How hot is too hot
 

My tank is in a relativley warm appartment and sits at about 85-86F, my heater never comes on, and I have a minimal evaporation rate. (tank and sump 9905% covered) My salinity is adjusted at this temp and maintained at 34ppt. I realize that this might be high for some things living in my tank, should I consider getting a chiller or am I safe at this temp? Is it possilbe my new thermometer is wrong?

My understanding is that evaporation lowers the tank temperature. I would remove the coverings and see if the temperature drops as a result. On that note, however, my tank fairly regularly hits 85F, and I know there are others here who have seen 90F.

Save $1000 and take the covers off your tank and sump. You should notice quite a diffrence.

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Thanks guys, I may take the cover off my sump and see what happens. But knowing that these temps are reached by others than myself is a bit reasuring!

I have read a few articles latley that state the fish don't appreciate the high temps and are used to lower temps. With regards to the corals, some guys have had problems with high temps and corals.

maybe just start with the cover off the sump and see what happens.

You can lower the tank temperature to lower than that of the ambient through evaporation, which is pretty keen. So you can always add a fan blowing onto the water's surface if things really get out of control. So I would try this before I invested megabucks into a chiller. The only downside to this low-tech solution is increased evaporation means increased humidity.

I don't really know what I think of the higher temperatures. The one thought I have is that, if it hits 85-86 NOW, what's going to happen in July and August when it's actually above zero outside.

I think more important than a max temperature is the speed of temperature changes, and then after that, the difference between min and max. If it's a huge swing and it happens very quickly, I think that has to be worse than simply having a max temperature in the mid to high 80's. Some people don't have problems with swings but if temperature swings wildly from day to night, I have to think that this is harder on inhabitants than a mild swing or a temperature that doesn't really fluctuate too much. I think ultimately people will find their own comfort zone. I know some people (Brad? I think) get some pretty high max temps in the summer in their tanks and seem to do OK by it, but I have to admit if I see my tank hitting >85 I get nervous and start thinking about adding fans or in extreme cases, switching off halides. On those days those guys who have air conditioning, or chillers, have got it made. It's just that, in Calgary, it's probably, what, 2 or 3 weeks out of the year where this tends to be a real problem.

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I'm not too worried about humidity as my place is normally very dry. The reason I have to question my thermometer is that back in Augest when I moved and set up this tank it was very hot in my appartment, and my temp never breached 82-83F. As far as temperature affecting my salinity, I'm not terribly concerned. My fish have all survived hyposalinity treatment for ich so as long as the changes are slow they'l be fine. I'm more concerned with how well my corals will do if the salinity in my tank fluctuates. Are SPS and leathers as hardy as fish in this regard?

Temperature affecting salinity? Oh, sorry I was assuming you had some kind of auto top off (which would mean your salinity doesn't change with temperature).

Leathers are gonna be fairly hardy, I would think. But SPS tend to be rather sensitive. That said, I think as long as the temperature swings are slow enough they should be able to handle a little bit of warm. As to what exactly would be beyond "warm" though is a little tougher to call. I've lost acros when heat spiked to mid 80's, and I've also had no losses after hitting nearly 90. The difference, if I was to guess, is probably in how fast the temp comes up (and back down again).

Just a thought here Danny,

Home Depot sells small, Maytag, in window air conditioning units for around $179.00 which will cool off a room about 10 x 15. don't know how big the room your tank is in, but if you are really concerned this might be an option. A second benefit to this is that you get to enjoy a cooler room as well as your fish and corals!

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Well thanks anyway! My appartment is a two story loft with 900 sq feet of open space with 18.5 foot ceilings. I guess I'd need a bigger air conditioner than that one, I was going to look into it this spring though. I blame the heat on a sky light that bears down on the flooy by my tank in mid summer, and our south facing patio doors. I hould get some lizards, they'd love my place!

Uncovering the tank/sump would help out with getting rid of heat. Better for gas exchange too.