heaters

[BUGZME]

I have read on many sites that people don't use heaters in their tanks. At this time I do but i am considering removing them. I would like some input from all of you about this, pro and con. Without the heaters I would have a 5 degree swing in temp, is this o.k.?

[dakar]

Are you talking about removing heaters from the system completely (ie sump) or just the display tank? I would guess it would depened on how consistant the temp is in your house especially where the tank and stuff is located. Way up here that wouldn't got over very well... in house air temps can swing from 65 to 90 in the winter, to summer it might be possible, but out larger tank is located on an outside wall, so we actually have a combined 550w of heaters, they run ~80% of the time to keep temps between 74-78 degrees. My guess is the swings aren't such a terrible thing, they occur daily in the wild, so long as they are not fast and huge differences.

I was doing some reasearch on temps and theier effects on chemistry last week, and if my readings and memory are correct, the higher the temp, the more CO2 water carries, thus lower calcium levels that can be sustained in the water as well... so lower temps could actually be a benefit, of course to a point.

[bjpembo]

ideally you shouldn't swing more than 2 degrees in 24 hours. drastic changes aren't good for your corals, just like you shouldn't have large salinity changes in your tank you shouldn't have large temp changes in a short period of time. the actual number is less important than the stability. i say leave your heaters but turn them down if they are keeping your tank too warm, or get a better quality heater that has a lower margin or error in the temp control. if your going to have a 5 degree change in water temp on a regular basis then you need to keep them in, if your temp is just going to go down 5 degrees then stay stable then you'd be OK. just do that slowly, turn your heaters down slightly everyday till they are no longer kicking on and your temp has stabilized. but keep murhpey's law in mind when removing your heaters........

[Reptoreef]

IMO, BJ is right... temp swings shouldn't be over 2* + or -. If you can stablize your ambient temp to be more constant, you may be able to remove your heaters safely and without ill effect. Personally, even then I would have a good quality heater for those just in case times... they'll only run when the thermostat reads that it needs too.

[JustDavidP]

Both of my heaters are in my sump. That way you don't have to see them in the display 24/7. When/if I go away, I put a 150 in the tank too (in case there is a problem with the sump pumps, the tank is still heated).