Summer Sweet Spot For Tank Temperatures: What's your max?

What temperature do you think it too high for your reef tank?

  • 79

    Votes: 74 11.4%
  • 80

    Votes: 118 18.1%
  • 81

    Votes: 107 16.4%
  • 82

    Votes: 149 22.9%
  • 83

    Votes: 97 14.9%
  • 84+

    Votes: 86 13.2%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 20 3.1%

  • Total voters
    651

ReefGeezer

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1. What is your target summer time temperature for your reef tank?
I set my controller at 78 F. It's set for a 3 degree dead band. In my basement, the tank stays 76 to 78 year around. I have yet to see the cooling fan come on. The basement stays cool enough that I think the heater runs some year around.

2. What temperature do you think it too high and when do you start to worry?

I've ran tanks at 84 F for short periods. Seems like they did fine. I think 82 would be about the max I'd want to maintain a tank.

My tank used to be upstairs. It ran 80-84 depending on the season. I didn't see a difference in overall health of the tank downstairs @ 76-79 or upstairs at 81-84.
 

M Stein

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I believe 83 is a danger zone. Not everything will die at 83, but somethings will (according to the guy at my lfs wrasses are goners at that point).
So 82 is the max I would go and I give my self a buffer of one degree.
Hence, my max temp is 81.

I also believe that corals will grow faster at higher temperature (it's just a belief, I can't really back this one up) so going above my usual 78 is fine with me.
 

OnPointCorals

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My systems will often hit 82 in summer with no ill effect (Full SPS). When the temp isn't spiking I keep them at 79.

I get uncomfortable > 83.
 

dyno

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I was swimming on a reef in the Maldives. Absolutely stunning but as I passed over a huge mound of hard coral I felt the water coming off the huge corals and it was like shower almost jacuzzi temperature. I was amazed how warm it was and how incredibly strong corals actually are. These corals were probably exposed to the sun directly at low tide too yet we're so perfect and healthy!
 

jhall2242

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3522C2E8-C2E7-4601-B489-13A251E6997D.jpeg
Since summer started my heater has not kicked on much. Nothing in the last 3 weeks. Temp stays at 80-81. My 55 watt UV kicks off at 81F which is kind of like a smal heater. It Raises temp about 1.5 degrees in my 150 gallon tank.
 

Calm Blue Ocean

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Ah, the reef tank, or how I finally lost the air conditioning war in the house.

I'm seriously one of those people who doesn't mind the heat. I prefer the house to be around 78F. My other half likes it at 76F.

Then we got the tank. A perfect 77F. The AC is now set to 76F. I lost the war but it's for the tank!

Winter or summer, I try to keep the tank at 77F. Since getting a quality heater and controller it doesn't stray more than half a degree from that. So if it's higher or lower something is wrong.

I'm not sure what a real temperature emergency is. I had a coral arrive not long ago in a water that was over 91F and it's doing great. I also had one arrive similarly and disintegrate. I've had corals arrive with water in the low 60s where some made it and some didn't.

I'll just keep doing my best to keep the tank at 77F and drink another cup of coffee to stay warm!
 

Appoloreefer

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Well I think we are all finally seeing the heat of summer, well most of us here in the US that is! Already hit 95 degrees here although today is a bit cooler. With that high heat comes fighting the temperature of your tank and trying to keep it at an acceptable level. But what is an acceptable level? Let's talk about it today!

1. What is your target summer time temperature for your reef tank?

2. What temperature do you think it too high and when do you start to worry?


Photo via @cedwards04
20200514_193758.jpg
My reef tank sits at 80 degrees in the winter and summer. I live in Florida and the A/C is kept at 77
 

HJ99

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I had been keeping it about 78 since setup April 5th. I started to see it going up as summer came on. It hit 80 once. I don't want to AC the whole house like an icebox. So we got a window unit for the "Fish Room" . The sump is in the basement which is normally cooler but I have been running a dehumidifier and it pumps out heat. For me, it seems keeping it warm is easier than cooling it. One good thing is that with 225gal, it doesn't swing real fast one way or the other. I'm glad to hear that 80-82 won't hurt anything but I still don't like it.
 

Young@Heart

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Well it has gotten to be 117 outside and summer is just beginning - we are getting a reprieve today - it is only 103 as of this writing. but since my tank is indoors - I am able to keep it at a pretty constant 79.4 I try not to let it go beyond 81.2. I don't have a chiller, but I do have a plan if needed.
 

Young@Heart

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Well summer has started here it was 117 the other day (maybe hotter). We are getting a reprieve today - it is only 103 as of this writing. But the tank is indoors - I am able to keep it at a pretty constant 79.4 degrees. I try not to let it get above 81.2 degrees. The lower temp also makes it more desirable to work on the tank - lol.
 

robert teseo

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77, thats why i bought a chiller/heater combo. it never varies more that plus or minus 1 deg f
 

Beau_B

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I believe 83 is a danger zone. Not everything will die at 83, but somethings will (according to the guy at my lfs wrasses are goners at that point).

Negative. I have flashers, fairies, and a leopard that did 3 days at 83-84 and bumped 85. Slow increase (unnoticed) and slow decrease. They didn't change their behavior at all during or after.
 

peffy03

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my heater kicks on at 79 and off at 80, my ink bird shuts down the heater at 81 if it runs away for some reason. twice last year I hit 84 during the summer, both times I lost a new within 3 days. This year I bought a portable ac unit for the room the tank is in.
 

elcapitan1993

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My target temperature is : 76 degrees

I start to worry at : 77 degrees
I don’t like any fluctuations AT ALL
In all honesty I don’t like it going higher than 0.5 of a degree
 

ReeferMadness01

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Target is 78….highest it’s got on the one I have apex for is 78.5. Probably going to add some black out curtains behind it since it’s right in a big window. I live in south Louisiana
 

Nhjmc

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I prefer my tank temps to follow the seasons (higher in Summer, lower in Winter) with a good couple degree swing each day. Avg of 81 in Aug, 78 in Feb and I've had some 82-83 spikes on hot days (really need to beef up my AC). I've read that corals that see a temp swing and are exposed to higher temps for short periods are more resilient when high temps for extended time occur. Plus I don't like over cycling my heater relays to hit a tight control band.

Never lost a coral to high temps yet but that's mostly because I keep losing them to dinos and algae and critters knocking them over. :)
I use a $10 clip on fan blowing over top of water - works great. Amazon sells all kinds of different models. Although I do make sure to leave my 10K btu A/C on while I'm not home/at work on super hot days but living in NH we don't get many of those days.
 

Reeffraff

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I was swimming on a reef in the Maldives. Absolutely stunning but as I passed over a huge mound of hard coral I felt the water coming off the huge corals and it was like shower almost jacuzzi temperature. I was amazed how warm it was and how incredibly strong corals actually are. These corals were probably exposed to the sun directly at low tide too yet we're so perfect and healthy!
Most people have never experienced a natural reef during the summer, which may have led to a lot of misconceptions out there about coral temperature tolerance in the hobby. Both in the Caribbean and Indo Pacific I routinely observed temperatures between 82 and 88 on reefs. The higher end is usually around the patch reefs in lagoons (but not always). The most sensitive corals to temperature stress are the corals in the family acroporidae (acros, montis, anacroporas) and even with these corals, temps generally need to remain over 86 F for several weeks to cause widespread damage/bleaching (which unfortunately is happening more and more frequently these days).
There is nothing wrong with maintaining reef aquariums in the mid/upper 70s, but people don't need to fear deviations into the 80s. If your corals are dying at 82-83 then you have other issues at play. I have maintained acros successfully between 84-85 for extended periods and they continued to grow well. I maintain my current sps dominant system around 82 (I live in a warm climate).
 

LAX Noob Reef

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Tank in Garage, and in Socal. When it was about 100 outside, tank was about 83 I think, however I do have the entrance door full open, with garage door slide open for air draft. I also have a window fan that either blow in air, or blow out depend on temp of the day. I Also got 2 box fan if needed to get more draft from outside into the garage.
 

fuelman

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i voted other cause all of those are to high for me the euphyllia tank runs at 77. a fan kicks on at 1 tenth above that temp to maintain it. the ac is set at 72 in the house so temp really is no issue.
 

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