Temperature
- Thread starter nicodim55
- Start date
Temp...
Ya know, really you guys all have a point and the main point is.... There really is no specific point. I recently went snorkeling in the barrier reefs off Grand Cayman Island, Honduras, and Belize. All water temperatures were about the same +/- 1* F. Either 84*F or 85*F and the corals did not really mind either, there were many types. I wont go in to them all, but main corals were brain corals (IE: Favias) Sea Fans / Gorgonians and various other types of harder corals. Most of the indonesian corals most SPS, clams, acans, and super cool pieces are from waters at a minimum of 83*F+.
So the question remains... At what temperature should your tank be? I think Detane hit it right on the nose. It just depends upon where your specimens are from. The reason people say 78* is actually because, I believe I read that it is the average temperature of the ocean in the "Tropics" region. Where that is correct or not goes without saying.
What you don't want to do, and I think Detane hit this point as well, is... You don't want your temperature to jump significantly between night and day. Having a heater and a chiller prevents this from happening. If you look at the average temperature of the oceans where reefs occur. They have steadily been on the rise. They have only risen about 2.5*F over the last 10,000 years, but in universe time that is the blink of an eye.... So you can imagine what fluctuation from 76*F to 82*F in a 24hr period does to corals in your closed system. Just my 2-cents.
One small note, also to remember... This is especially for SPS corals, if they start bleaching at the bottom that doesn't necessarily mean they are dying. Most people don't realize, but corals in the wild bleach out and then re-grow from the tips all the time. That is how they create the reef in which they ultimately live on.
Ya know, really you guys all have a point and the main point is.... There really is no specific point. I recently went snorkeling in the barrier reefs off Grand Cayman Island, Honduras, and Belize. All water temperatures were about the same +/- 1* F. Either 84*F or 85*F and the corals did not really mind either, there were many types. I wont go in to them all, but main corals were brain corals (IE: Favias) Sea Fans / Gorgonians and various other types of harder corals. Most of the indonesian corals most SPS, clams, acans, and super cool pieces are from waters at a minimum of 83*F+.
So the question remains... At what temperature should your tank be? I think Detane hit it right on the nose. It just depends upon where your specimens are from. The reason people say 78* is actually because, I believe I read that it is the average temperature of the ocean in the "Tropics" region. Where that is correct or not goes without saying.
What you don't want to do, and I think Detane hit this point as well, is... You don't want your temperature to jump significantly between night and day. Having a heater and a chiller prevents this from happening. If you look at the average temperature of the oceans where reefs occur. They have steadily been on the rise. They have only risen about 2.5*F over the last 10,000 years, but in universe time that is the blink of an eye.... So you can imagine what fluctuation from 76*F to 82*F in a 24hr period does to corals in your closed system. Just my 2-cents.
One small note, also to remember... This is especially for SPS corals, if they start bleaching at the bottom that doesn't necessarily mean they are dying. Most people don't realize, but corals in the wild bleach out and then re-grow from the tips all the time. That is how they create the reef in which they ultimately live on.
Reflecting back to freshwater days before keeping cold water fish. Well, mainly indoor ponds. Ick/ich would appear when the water was too cold due to heaters going out.
Found this on a search for you.
ICH is a opportunistic disease. It needs a drop in temperature to launch. So if you take a warm water fish and put it in a cold water tank it will get sick. dave
Found this on a search for you.
ICH is a opportunistic disease. It needs a drop in temperature to launch. So if you take a warm water fish and put it in a cold water tank it will get sick. dave
I actually believe that you are correct Ick is an opportunistic disease. But, I don't think it really relates to temperature of the water. It more relates to it's host. For example: if you have a healthy tank and all healthy specimens, everything is fine. Every tank has Ick in it regardless if it is healthy or not, they all have the spores. When your tank is healthy and has the correct params, the Ick spores go dormant, yet they are still there. If a fish gets sick, then the Ick moves in and begins attacking the sick fish. Then like the disease that it is, it goes on to make other fish sick and attacks them as well. So really there is no way to get rid of the Ick disease other than to make it dormant, by making sure all your params are correct. ICK is actually triggered by stress of a fish.
If you look at the large picture of your aquarium you will notice that pretty much every "pest" or opportunistic specimen works in this way. Look at algae, specifically Cyano. Cyano comes every single time something isn't correct with either your water or your lighting or both. This really goes for all Pest Algaes, as they are trying to fill a void that is usually taken up by say coraline algae in a healthy system. The real reef is chock full of opportunists. That's just the way nature works.
If you look at the large picture of your aquarium you will notice that pretty much every "pest" or opportunistic specimen works in this way. Look at algae, specifically Cyano. Cyano comes every single time something isn't correct with either your water or your lighting or both. This really goes for all Pest Algaes, as they are trying to fill a void that is usually taken up by say coraline algae in a healthy system. The real reef is chock full of opportunists. That's just the way nature works.
