Highest Temp your reef has reached?

[will424]

My tank reached 88 Degrees 2 days ago and everything lived like it didn't even phase the corals. The average temp my tank fluctuates from 82-84 daily. What's the highest temp any of you guys saw before corals started to die?

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

I think they can tolerate swings as high as that once in a while but the biggest thing would be sustained heat, like how long the tank was at that temperature. If your tank stayed at 88 for a good while I suspect you'd have seen some very negative effects. I know once reefs in the wild reach 86-90 degrees they will bleach, but that occurs over a couple of days.

 

[will424]

I think they can tolerate swings as high as that once in a while but the biggest thing would be sustained heat, like how long the tank was at that temperature. If your tank stayed at 88 for a good while I suspect you'd have seen some very negative effects. I know once reefs in the wild reach 86-90 degrees they will bleach, but that occurs over a couple of days.

So they can tolerate high temps for a short period time i guess only hours? It was at 88 i want to say for about 3 or 4 hours.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

So they can tolerate high temps for a short period time i guess only hours? It was at 88 i want to say for about 3 or 4 hours.

Yes, I would say a few hours at most. The biggest thing that will hurt them is quick changes, so as long as your temperature changes are gradual then they should be okay. I would maybe consider getting a chiller installed though because I think most reefs thrive at 78 and have a lower chance of bacterial infections at that temperature.

 

[AdamNC]

Last year when my AC went out the tank hit 85-86. No ill effects other than my nerves.

 

[jduong916]

Are you sure your thermometer is accurate? Seems like 88 degrees should of killed something.

 

[will424]

Are you sure your thermometer is accurate? Seems like 88 degrees should of killed something.

Yeah it's off the apex have 2 temp probes in the tank both accurate

 

[jduong916]

Yeah it's off the apex have 2 temp probes in the tank both accurate

Lol, for some reason I kept thinking 98 degrees, even after I wrote 88. Ahh i'm getting old.

 

[wolfpackdl90]

90 degrees this past summer in eastern North Carolina as the AC unit went out while we were on vacation one weekend.