So my tank hit 78 last night

[this is me]

Woke up this morning to find that my tank was at 78.1 degree!! I didnt believe it and thought it was just my thermometer. Changed out the batteries and it still the same. So I thought something was wrong with my thermometer.
For the past week, I unplug the heater thinking that I'd never need it again. I plugged it back in and it was set at 80 and it lights up! Holy cow! my tank is at 78degree. This is the first time it hit that low. usually its 80 or above. Time to give my AC a break. I hope everything is okay! 78 is a little too cool for me.

 

[clamm]

Just for peace of mind I don't think 78 will hurt anything.

 

[dedfish]

Why unplug your heater...I don't think they use much electricity at all when they are not heating. Seems like your asking for trouble on unexpected cooler nights.

 

[MarkO]

I've gone as low as 73 without any noticable change.

 

[Moe_K]

I usually keep my tank at 78 degrees.

 

[Triggerfish]

yeah,,if you have a reliable heater you could just keep it plugged in for stability.
unfortunetely, the heater i have that was set for 80 was on when tank was 82. i think the thing just cycles on and off regardless of water temp.

 

[JustDavidP]

I pulled the heaters in my seahorse tank until fall, but they need to be in and around 75F. I've kept the heaters in my reef because of the "cold nights" thing, coupled with the fact that it is in the basement. Mine hit 83F last night and my alarm was a'ringing. I put a fan on it overnight and it was back to 79F this morning.

 

[SteveDola]

I used to keep my tank at 81 but after various conversations with knowledgeable people i decided to lower the internal temp to 78. Ive noticed that the corals have opened up more and my Pavona has grown into a nice deep green. I dont think that 78 is a terrible temp at all but I would be worried if you continue to have regular temp swings of 4 degrees...creates stress for the inhabitants and can promote disease.

 

[dedfish]

I never trust what my heater says it's set at. Setting my heater at a a certain temp is a long process that involves making small adjustments and taking temp readings.

 

[this is me]

The reason why i unpluged the heater is that I afraid something might be wrong with it and it stays on.

 

[RichConley]

haha..in the last couple of weeks mine has bounced from about 75, to almost 90 between my AC and the heat waves.

 

[this is me]

Thats not good!

 

[NateHanson]

I find a heater important during the summer because I'm often running a lot of fans and stuff like that for cooling. If those fans aren't thermostatically controlled, then they can really have a huge cooling effect on the tank on a cool night where the basement (where the sump is) might reach 60 degrees. So my heaters definitely do some work during the summer as well as in the winter. If you suspect your heater isn't working properly, I'd find a heater you trust, set it carefully, and leave it plugged in.

 

[Valexia]

I'm with Rich on this one, i have had no problems and my temp fluxes between 78-86...even as high as 88. I never see it drop below this and the corals and fish are still happy. Then again, i only have a few stoneys.