4 degree temp fluctuation

Interesting...

I have my heaters staged so the last set turn on at 73.5 and all are off at 76....while the chiller turns on at 78 and off at 76....

Through the course of the winter, the tank varies 2 to 3 degrees over the course of the day....this spring, the chiller is running once a day for about 45 minutes to drop the temp 2 degrees in the early evening over all the variation is still 3 to 4 degrees...the heaters have not been cycling on for the last week...but will likely do so this week....

 

I would try to stabilize temperature as much as possible. If you can get it to within 1-2 degree swings, it would be ideal.

I agree with many of the above posts, keep your heaters set a little higher, to 77-78 and have fans that come on during the lights on period to keep it cool.

I have mine fairly stable @78-80. I would like to get it to not shift at all... and I'm working on that. May be possible when I get a controller... with multiple heaters and fans, I think it could be possible.

 

did you no that in the ocean...the water is like 72-75 degrees in the sun...at night it drops to like 68 degrees...your fine..donnt worry about it.

 

I would set the heater higher, this will lesson the swing. Example if tank is heating up to 80 during the day and your heater is set at 78 this is only a 2 degree swing. The lower you let it drop at night, like 76 now you have a 4 degree swing. The less the swing the better on you tank.

 

Tropical reefs are warmer than this. The Great Barrier Reef for example ranges from 75 to 85 degrees.

 

You're quoting very low temperatures... much lower than found on MOST tropical reefs (where a majority of our fish/ corals come from).

Such fluctuations are surface temperatures only. A few feet down, and most of the reef will not experience such fluctuations.

An article I suggest reading, if you haven't read it already:

Ron Shimek's Website...Critters