Fluctuating temperatures

bthomas04

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 24, 2023
Messages
9
Reaction score
1
Location
Bismarck
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I know there have probably been a ton of temperature threads but I have a question regarding softies and lps. My apartment is so difficult to keep a steady indoor temperature. I’m going to be setting up a 15 gallon IM fusion tank. Throughout the summer there can be a fluctuation of 4-5 degrees in my apartment throughout the day. Do you think this fluctuation in air temp will effect my tank? I’ll be keeping mainly softies, Zoas, and some LPS.
 
Last edited:

ISpeakForTheSeas

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 22, 2021
Messages
6,359
Reaction score
7,659
Location
United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
It might have a slight effect on water temperature, but it shouldn’t be enough to cause any problems:
Slightly diurnally and seasonally, yes:
"The diurnal temperature variations are about 0.3°C in theopen oceans and 2 to 3°C in shallow waters."
Source: https://www.academia.edu/36838790/Chemical_Oceanography
From what I've seen, for most tropical reef organisms, as long as the temp doesn't swing too far too fast, and as long as the temp is kept within ~75-82F (lower than 74ish can start causing problems, higher than 83 and many corals will start to bleach - so allowing for temp variation due to imperfect temp controllers in our tanks, I would set 75F as the min and 82F as the max), the temp doesn't seem to matter much. To give an idea, a 2C change (from 25C to 27C, for example) is about a 3.5F change (77 to 80.6, with the 25C to 27C example), so allowing a 3F to 4F temp change diurnally should be fine.
 

Looking for the spotlight: Do your fish notice the lighting in your reef tank?

  • My fish seem to regularly respond to the lighting in my reef tank.

    Votes: 26 78.8%
  • My fish seem to occasionally respond to the lighting in my tank.

    Votes: 2 6.1%
  • My fish seem to rarely respond to the lighting in my tank.

    Votes: 3 9.1%
  • My fish seem to never respond to the lighting in my tank.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I don’t pay enough attention to my fish to notice if they respond to the lighting.

    Votes: 1 3.0%
  • I don’t have any fish in my tank.

    Votes: 1 3.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top