Tank temperature fluctuation

I maintain a reef aquarium and keep my temperature at 78 degrees. Now that winter is here the temperature in the room that my tank is in gets cold and usually kept warm with a space heater. I have not put the spaceheater on as my metal halides were keeping the room cozy, however i noticed at night occainally mytank temp would drop to 76 degrees and came home from work to find the temperature at 76 degrees. Am I reaching a danger zone?
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76 degrees is not a major issue IMO - some corals seem to like it cooler IME
Temp fluctuation between 76 and 78 is not a major issue either - it varies by more than that in the wild

but having a heater thermostat in the tank set for 78 would be an ideal solution, just in case the temp really does start to drop after the holidays when we get to winter proper

Steve

 

my power went off last night and my tank dropped to 70.1 degrees...
You will be alright

 

okay, just checking, loving the winter weather that rolled in.

 

Not me!!! lol theres more coming my way too

 

in the wild the water drops too 74 or lower. My tank stays at 75-76 and it seems to do fine. as long as it doesnt hit 60 degrees I think you would be alright.

 

Probably in some areas it does but be careful about generalizing the entire ocean.

I don't think a 2 degree swing is going to matter but I would be careful if you hit a cold spell and it goes a lot lower. Coral may stand up to some occasional swings but if you're bouncing between 70 and 78 all the time you may have trouble.
This will also vary greatly with the type of coral you're keeping as well so keep that in mind.

 

Maybe just to be safe put a heater in the sump set at 76 and not worry about it getting any cooler.

~Will.

 

heater in the sump is a good idea