I'm going to go through some articles from "The Great Temperature Debate" http://www.reefs.org/library/article/reef_temperature.html and list some of them here that I think is worthy of reading. WARNING posts can be long.
Ron Shimek
The tank is reaching about 88 degrees in the apex of the lighting cycle. Last year ran about 82. It has fans on the sump as well as the top of the tank not to mention four computer fans in the canopy. I have done everything I can think of short of floating ice blocks in the sump. Animals don't seem any worse for wear so I am not exactly in a panic yet.
Given that they are just getting into the normal range for coral reefs (82-84 deg as average), I would suspect that instead of being in a panic, they are figuratively breathing a sigh of relief.
Do you see any harm in the tank approaching 88-89 degrees? I imagine that there are parts of the natural reef that go above and beyond these temperatures. I would venture to guess that these temperatures aren't maintained long term though
No harm. My tanks routinely will reach those temperatures in the summers. During two diving trips to Palau (richest coral diversity in the world....), one trip in April, one trip in September, the temperatures in the diving zone averaged about 89 degrees. Cool upwelling water measured 86 degrees, and hot water coming off the shallow lagoonal flats was about 95 deg.
What's your baseline temp? Do you run it at 85 degrees year round or step it up for the summer months to avoid massive temp swings?
My baseline is 84 deg.
Most natural reefs have massive temperature swings, though, on any scale you wish to measure, daily, monthly, annually, so that is not a big deal.
Based on that information I guess I will leave well enough alone. At what temperature do you think one might begin to see problems?
I would worry about prolonged (several days- couple of weeks) temperatures above 90 deg. One thing, if your system has been normally kept at 82-84, the organisms in it will be a lot more tolerant of the higher temperatures than if they have been kept in the cold (75-80).
With that in mind, my tank is beginning to reach 85 degrees during the day and about 84 at night. How large do temperature fluctuations need to be before it becomes detrimental to reef inhabitants?
Fluctuations are really not a problem - in some higher latitudinal reefs the fluctuations are enormous. There are data from Johnson Atoll, showing fluctuations on the order of 20 deg F in a single day (from about 72 deg to about 92 deg), and guess what... The reef's still alive...
What is more important are the extremes and the duration of the extreme values. Temperatures over 90 for any extended period is a problem, particularly for corals normally kept at cooler temperatures. I would watch the temperatures and attempt to control the environment so that temps over 90 are avoided.
Ron Shimek
The tank is reaching about 88 degrees in the apex of the lighting cycle. Last year ran about 82. It has fans on the sump as well as the top of the tank not to mention four computer fans in the canopy. I have done everything I can think of short of floating ice blocks in the sump. Animals don't seem any worse for wear so I am not exactly in a panic yet.
Given that they are just getting into the normal range for coral reefs (82-84 deg as average), I would suspect that instead of being in a panic, they are figuratively breathing a sigh of relief.
Do you see any harm in the tank approaching 88-89 degrees? I imagine that there are parts of the natural reef that go above and beyond these temperatures. I would venture to guess that these temperatures aren't maintained long term though
No harm. My tanks routinely will reach those temperatures in the summers. During two diving trips to Palau (richest coral diversity in the world....), one trip in April, one trip in September, the temperatures in the diving zone averaged about 89 degrees. Cool upwelling water measured 86 degrees, and hot water coming off the shallow lagoonal flats was about 95 deg.
What's your baseline temp? Do you run it at 85 degrees year round or step it up for the summer months to avoid massive temp swings?
My baseline is 84 deg.
Most natural reefs have massive temperature swings, though, on any scale you wish to measure, daily, monthly, annually, so that is not a big deal.
Based on that information I guess I will leave well enough alone. At what temperature do you think one might begin to see problems?
I would worry about prolonged (several days- couple of weeks) temperatures above 90 deg. One thing, if your system has been normally kept at 82-84, the organisms in it will be a lot more tolerant of the higher temperatures than if they have been kept in the cold (75-80).
With that in mind, my tank is beginning to reach 85 degrees during the day and about 84 at night. How large do temperature fluctuations need to be before it becomes detrimental to reef inhabitants?
Fluctuations are really not a problem - in some higher latitudinal reefs the fluctuations are enormous. There are data from Johnson Atoll, showing fluctuations on the order of 20 deg F in a single day (from about 72 deg to about 92 deg), and guess what... The reef's still alive...
What is more important are the extremes and the duration of the extreme values. Temperatures over 90 for any extended period is a problem, particularly for corals normally kept at cooler temperatures. I would watch the temperatures and attempt to control the environment so that temps over 90 are avoided.