- In a closed system there may be excess metabolic wastes to deal with. If these excess wastes are not removed properly, with high tank temperatures this may cause problems like uncontrollable algae blooms, and fish or coral diseases that thrive in warmer conditions. In open ocean waters there is plenty of current and other ocean organisms to control these problems.
- Warmer water results in the lack of dissolved oxygen in the water. The loss of dissolved oxygen can suffocate and kill the occupants in your tank much faster than higher temperatures will, but by providing good water movement and ample surface and tank aeration, this problem can be controlled.
- Were the corals or other reef inhabitants you are keeping captive bred and raised? If so, these organisms have never been exposed the ocean before. For this reason it makes sense that with aquacultured organisms they are best kept at the temperature in which they were naturally born and raised.
If you are having great difficulty with constantly fluctuating temperatures that vary more than four degrees or better, up or down, one solution is to run an air conditioner in the room. If this is not feasible, another solution is to add a chiller to the tank, which will allow you to keep warmer or cooler temperatures at a precise setting at all times. The downside to both of these solutions is that they can be costly to buy and run. If you cannot afford an air condition or chiller, then what?
- Make and install your own do-it-yourself chiller.
- If you are having a problem with keeping rising tank temperatures temporarily down, something that often occurs during the hot summer months, refer to our "Combating Rising Tank Temperatures in Hot Weather" article for some Cooling Tips for Beating the Summer Heat, as well has help evaluate why this is happening and take steps to resolve it, if it is not due to hot summer weather conditions.
- If you are having trouble with the tank temperature dropping, something that often occurs during cold winter months, refer to the "How To Retain" and "How To Generate Heat" in an aquarium sections of our "Being Prepared for a Power Outage" article.
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