View Full Version : is this temp ok?
jiggy
02/11/2006, 09:49 PM
what do u keep ur temps at?
with my new halides, my temp reaches around 85 degrees, and with them off they around 78-80.. this is over a 6hour photoperiod.. is this ok?
organism
02/11/2006, 09:57 PM
wow, that's an extremely high fluctuation, the key with sps is keeping the temperature as stable as possible, do you have fans running on your canopy?
jiggy
02/11/2006, 10:13 PM
i dont have a canopy.. its an open top tank with 2 400w pendants hanging above it...
the temp rises from 80 to 84.6 exactly in 6 hours... i still have the heater in the sump and it is set at 80 degrees... maybe if i take the heater out, the dark temp will be like 78 and the temp with the lights on will go up to 83..
is it safe to have the temp at 84.6? i have read that some people keep their reefs at like 84-86 degrees..
Vampire2
02/11/2006, 10:15 PM
Nope! it's too hot. Corals like cooler than hot.
jiggy
02/11/2006, 10:20 PM
well see how much my dark temp drops when i dont have the heater on... if it drops to 78, then my temp with lights on will also be 2 degrees cooler
Larry Waughon
02/11/2006, 10:38 PM
I would get rid of the large span in temps you run. My heater kicks on at 80 and my fans go on at 82.
jay24k
02/11/2006, 11:08 PM
86 is fine but I wouldn't go higher. The reason I don't care about 86 is because anymore and it could cause issues. My tank in the summer went from 83 to 85 all summer long. I had 0 issues and growth was very well. The problem with your situation is the huge jump. If you know you are going to hit 85 every day, set your heater for 82.
What thermometer are you using? I had one that read 86 and my new coralife and my buddies thermometer is reading 83.
Most of the reefs around have higher temps around 84 anyway so don't stress about the temp.
jiggy
02/11/2006, 11:29 PM
im using the coralife digital thermometer..
im just waiting for my skimmer to get shipped out.. asm g3.. they said they will ship it out on monday.. so after the skimmer gets put in and broken in, im gonna start getting some sps... my water params r very stable, especially with my new korrallin reactor
mikeguerrero
02/11/2006, 11:36 PM
My tank flucuates 76.5 to 79.5 that's a 3 degree difference every 4 hours, I have a chiller.
My corals don't seem to mind; but many say I should only run 1-2 degrees of variance.
Mike G
jiggy
02/11/2006, 11:43 PM
im sure the ocean cools down alot more than 1-2 degrees at night.. its a bigass ocean.. imagine all the current that brings in the cool water from the depths and there is no sun to warm it up..
RobbyG
02/11/2006, 11:50 PM
Does it really cool down much at night? I have been wondering about that, from what I heard the ocean being as vast as it is cannot cool that quickly because currents keep it in a rough balance that takes days to change. I am not sure but does anybody know for sure what the average temp varation is between day and night?
jiggy
02/11/2006, 11:53 PM
i dont know exactly.. but its only common sense.. look how huge the oceans surface area is.. even if the air temp cools down 5 degrees at night (it usually cools down at least twice that), it would have to cool the ocean down at least 1-2 degrees right there.. plus all the current from the deeper waters.. there is more deep/cool water in the ocean than shallow/warm water.. not to mention the waves crashing will disipate heat from the water.. and the water crashing onto the sand, which is also cooler at night..
Lunchbucket
02/12/2006, 12:08 AM
your temp fluctuates too much! i would fluctuate 2-3degrees MAX.
what are you using for cooling methods? a fan might give you all the cooling you need
how old is the tank?
Lunchbucket
Chaotic Reefer4u
02/12/2006, 12:34 AM
tagging along on this one since my lights are the same as his...
jiggy
02/12/2006, 12:48 AM
i dont have a cooling method.. no heater, and when the lights r off just let the water cool on its own..
mikeguerrero
02/12/2006, 01:14 AM
Jiggy,
Do you run a chiller? Just curious....
MG
jiggy
02/12/2006, 02:02 AM
nope..
organism
02/12/2006, 10:58 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6720961#post6720961 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jiggy
my water params r very stable, especially with my new korrallin reactor
the thing is, temperature is included in your water parameters, a shift of anything more than 2 degrees is actually highly unstable water conditions. in the reefs I don't think the temperature fluctuates that much, due to warmer currents in the areas, even if it does though, you're trying to create very stable conditions so that your sps adapt better to being in a captive system, I've seen high temperature fluctuations do awful things to them... the main thing is getting some fans going on in your tank, if you raise the heater to 82, your temperature's just going to go up to 87, if you take the heater off after the lights come on, it'll still go up to 85, since the heater stops working at 80 anyways
sm fragman
02/12/2006, 04:11 PM
no wonder you have a heat problem wiht the 400 watters going ,,to many people styarting out are basicly bullied into oh you have to get 400 watters ? 175 watters will work
SunnyX
02/12/2006, 04:21 PM
I may the oddball here but I keep my tank between 76-77.5.
jay24k
02/12/2006, 06:35 PM
175 watters will work but IMO are not enough for a 2' deep SPS tank or a 30" tank. Granted, I'm sure the higher demanding corals will live, you just won't get the growth out of a 250. Also 250 watters IMO are great (What I use)but the higher the kelvin, the less light. Therefore I think 400 watters are best for 20K bulbs. I don't think the wattage is the issue. It just might be the length of time running.
kirstenk
02/12/2006, 06:50 PM
I run 400W'ers with an open canopy. When the lights are on, I have a fan that blows across the sump. My maxium temp swing is 3 degrees. Get a fan.
seminolecpa
02/12/2006, 06:52 PM
nope you aren't the oddball. I keep mine right at 76-78
Lunchbucket
02/12/2006, 08:29 PM
i keep mine at 79.1-80.4 MAX!!!
i agree w/ oraganism about temp being in the water parameter list
Lunchbucket
mikeguerrero
02/12/2006, 08:35 PM
Lunchbucket,
How often is your chiller running to maintain that variance... Mine turns on every 3-4 hours for 3 degree variance of 76.5-79.5
MG
Lunchbucket
02/12/2006, 08:45 PM
not sure how long it kicks on....really not often
Lunchbucket
Amphiprion
02/12/2006, 09:01 PM
Try to keep mine at 80-82.
Froggy
02/16/2006, 09:09 AM
I might be another oddball. I also run my reef 76-77 degrees.
MiddletonMark
02/16/2006, 09:24 AM
Run my reef at 77-78 degrees in winter, often more on the 79-81 over summertime when I get some daily variance [no chiller].
wrassie86
02/16/2006, 10:44 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6720483#post6720483 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jiggy
i dont have a canopy.. its an open top tank with 2 400w pendants hanging above it...
the temp rises from 80 to 84.6 exactly in 6 hours... i still have the heater in the sump and it is set at 80 degrees... maybe if i take the heater out, the dark temp will be like 78 and the temp with the lights on will go up to 83..
is it safe to have the temp at 84.6? i have read that some people keep their reefs at like 84-86 degrees..
How warm are you keeping your home?
I used to run 3x400w on a 125 in a enclosed canopy with 4 fans and never had a heat problem during the winter.Summer is a whole different story tho.But i use a chiller for that, my tank stays at 78-79 What is your pump list like?
jiggy
02/16/2006, 11:32 AM
nevermind.. somehow my tank temp equalized.. it is now 79 with the lights off and goes up to 81 with the lights on.. hopefully the temp doesnt change that much in the summer since my tank is in my room/basement n it stays pretty cool there..
i run 3 seio 2600s and a mag9.5 return
wrassie86
02/16/2006, 12:25 PM
Another thing that would help alittle is ditching the Mag pump.
I 've been using the new rio hyper flow pumps for over a year now and love them, that mag does 950gph @93 watts
you can get a 14HF 840gph@40watts or a 17HF 1090gph@55watts both will save you a few bucks and keep your tank alittle cooler for this summer.
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