simulating natural night/day temperature difference?

[nereksnad]

greetings.

continueing down the path of trying to make the aquarium as close to the natural world as possible, i was wondering if anyone has tried to simulate the temperature change that happens between day and night, the idea being having 2 heaters with on/off clocks, so a heater set at for example 25 degrees C runs only at day time hours and the other heater takes over and runs at 24 degrees C during night time.

has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing, or think it can contribute to the welbeing of the plants and fish?

sincerely,
nereksnad.

 

[Wy Renegade]

greetings.

continueing down the path of trying to make the aquarium as close to the natural world as possible, i was wondering if anyone has tried to simulate the temperature change that happens between day and night, the idea being having 2 heaters with on/off clocks, so a heater set at for example 25 degrees C runs only at day time hours and the other heater takes over and runs at 24 degrees C during night time.

has anyone had any experience with this sort of thing, or think it can contribute to the welbeing of the plants and fish?

sincerely,
nereksnad.

The answer to that question lies in the type of plants and animals you intend to stock. Generally if you are creating a tropical aquarium, you want temperature to remain as stable as possible. If you were creating a native aquarium that incorperates plants and animals from the temperate zone, then some fluxuation would be tolerated. Is it necessary or beneficial? The answer is no. The only time a temperature fluxuation would be of benefit is if you were trying to simulate an environment for organisms which require a cold weather dormancy period. Some plants in the temperate zone require this, which is why we can't grow them in the aquarium. If we were to do so, we would have to reduce the temperature in the aquarium to freezing or near freezing temperatures. I'm sure you can see why this isn't possible?

In regards to a simple one degree temperature fluxuation like you proposed, there is no need to run a heater. The difference in heat generated by your light bulbs will create a one to two degree difference (or more) in water temperature so long as you are not running LED lights.