How bad are temp fluctuations?

whats ur heater set at and what do you want the low temp to be? it will only get to 81 at the hi point seeing as ur lights are acting as a heater during the day. if you want the low to be say 79 adjust your heater.

 

I've fought that battle already....when I turn my heater up one more notch it stays at 80 at night and for whatever reason goes up to 83-84 degrees during the day. In lieu of getting a more precise heater I'm just checking to see if the temp swing is fine as is.

 

Thanks everybody for comments! So, is the general consensus that a four degree temp flucuation is no cause for concern??

 

well i guess ur stuck with the equiptment that you have currently. 77-81 is a normal, in my case included temp swing. with the corals i have i cant notice ne ill effects. however if you wanted it more precise you would have to get a new heater and controller and well if you wanted it perfect you would need a chiller perhaps.

 

Mine was doing this until I figured that consistency was better than a slight fluctuation so I adjusted my heater to 78. Now t goes from 78 to 80 instead of 77-80. Not sure if it's really a difference at all.

When my heater died on me it dropped to 74 before I realized it, I placed an extra heater in there and it rose a little too quick because the heater was not dialed in yet. I lost a peppermint shrimp the next day, but everything else was fine.

 

Far as Im aware my Tank fluctuates from 79-77 though the day, depending on night or day. Everything is healthy and happy as far as I'm aware!

 

temps going up and down are no worries at all, in the ocean this is always happening!

 

Might the fans running at night cool things down quicker?

 

We recently had a small bit of heat here on the coast of California and my tank went up to 90 degrees. I quickly filled my sump with frozen ice packs in ziploc bags to try to bring the temp down. Didnt lose any livestock which is nice. I normally keep my tank at 79 degrees. As long as the water doesnt stay too warm some fluctuations are fine. I dont like the ones where my tank goes to 90.

 

not a concern in majority of cases. If it were me, I would get an eight dollar analog timer from Walgreens and plug the fan into that.