187	That is a relief. My tank normally stays between 79-81 degrees consistently. I brought down the temerature from 84.5 to 80.3 within a 5 hour period. It rose from 80 to 84.5 in about 4 hours. I checked everything this morning and all seems well. That is another question I had for the group. What is the best way to bring temperatures back down if this were to happen to me again? I went out and bought a small fan and positioned it to run across the top of the water and turned off all powerheads, my lights, and my skimmer. My HOB emperor was the only thing I left on. Thanks for the responses, Elio

06/16/2006, 07:27 AM	#8
eperez25 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 187	That is a relief. My tank normally stays between 79-81 degrees consistently. I brought down the temerature from 84.5 to 80.3 within a 5 hour period. It rose from 80 to 84.5 in about 4 hours. I checked everything this morning and all seems well. That is another question I had for the group. What is the best way to bring temperatures back down if this were to happen to me again? I went out and bought a small fan and positioned it to run across the top of the water and turned off all powerheads, my lights, and my skimmer. My HOB emperor was the only thing I left on. Thanks for the responses, Elio

06/16/2006, 08:07 AM	#9
oct2274 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 2,347	some very reputable people have shown that optimal conditions for corals are in the 82-84 degree range.....depending on the fish it won't be an issue either. Some of the most highly populated areas of corals in the worlds are at temps above 84 degrees and thrive....and some still are above 90!

06/16/2006, 08:45 AM	#10
eperez25 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 187	So why is it that temperature is such a varying thing? Some sites will give you a recommended temp of 74-78 for certain livestock. Others will give you temps of 81-84. Is it really that arbitrary or is there a recommended temp? I saw a poll on this site and it seemed that the majority of folks maintained theirs in the 79-81 range. I figured I would go with the crowd and maintain that now. I have however read that the temperature isn't as important as consistency and avoiding large swings in temperature. Elio

06/16/2006, 08:57 AM	#11
Frontosas Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 78	Piggy backing on this, what's the highest temp the tank can get before die off? Thanks.

06/16/2006, 09:34 AM	#12
oct2274 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 2,347	i'll see if i can find the article i just read yesterday debating this....

06/16/2006, 10:10 AM	#13
oct2274 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 2,347	bah....it might take me awhile to find this article.....i've been searching everywhere and can't find it again haha....basically it is kinda a debate between Dr. Shimek and others about optimal temperatures for a reef and him putting everyone in their place saying optimal is below 80 haha. I read so many posts on RC yesterday I may never be able to find it. I will continue to search. This really is the only time I wished that my history wasn't erased on my work computer every time I closed my browser