Does your tank know the seasons?

[MikePowell]

I was wondering if tanks can notice when it's winter and summer outside? I hear that some people notice different growth patterns through out the year in respect to it being winter or summer. If our tanks are maintained at certain values (temp and stuff) will they notice a season change?

[DLANDINO]

I have noticed from threads and researching problems that I have had in the past that folks seem to have nuisance issues at the same times of year.

[ctenophors rule]

some aquatic organisms will migrate all around the globe according to season, it could be possible for the animals we keep to have a buolt in season time keeper, but those migrations are usualy set off by physical changes in the water, i.e. less sunlight for a leeser period of time.

great question, interested in an answer

[noahm]

Whether or not your reef notices your current seasons may well depend on how much outside influence there is as far as light/temp fluctuations. That being said, if you spent thousands and thousands of dollars to mimic the light/temp/tidal fluctuation of a natural reef, you would definitely notice certain activity correllating to the fluctuations such as feeding/breeding/microfauna blooms etc.

The reality is that with a mixed reef, there is not much point. If you were doing research on particular organisms, you would probably find that many activities coincide with long or short day length, temp etc. I think there is a lot of room for discovery in this area for the research minded, but not so much for the average reefer.