best temperature for reef?

[burgerchow]

Just got aqualogics drop in chiller. Now I can set my tank to maintain one constant temperature all the time. Currently my tank fluctuated between 78-81 degrees, sometimes as high as 83 on hot summer days.
Question for all you pro reefers out there. What would you set temperature at? 78, 79, or 80 degrees? With this new chiller, I shouldn't ever have any fluctuations in tank water temperature. What is the constant ocean temperature where sps are usually collected?
Currently have some monitpora, staghorns, birdsnest, tabling acros,(sps)
for lps, have the usual gsp's, bubble, candycane, mushrooms, zoas, gigantic toadstool,frogspawns.

[whatcaneyedo]

I deliberately allow my water temperature to go from 76ºF in the winter up to 82ºF in the summer with my ACIII controller. The temperature on the reef over the course of the year isnt constant.

However according to this thread most people keep their tanks at 79ºF
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=45648&highlight=temperature

[burgerchow]

I know most tanks fluctuate between 77-82 degrees. My question is " what is the optimum temperature that most corals will flourish at? "
Any given point in the ocean has a pretty constant temperature 5-6 feet below the surface. I just want to reach that optimum temperature, because with this new chiller, I should be able to keep it a constant 78 or 79 or 80 degrees. Just want to know from your guy's experience, which one you think is best
Thanks

[whatcaneyedo]

Ronalk L. Shimek, Ph D recommends 81-84ºF "as the optimal and normal temperature to maintain all reef animals." in his book Marine Invertebrates 500+ Essential To Know Aquarium Species.

[Leah]

I keep all my tanks at 80 degrees.

[sphelps]

Depends on what you keep, deeper water species will likely prefer colder water and shallow species like sps will be more adapted to warmer temperatures. I know from diving most reefs are close to 80F or even warmer but I've been in some deeper areas that definitely drop a few degrees. Also depending on where the livestock comes from, the optimal temperature will change since natural reef temperature is dependent on location.

So to sum up there simply isn't an ideal exact temperature for our reef tanks because we fill them with such diversity. The only thing we can do is take an average which will probably be between 78 and 82F. Really the best thing is stability, the more stable the temperature the better. I keep mine at 80F because it's stable, the higher temperature gradient makes cooling in the summer easier.

[Blakes Living Reef.ca]

I have found that 78 degrees is best overall since the cooler temp allows more oxygen saturation.

[burgerchow]

Thanks for all your opinions.
I think I'll take the average of you experts and set it at 79 degrees.

[globaldesigns]

My temp doesn't sway much, it sits at 79-80