Winter is coming! Tank temp through the cold months?

[Sean W.]

Hi all,

This summer I switched from keeping freshwater to my very first reef tank and I must say, I am having more fun in reef hobby than I ever did in the hightech planted tank hobby...

I have made every effort possible to keep the (room) tank temperature as close to 77F as possible, summers here in SoCal are long and hot so a few nights it did creep up to 80F, but everyone made it through and we are almost through the woods going into the cooler months.

With that said, what temperature should I aim to maintain during the winter months? I think I should shoot for around 72F, but If I can get away with keeping it cooler, that would be better. I don't have a heater in my house and I will be relying entirely on a tank heater to keep the temps where they need to be, the closer I can keep it to the unheated room temp, the less that heater is going to have to work.

Current stocking:

Fish:
- clownfish
- foxface
- scopas tang
- lawnmower blenny
- firefish
- antenna goby
- diamond watchman goby
- Royal grama dottyback

Coral:
- Kenya tree
- hairy mushroom
- toadstool
- frogspawn
- hammer coral
- torch coral
- GSP
- Elegance Coral
- green goni
- green finger leather
- branching duncan
- cluster duncan
- green candy cane
- blue candy cane
- feather duster

 

[X-37B]

I run 79-81 year round with no issues.

 

[Philly Reefer]

I would keep it the same.
I keep mine at 78F and my tank is in the basement in Philly. And yes my heater will work overtime.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Safe range is 77-79

 

[Flippers4pups]

As others have said, keeping the temp stable throughout the year is best.

 

[Sean W.]

my house can get to 50F during the winter, how big of a heater would I need to keep my 55 gallon tank at 77?

 

[Flippers4pups]

my house can get to 50F during the winter, how big of a heater would I need to keep my 55 gallon tank at 77?

I would suggest two smaller heaters for redundancy. If one sticks on, the other will stay off, that's if you don't have a heater controller. I would use two 50 watt heaters for a tank that size.

 

[seahorsebill]

Hi all,

This summer I switched from keeping freshwater to my very first reef tank and I must say, I am having more fun in reef hobby than I ever did in the hightech planted tank hobby...

I have made every effort possible to keep the (room) tank temperature as close to 77F as possible, summers here in SoCal are long and hot so a few nights it did creep up to 80F, but everyone made it through and we are almost through the woods going into the cooler months.

With that said, what temperature should I aim to maintain during the winter months? I think I should shoot for around 72F, but If I can get away with keeping it cooler, that would be better. I don't have a heater in my house and I will be relying entirely on a tank heater to keep the temps where they need to be, the closer I can keep it to the unheated room temp, the less that heater is going to have to work.

Current stocking:

Fish:
- clownfish
- foxface
- scopas tang
- lawnmower blenny
- firefish
- antenna goby
- diamond watchman goby
- Royal grama dottyback

Coral:
- Kenya tree
- hairy mushroom
- toadstool
- frogspawn
- hammer coral
- torch coral
- GSP
- Elegance Coral
- green goni
- green finger leather
- branching duncan
- cluster duncan
- green candy cane
- blue candy cane
- feather duster

I don’t use a heater I let my tanks remain at room temp