temperature for fish and soft corals

AndyP27

AndyP27

Member
I've had my 55gal fish and recovering reef tank up for the last 7 months after moving...wasn't really paying attention to temperature too much but since it started getting cold here I noticed the temp was down to 70F. Fish seem fine, I threw another heater in there but it is small and I didn't want to drastically change the temp. I assume this low temp will keep my coral from growing/propagating as it does in higher temps. The searches I did on temp show most of you are running over 75F. Any advice on the low temps would be helpful...I'll be ordering a bigger heater tomorrow!
Thanks
 
70 seems low, unless u are caring for seahorses or other cool water creatures. I have my reef in my basement and keep my temp between 73-74 with no problems. I think my basement temp is b/w 68-70, but with all the in-sump pumps i have producing some heat, keeps my temp around 74.
 
I run 76 degrees year round, of course it helps that my basement stays pretty cool even in the summer. Most people you will find keep their reef between 78-80 degrees, i like a few degrees less because colder water holds more oxygen(for the fish).
 
I run it 80 at night and 79 at day time. I can't do anything with room temp. even though
I set my heat at 76 but don't know why the temp stays at 79 and 80. I have LED too.
but everything seem fine
 
The median water temp that the greatest variety of our corals are found in nature is about 83-86° F. In nature, corals thrive in these temps. Over the years, hobbiests have learned that O2 levels are harder to maintain at these higher temps which means you would have less time before your tank inhabitants die in the event of an outtage. For this reason (and partly for lack of knowledge) most hobbiests keep their tanks cooler than optimal temps.
76-83 is an acceptable range.

I don't need a heater. My tank stays between 78-80. When it hits 80.1, my controller kicks on a fan. I have T5 so no chiller needed.
 
Yep, mine's around 78-82 running LEDs in my Biocube.
I haven't even had to use the heater.
Had it dropped below 75 I'd be using a heater though.
 
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