temperature and light

[RogerL]

is 78f a good temp for fish only? and will daylight or room lights bother the fish when the tank lights are off? if so, what should i do about it?

[Wrassman]

Hey Roger,

I keep my tank a little warmer than yours (80F), but 78F is fine.

As for the daylight or room lights, I'm assuming that the tank will be in the living room, from the sounds of it. If it gets daylight sun, plus your tank lights during the day, you might have a problem with temperature, later on. I finally had to buy a room divider, to block the sun from the tank, because it was raising the temp [glow=yellow,3, 300]TOO HIGH[/glow] in the late afternoons.

I use the room dividers in front of the window. But, I know some people who use the dividers in front of the tank, so that even later on in the evening, after all the lights are out, the tank is shielded from the rest of the room, and movement that takes place in the room, and TV, etc.

I am not convinced that the fish are freaked out by movement in the room, after their lights are out. [smiley=anxious.gif] But, remember to keep the lights in the room the tank is in to a minimum. That's just common sense. Bright lights and lots of movement in the room where their tank is could cause them a LOT of stress, and you don't want that. [smiley=wreck.gif]

There are a number of ways to deal with this issue. The room divider is just one such way. Use your imagination, I'm confident you could come up with one or two yourself. [smiley=wink3.gif]

HTH [smiley=wave.gif]

[RogerL]

the reason i have it at 78f ( i initially had it higher) is because i read that temperature in the high 70s instead of low 80s makes for more dissolved oxyegen and lezz parasites. "the conscientioous marine aquarist" is where i read it. as for the temp, my apartment has all utilities included, so my roomates and i keep the air conditioning on all the time. no problem with overheating. i do keep the lights out as much as possible at night, but there is some room movement. i will definitely look in to room dividers, or make something on my own. thanks wrassman!

[Wrassman]

Yes, I remember that page of TCMA. *However, if you are running a very powerful skimmer, and running your sysmtem through a sump/refug, then oxygenation is not going to be a problem. *Parasites are always a threat, no matter what the temp, epsecially if you are frequently adding livestock and live rock, whilch you will be doing for awhile. *So keeping it low is not a BAD decision, under those circumstances.

BTW, before I forget it, the guy who tried to tell you that AquaClear was as good as a Remora either was lying to you cold in the face, or did not have a CLUE as to what he was talking about. Please, stay away from that shop, or at least that dude! [smiley=pissed.gif]

Edit: Fixed spelling mistake. [smiley=whip.gif]

[RogerL]

sounds like a plan :-)