Temps?

[CACAdmin]

I'm still pondering the possibility of setting up a s/w tank. My biggest issue (other than a zillion newbie questions) is temperature. I can't afford a chiller and my apartment isn't airconditioned. However, at least once every summer, my tank temps will reach 90 F. (or close to it) for a couple of days. What fish, inverts, corals prefer higher temps?

[blainep]

Open the top of the tank and let a fan blow across the water, that help keep temps down a bit.

Other than tropical fish, try to get tank bred fish as well, they'll be a little more used to temp swings.

[mixixe]

would ice in a bag work??

[CACAdmin]

I tried floating those cryopack ice packs in the tanks but by the time I get home from work, they've been thawed for hours and temps have risen.

[Dogpatch]

Hi Jay, tank temps are extremely variable, the issue is more "rapid" changes being the trouble, many people keep their tanks chilled in an effort to inhibit algae growth, my thinking is if it slows or deters algae what good can it do corals and fish? low temps keep fish metabolisms way down and generally limit breeding, anywhere bacteria is an issue refrigeration is used(meat shops, hospitals etc) a reef tank really is nothing short of a bacterial growing machine, limit bacteria... limit growth?
I prefer higher temps around 82 to 85 degrees not hard to achieve with the lighting we have and running a small computer fan aimed at the surface will keep temps down and aid in gas exchange so a better ph can be had.
I find that if I set my heaters to around 80 I rarely ever get a dip, a swing of 3 or 4 degrees isn't too bad, during the hot season you could bump the heaters up to 83 or 85 so it dosen't drop a lot over night, also turning off the lights for a couple of days dosen't hurt anything