Not true that part about constant temp! Not at all!Originally Posted by foodchain
My systems are all outdoor systems. I have one system heated with immersion heaters, one system heated via a greenhouse tent, and one system unheated. In the past 24 hours, my heated system has gone from a high of 78F to a low of 68F. My greenhouse system has gone from a high of 76F to a low of 67F. My unheated system has gone from a high of 79F to a low of 49F. Ambient temps in the past 24 hours have ranged from 85F to 46F. Why track? Well, because I need to know each systems response to swings in ambient temperatures. The water temp can affect the capacity of the bacteria to do their nitrification thing and the water temps can affect the survivability of my tilapia. I need to track how much warmer than ambient temps my water stays so as to adjust feeding rates and to know when to apply drastic warming measures when the occasional cold snap hits. Even here in south Florida, we have the occasional (rare, but not unheard of) morning frost. If I track temp data, I can easily compute each systems likely low water temp based on the forecast ambient lows and take appropriate precautionary measure if needed.