Aquarium Temperature

[matt]

Hi,

I have a 72 Gallon tank with two heaters in the sump. If I try to keep the temp at 72 F (which is about as low as it will go) it is less stable, going from 72 F to @ 74.5 F when the lights are on. Am I better off setting the temp to 75 F which it can hold stable at all times? The aquariums only inhabitants are a small bimaculoides and some red legged hermit crabs for the octopus to eat.

Thanks, Matt

 

[Colin]

Hi matt

what temp is the tank with the heaters off? A bimac is quite happy down to high 50s low sixties.... Also a fluctuation of a few degrees each day isnt too much of a worry for a intertidal species like a bimac..

They can handle a bit of a daily fluctuation as long as extremes are avoided...

C

 

[matt]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. My aquarium temp without the heaters will go down to 72 F but it rises and falls a few degrees throughout the day. Is that better than a stable 75 F ?

Thanks, Matt

 

[cthulhu77]

Yep, you are better with a lower temp that fluctuates than a constant high one...3 degrees or so shouldn't irritate the ceph too much! Hey, at least you have a problem with heating, out here, it is all cooling!! :x
Greg

 

[matt]

Aquarium Temperature

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I'm going to unplug the heaters and monitor the temp for a while. I am considering a chiller/heater combo to try to maintain a cooler temp.

Thanks, Matt

 

[rrtanton]

I am told that a fan on the sump will help significantly with cooling...evaporative cooling can be quite impressive. Is your sump enclosed somehow? If you can leave it open and get some air circulation, that might do the trick. There are also tricks you can do with lights, again allowing air circulation. That's one reason I've converted to a sump...this should bring my temp down to bimac-acceptable levels.

rusty

 

[Colin]

HEH!

Greg, I'd love to be hassled about keeping cool for a change! LOL

A room temp tank here sits at about 60 -65 most of the time

 

[sideways]

For some reason my octo tank in the bedroom wanted to stay at 77-78 without heater. Thats warmer than the saltwater tank in the living room with heater! A cheap small Walmart fan on top keeps it at 70-74 which is better than a constant 78. The only downfall is that you have to do more topoffs due to evaporation.

 

[cthulhu77]

Oh man...I wish! We are already in the 90's here...looks to be a hot summer...yeah, I use a fan also...at least that helps with the a/c bills!
Greg

 

[Colin]

bah! Its in the 50s and wet and misreable here today :?

 

[Nancy]

Sorry about your miserable weather, Colin!

I'm wondering about the effects of a fan - the evaporation means more top off water is required. Would it be better to use at least some distilled water for top off, since that's absolutely pure? It seems like any quantity of impurities, however slight, would be concentrated by the evaporation.
Or am I thinking right about this?

(I had never considered distilled water until I found it mentioned in a book on water chemistry for marine aquariums. )

Nancy

 

[rrtanton]

Well, I think that's why regular water changes are so important...bad things will still ultimately be removed. Also, that's why RO/DI systems are the best thing for tankwater pre-filtration...in the long run, they're cheaper than buying and transporting distilled water, and they make water that is basically indistinguishable from ordinary steam distilled.

rusty

 

[cthulhu77]

I am lucky enough to have a delivered water service that charges 37 dollars per month for as much as you can use. Poor delivery guy has to carry a lot of 5 gal containers here!
Greg

 

[matt]

Hi,

I installed a Teclima CA200 Chiller/Heater combo on Saturday and it easily maintains 68F. I slowly stepped it down from around 73F. How low would be best for a bimac? Is there any problems with live rock and its inhabitants and cold water? I use only the live rock ( @ 140lbs in a 72 gallon tank) for biological filtration, no bio-balls. I haven't noticed any problem with the water quality yet. Also, are the needle type Seatest SG meters accurate at a low temperature?

Thanks, Matt