What temperature?

[Bollox]

I have a reef tank and keep it at 78 but one of the guys I work with at the LFS who is a biology instructor tells people it should be kept at around 73, and i've read posts where some people have their tank at around or above 80. So what temp should I keep it at? This hobby is confusing always someone saying something differant.

[FLHT]

78 to 80 sounds good to me. That's where mine
runs, but it does vary some, especially during the
summer months. (I refuse to buy a chiller)
If they keep the tanks at the LFS @ 73, how do
the look?

[eaglelox]

the lower the temp the slower the metabolism. warmer the water the faster the metabolism. the Atlantic ocean is colder than the pacific for most parts, I think a tank with Atlantic stuff would have to be much colder. i tried to set my tank to 78 deg. but it jumped up to 81 deg with the lights on, so i set my temp to 81 and it is constant now.HTH

[FishDaddy]

Bollox,
I set my reef at 80 and it normally stays within 80-82f. The current trend is to keep the temp. within the range of most natural reefs. If the LFS is keeping their stock in the lower 70's, there is a great risk of bleaching the coral when introduced into a hobbyist's aquarium at 80+f.

Though TRA Vol. I suggested the ideal range for a coral reef aquarium at 70-80f, it seems most writers now suggest 78-82f as the ideal range, with Dr. Shimek suggesting somewhat higher temperatures. The higher temp. apparently promotes growth of coral and planktonic life within the aquarium, thus enhancing the coral's food supply.

Though temp. swings on the natural reefs may fluctuate daily and seasonally, the artificial environment of our tiny closed systems is best managed, IMHO, by keeping temp. swings to a minimum, ideally within ~2 degrees or so.

The temperature issue is sometimes hotly debated by the "Writing Class of Aquatic Biologists", as in this article by Richard Harker with reply by Ron Shimek:
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/a.../1/default.asp
Other articles here:
http://www.hobbyschool.com/reef/Concepts/water.htm
http://ozreef.org/reference/temperature.html

I'd like for some of our resident experts and experienced reefers to share their views on the temp. issue.
HTH,
Dick:

[eaglelox]

go with what fish daddy says

[beach bum]

I think the biggest temperature problem you can run into is large fluctuations. If you have hot summers where the temp can shoot up, then consider running at a higher temperature, that way the 'swing' is minimized. Better to shoot from 80 to 85 than 75 to 85.

fwiw, chris

[Spanky]

You know something I never see mentioned - temperature can be your friend and is a very useful tool.
Keep in mind that higher temps = higher metabolisms and lower temps = lower metabolisms.
Examples:
Sudden ammonia, nitrite, nitrate spike for no known reason. Lower temp and buy yourself some time to figure it out.
Suspected parasite, viral, fungal etc again lower temp slow the problem down until you figure it out, have time to get proper meds etc.
Need to temporarily hold more fish/critters than normal, again lower temp slower metabolisms.
Want to hurry up a parasites life cycle because proper meds are in place. Raise temp.

Well you get the idea.
Jerel

[Doug1]

Mine runs 80-82 normally, for over 3 yrs now.
I still see LFS that run tanks in the mid 70's and about 1.022 SG

[tatuvaaj]

Just for fun I made a short list of what different people recommend as salinity and temperature:

Book                                                    Opt.    Acpt.   SG      Salinity

							temp    temp            ppt

Emmens, Marine aquarium in t and p 2nd ed., 1985:       25      21-30           35   

Fossa & Nilsen, Korallrevsakvariet (Band 1), 1988:      23-27   23-27           35-36

Delbeek & Sprung, The reef aquarium (Vol 1), 1994:      23-24   21-27   22-25   31-35

Fossa & Nilsen, The modern coral reef aquarium, 1996:   23-27   23-27           33-36

Knop, The successful reef aquarium, 1998:               25      24-27   23      33   

Shimek, The coral reef aquarium, 1999:                  28-29   28-29           34-35



Nilsen, Internet (3), 1998                              -       25-26           35

Borneman, Internet (1), 1999                            29      27-29           -

Bingman, Internet (2), 2000                             27      27-29           34-35

Toonen, Internet (2), 2000                              27      27-29           35-36

Delbeek, AFM 03/2001                                    24-25   24-25           -

Delbeek, AFM 05/2001                                    24-27   24-27           -

1) http://www.reefs.org/library/articl...emperature.html
2) http://www.reefs.org/library/articl...man_toonen.html
3) http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish2/...s/1/default.asp
(Not a recommendation but a report on a mass spawning in aquarium.)

[FishDaddy]

For quick reference, since the "scientific types" talk about temperature as Celsius or Centigrade, here is a conversion chart:
http://ozreef.org/reference/temperature_conversion.html
Dick

[Bollox]

Mmmmmm, I think i'll just keep mine at 78. What about salinaty mine is at 23 should i take it up to 24.