Min. Reef Temp.

[clamfoot]

We lost power last night and my 75g. reef tank temp. dropped to 75 deg. F. Should I expect problems? What is the min. safe temp. for a reef tank?

Does anyone know of a heater that runs on batteries, just in case this happens again ?

Thanks

 

[dustint]

My tank dropped to about 72-3 degrees on Tuesday night. My mushrooms where pretty small and my anenome had ballooned. I got my heater set right and it climbed back over 24 hours to 78, which was my target. I have noticed no ill effects at all. I think small shifts like this usually dont harm most corals and fish. Its alot worse to have very drastic changes over a small time frame.

As far as battery heaters, I am looking for a UPS backup, and plan on attaching my heater and one powerhead in case of failure.

Dont sweat it,
Dustin
Atlanta GA

 

[clamfoot]

dustint wrote >>I am looking for a UPS backup,<<

You mean like the ones they sell at a computer store? Do they provide enough power for a 200 watt htr.?

 

[Gatortailale1]

My LFS and lots of books suggest keeping tank temp at 75 F. Some peeps keep upper 70's to low 80 because corals and few other will tend to grow faster if light requirements and water parameters met. Big temp swings, so I have been told, cause cause ick in fish. I don't think you will need a UPS backup unless you keep tank in area of house that is super cold [but it's your money] If you have a sump buy 2 heaters and set one a few degrees colder then the other as backup. 99% of time power will not be off more than 24 hours and fish should survive the drop for a short period. Just warm slowly.

 

[Anemone]

Clamfoot,

I wouldn't expect any problems due to the power outage caused temperature loss. However, you may experience problems due to oxygen shortage. How long was your power out? Do/did you have any battery powered pumps set up? Depending upon bioload, as little as 4-6 hours without water circulation can cause bacterial die-off that can result in a mini-cycle several days to a week later. Measure your ammonia levels daily, and if you begin to get a detectable reading, do partial water changes daily until you're back to zero, then measure your nitrites and do the same. In this way you can cushion the impact on any delicate fish.

HTH,
Kevin

 

[fishfarmer]

Here's a thread on backup power sources http://www.reefs.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=027922. I keep my tank cooler(76) in the winter to minimize fluctuations like this. I had my tank drop to 70 last winter a couple of times, didn't notice any problems.

Link not working, do a search for backup power to find lots of info.HTH
[ September 28, 2001: Message edited by: fishfarmer ]

[ September 28, 2001: Message edited by: fishfarmer ]

[ September 28, 2001: Message edited by: fishfarmer ]

 

[JohnD]

clamfoot -

There was a post several months back about about Uninterrupted Power Sources (UPS). Many folks listed links to various pages of www.apc.com's website for backup units with different capabilities.

HTH,

JohnD