Proper temperature for a reef tank?

[puncak82]

In the summer, my tank temp was around 77 in the morning and 79 when the lights are on.

Winter is coming and today my tank temp was 72 in the morning and 74 when the lights are on.

Would this be ok? My tank is a 90 gallon with mostly LPS corals. I plan to put a 300watt heater in my sump. Would this be enough?

Thanks

[thekarens]

Just my .02 but stability is important in any tank fresh or salt. You don't want your temps fluctuating all over the place. When we had our reef tank we shot for 78-79 year round though it did get hotter in the summer.

[puncak82]

Karen....thanks for the info...I think I will buy a heater now and set it to 77F range. This way it will be stable like in the summer. What do you think?

[myjohnson]

Karen....thanks for the info...I think I will buy a heater now and set it to 77F range. This way it will be stable like in the summer. What do you think?

A 300w heater on a 90g tank is perfectly fine. I would even set it at 78F so that the change during the summer is only 1 degree but 77 wouldn't be a problem either.

[puncak82]

I think I will get RENA 300w heater and put it in my sump ...Thanks Karen and My johnson

[myjohnson]

I also recommend a temp controller along with the heater. Basically cuts the heater off if it decides to over heat on you.

If you have a chiller or plan on getting a chiller (after upgrading lights) you might want to look into the dual stage temp controllers.

[tang-chaser]

I agree that stability is key on any fish tank. With my tank i keep at 78 degrees. My tank however is in the garage apartment that has no heater right now. With the 2 days of below freezing weather here, my tank dropped to 63 degrees (despite having 450watts of heaters on 75gal. All fish and corals are fine but did have a increase in nitrates and brown diatoms due to microscopic die off. Corals and fish can handle lower temps but keeping them from fluctuating will give you better growth and health. While setting up your tank you should take note of your temp with your lights on and with your lights off (the hottest and the coldest time for your tank) and adjust accordingly.