bad night....will they survive?

[joekr]

somehow my heater came unpluggled on my 10 gallon prop tank filled w/ xenia. Temp was really low (probably low 70's high 60's) The xenia was still moving a little and there were pods still swimming around.

I turned the lights on, let the heater get back to work and put the HOB filter on it w/ carbon in it.

I'm going to go home over lunch and check it out.....

could kick my self for not checking everything out like I always do before I go to bed...

It's a very hearty strain of red sea...what do you guys think? Hopefully not a tank of death when I check it over lunch....

 

[wade1]

It should be, cold is usually more well tolerated than hot. The real concern is how fast you warm it back up again. You should really only cover a few degrees per hour at most, not all the way back up in under 1. Lets hope it survives!

Let us know.

 

[Reefguide]

That a huge temp swing but they should be ok, how long were they exposed to the low temps? You shoud bump the temp by a few degrees every couple of hours or so... If you bump the heater back to normal you'll be exposing them to yet another huge temp swing...

 

[joekr]

well, I checked them out over lunch and everything looked normal! I'm not sure how long the tank was at that temp, but since the temp decline was gradual, everything seems to have survived!

I'm really surprised, but it's a good thing!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Good deal. Glad to hear it recovered.

 

[Anonymous]

btw, the Xenia frags that you sold me are open and doing great according to my wife! If you do loose the tank, let me know and I will return one or both!

Thanks again!

I'll post a picture on RC tonight

 

[blastermqn]

Low 70's / high 60's for a short period of time usually won't bother marine life. Stressed fish might show some ick (their version of a cold), but shouldn't be anything bad.

Lower water temps actually increase the amount of O2, and many corals actually prefer it. The minor increase in water density is something they easily adapt to. It's decreasing water densities that tend to hurt inverts.

Going hotter on the other hand is a different story. That *will* kill things in short order.

 

[joekr]

sounds good cknowlto!

Thanks all for the responses. I think I'll redo my wiring tonight to make sure this doesn't happen again!