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water temp

R

rgarofalo

I woiuld like to add corals to my tank but am unsure if it will be ok my water temp is 80 F whis is definatley on the high side. Are there any types that can take the heat?
I have tried fans and keeping the top open already. Any other ideas or does anyone know of an inexpensive chiller.
My tank is a 20 gal, however next year im moving up to a 40 gal so i don't want to buy equipment twice

Thanks in advance
 
B

Brian

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Welcome rgarofalo!

A temperature of 80 isn't considered high. 78 - 80 can be considered an optimum temperature. Once you get around 84 degrees then you need to start worrying. The biggest factor is trying to keep it stable.
 
C

Carlo

Take a look at the following chart:
watertemp_lrg.gif


These are reef temperatures and not surface temps.

Most of our corals are from Fiji and Tonga (very similar) which is subtropical.

They spend as much or more time in 80 degree temperatures.

So anything from 78 to 84 is pretty safe. If you have the ability to follow that pattern then you probably would be better off. Corals from the Fiji area tend to grow faster in the warmer temps but develop "brittle". In the colder temps they "harden" up and get tougher/stronger. In extremely warm years they grow so fast and brittle that they break from their own weight. BTW, carib corals are the opposite.

I was reading some reference material where they cut the corals (cross section) and look at the rings (similar to a tree) and can determine the warm and cold growing seasons by the density.

Take this anyway you want but don't be concerned with trying to stay cooler then 80 or having to always keep the temperature at a steady point. Corals tend to loose the ability to react to temp changes when they are always kept at the same stable temp and stress out when the temp does in fact change more then a degree or two. If you let them experience more natural changes (even 3/4 degrees a day like on a reef) they won't loose this ability and a little hardware hickup (chiller/heater) will go unnoticed. Don't take that to the extreme either but if you are staying in the 78 to 84 range there shouldn't be any worries.

Carlo
 
B

Brian

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Yeah, it certainly can be overwhelming. But it's only as complicated as you make it. You don't need to have all the latest gadgets to have a succesful system. (although they are neat!)
 
C

Carlo

rgarofalo said:
Thank you I feel much better.
This is my first reef tank and it is so much info to process.
Click to expand...

So tell us a little about your system and what you plan for it (if you know). Is it going to be a reef or fish only?

Carlo
 
R

rgarofalo

i have a 20 gal tall tank with an Eheim professional canister filter, Coralife super skimmer 65, Seio 820 GPH oscillating powerhead up top with a maxi jet 230 GPG powerhead on bottom.
is the seio overkill, i have a Rio 800 on the shelf if it is.
65 w compact florescent lighting
20 lbs live rock,shallow live sand bed.

i currently have a
Ocellaris clownfish,2 sand sifter snails, a hermit crab, and 2 other snails that eat the algae
 
R

rgarofalo

sorry forgot about plans i would like it to be a reef set up, any suggestions on what to start with in terms of being beginner friendly
 
C

Carlo

The Seio may be to much but might not be. If it's to much you can always deflect the stream off the glass or use it to blow a stream behind the rocks to help keep it clean.

Carlo
 
N

nanoguy

dude im in the same boat as u are....i have a 20 gal...reef set up...im goin to be purchasing an ice probe with a controller to monitor the temp,..they run total for both around 150.oo and they can be used inside an aqua clear 20 filter...or bulkheaded into ur tank...im not goin that route dont need to mess up my tank ,,but google ice probe and u will find it under cool works web site...

good luck and lets see some pics when u got them
 
N

nanoguy

never had luck with my fan...i ended up throwing frozen 2 liter bottles of water in my tank...that helped maintain a temp of 80...thank god the heat is gone now i can relax and look forward to start throwin lil frags in hopefully in a month ...i plan on throwin in more rock first....
 
C

Carlo

nanoguy said:
never had luck with my fan...i ended up throwing frozen 2 liter bottles of water in my tank...that helped maintain a temp of 80...thank god the heat is gone now i can relax and look forward to start throwin lil frags in hopefully in a month ...i plan on throwin in more rock first....
Click to expand...

Did you have the fan blowing across the water surface or directly at the water? You get the most cooling by blowing across the water and not directly at it.

By chance do you have a powerhead pointed slightly upward in the tank to cause some rippling at the surface? This helps a tremendous amount.

Without trying to cool the tank what temps would it get up to on it's own? What would the room temp be at the same time?

Do you use central or window based air conditioning? If so do you have the ability to redirect some of the air directly towards the tank using a room fan?

Chillers are expensive to buy and operate and it's nice to be able to avoid them if possible. Of course if you've used all practical approaches and temps are iffy then it's good "tank insurance" even if expensive.

Carlo
 
T

twan

My nano runs from 80 to 82.1

Interesting chart about fiji up there. Im goin to borabora/moorea next year 8)
 
C

CoralsMania

Hi All

Ok, I have a 24G Aquapod, standard. Except I changed the standard pump to MJ1200 and added a $20 powersweep. Since I've bought maybe 2 months ago. I have not put the heater in the tank. With this temperature!! My runs from 81-84....live sand about 4-5 inches deep. LR about 20-25 only 3 pieces! The main rock about 20lbs nice show piece covered in assorted color mushroom. lawnmover blenny, yellowtail damsel(soon to go) I want to put pr of maroon clowns. Purple with green tip anemome (rare), snail, hermits and some zoos. Most of the time I have the hood all the way up, cause of the heat.
 
S

Subliminal

NJRC Member
29g, hood with open back and 175w halide. I use a clip on fan (7 inch) in the hood and my temp stays ~80-82 during the day and my heater keeps it ~80 at night.

Works good for this kid!
 
C

Carlo

Besides a fan basically only option is something like an IceProbe chiller for that size tank or keep the AC on and the room cooler. :)

Carlo
 
C

CoralsMania

Carlo said:
Besides a fan basically only option is something like an IceProbe chiller for that size tank or keep the AC on and the room cooler. :)

Carlo
Click to expand...
Hey Carlo, would the IceProbe chiller work for on a 24G aquapod?
 
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