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11. HEATING AND COOLING THE REEF AQUARIUM:
11.1 HEATING:
11.1.1 INTRODUCTION:
The temperature of the tank's water determines the metabolic rate of all animals that are in it. When the temperature fluctuates too much and too rapidly, many lifeforms kept in the tank will suffer. Fish, in particular, adapt their body heat to the ambient heat, unlike humans. This reduces the span of temperatures that are life sustaining greatly. Whereas humans can take great temperature variations, fish and corals cannot, and will die if you do not adjust the temperature of your tank correctly.
Temperature changes of smaller magnitudes must be avoided as well. Parasitic disease outbreaks are not uncommon when the temperature is changed quickly, either upwards or downwards.
Many a hobbyist has experienced this already, often with loss of lifeforms because parasitic diseases are so hard to eradicate even in fish-only tanks, let alone in reef aquariums where copper or quinine based medications cannot be used.
Because the lifeforms kept in reef aquariums are quite sensitive, not as resilient as their fresh water counterparts, changes that the hobbyist considers minimal in a fresh water tank do not apply in reef aquariums. A variation of 2 deg Fahrenheit can be enough to cause problems. This must be kept in mind when, for instance, making water changes. Always make sure that the water you add is of the same temperature as the one already in the tank.
Around natural reefs the temperature never varies very much, and when it does it varies very slowly. Keep that in mind as well. Do not make temperature changes rapidly. If your tank is now running at too high a temperature and you take steps to reduce it, which you should, make the changes slowly. Don't go from a present 82 deg to a new temperature of 76 deg in a matter of hours. You are guaranteed to have problems if you do.
Depending on where your animals came from, and more likely than not they will have come from Indonesia, Hawaii or the Philippines, they are accustomed to temperatures in the range of 75 deg to 77 deg most of the time. For short periods of time these temperatures may be lower or slightly higher, for example as low as 73 deg and as high as 80 deg.
Short periods of time do, unfortunately, not mean days or continuously. Too high temperatures, maintained for too long, will damage the corals and will hurt other invertebrates as well.
11.1.2 CONVERSIONS:
Frequently, references to temperature, in books, magazines and so on, are in degrees Celsius rather than Fahrenheit. One reason is that many books come from Europe, and another is that the scientific community uses Celsius or Kelvin rather than Fahrenheit.
Converting from one to the other is simple. You have probably seen the formulas often, or learned them many years ago in school. For those in need of them, here they are again:
(1) Degrees Celsius = 5/9 (degrees Fahrenheit minus 32)
(2) Degrees Fahrenheit = 9/5 of Celsius, plus 32
Let's look at two examples: We want to convert 25 degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit, according to formula (2) the calculation is: 9/5 of 25, plus 32 or after calculating 77.0 deg Fahrenheit. How much is 82 deg Fahrenheit in Celsius degrees? Again, according to formula (1) this time: 5/9 (82-32), or after calculating 27.77 Celsius degrees.
To allow you to quickly interpret Celsius and Fahrenheit degrees, we are including a conversion chart of the temperature range that you may be dealing with when reading books on aquarium keeping. The chart allows you to go either way.
Many aquariums are kept at too high temperatures, and many animals are lost as a result. Often the hobbyist does not even want to admit this fact to himself or herself, and will try to make everything in the tank look good, even though the temperature is way out of control. Such is, I am afraid, not possible.Celsius Fahrenheit Fahrenheit Celsius 19 66.2 66 18.9 20 68.0 68 20.0 21 69.8 70 21.1 22 71.6 72 22.2 23 73.4 74 23.3 24 75.2 75 23.9 25 77.0 76 24.4 26 78.8 77 25.0 27 80.6 78 25.6 28 82.4 79 26.1 29 84.2 80 26.7 30 86.0 81 27.2 82 27.8 83 28.3 84 28.9
Calling manufacturers and asking many questions in an effort to make such tanks work is really a waste of your time, especially if you do not admit the fact that the temperature is far above what it should be. Of course, hobbyists realize that when they admit to such high temperatures the answer is simple: lower it first, and things will get back in control.
Some animals are even more sensitive than others, as some hobbyists may have found out about, for example, carpet anemones. If you cannot keep them alive, suspect the temperature.
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