Thermometers

When I first got my new tank I was planning to get a digital thermometer, plus one for my inherited 5 gallon shrimp tank. I did some research though as I wanted to go with something that would be accurate, easy to use, and not run out of power very often. This is what I came up with....

• Thermometer Color Strips - convenient, but wildly inaccurate according to online sources. I used one in the past and found that to be true myself.
• Old Fashioned Mercury Thermometer - cheap, but difficult to read, kind of ugly in the tank, but reasonably accurate.
• Digital Thermometer - convenient, not terribly expensive, but also not super accurate & some can be battery hungry

None of them seemed to be a perfect choice. So at first I was planning to buy two digital thermometers. But I just couldn't escape the feeling that there had to be a better solution. After some amount of searching, I decided to do this instead. It worked out to the same price as two digital thermometers, and so far it seems to be both accurate and super convenient. If I take it with me to the LFS, I can quickly test their own tank temps when buying fish. Also, some of the fish are really interested in the red laser pointer dot... just have to be careful not to hit any with it. Kind of like laser pointers and cats. So far, I haven't found a down side to this solution. Oddly, my LFS had never seen one before. I would have thought they'd have one themselves.



https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00837ZGRY/?tag=

But what have others found with regard to thermometers? What works best for you? Anyone else try the infrared thermometer gun and have a different experience with it?

Ive found that even the digital thermometers can be +/- 3-4 degrees out. So now i use a mercury one hidden away which i know is accurate but as you said difficult to read.

Then use a DB1820 probe with a STC1000 controller and calibrate it each month.

Jamesthecat said:

Ive found that even the digital thermometers can be +/- 3-4 degrees out. So now i use a mercury one hidden away which i know is accurate but as you said difficult to read.

Then use a DB1820 probe with a STC1000 controller and calibrate it each month.


View attachment 123086

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And that setup is looking pretty sweet!

I’ve just gotten back into the hobby recently. But 13 years ago when I kept my last tank, I was working as a chef.

I had one of those sticker ones... terribly inaccurate. Being a chef I always had an instant read thermometer and a probe thermometer. They always gave me accurate results...

So say no to stickers.

I know some people say the mercury thermometers are hard to read, but they aren’t really, and I have one each on both of my tanks.

I’m not breeding fish, so I don’t need to be super to the half degree picky. For my purposes the mercury thermometer is plenty accurate and easy to read. It’s also extremely affordable. I don’t mind the aesthetic of it in the tank either, I keep mine top left corner so it’s easy to see. Im not a competition level aquascapist, so a small thermometer for $5 is worth having a clear and constant indication of temperature.

that being said, I always have an instant read digital one so I can check the new water I’m adding back into the tank during water changes. That one is always =to or +/- 1 in accuracy.

I have actually found the cheap digital ones super reliable. In my experience they either work or they don't, so I buy them in packs of 4. If 2 or more show the same reading they tend to be within 0.1C of a food thermometer. Batteries last over a year and when the battery goes I replace the whole thing.

That being said I do now have calibrated Inkbird controllers in all my tanks - so the digital thermometers are just added security to investigate if there is a discrepancy. I do also have several of the cheap digital ones scattered about for water changes, Q tanks etc.

Naterjm said:

I’ve just gotten back into the hobby recently. But 13 years ago when I kept my last tank, I was working as a chef.

Being a chef I always had an instant read thermometer and a probe thermometer. They always gave me accurate results...

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I've read of some people using instant read thermometers normally used for cooking. Seemed to be a pretty good solution.

One of the reasons I really like the thermometer gun is that it lets you read the temps at different parts of your tank easily. I think people tend to think that water is is pretty temp consistent in a contained body of water, but it has thermal zones and thermal dynamics just like air. The larger the tank, the more inconsistent this can be. I like to keep an eye on the temp of the panel at the back of my tank, which contains the heater, and the pleco caves I've established at the bottom of the tank.

I'm a Bread Baker we use Thermometers all the time. The more you spend the more accurate it will be. What we do is test the thermometer with ice water then right in pen on it the discrepancy as a + or - figure, so everyone knows.

I picked up several of these, they were cheap and accurate.

Retired Viking said:

I picked up several of these, they were cheap and accurate.View attachment 123133

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I like these as well anything with a probe is great as you can put the unit on top of the tank where it can't be seen.

itiwhetu said:

I like these as well anything with a probe is great as you can put the unit on top of the tank where it can't be seen.

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Agree on the probe and keeping it in the tank all the time, because I don't have to do anything to check that everything is ok. I tend to keep mine visible. In the case of the Inkbird contoller I have no excuse because I can tell from anywhere in the room if something is amiss with the temp.

(Light controller is usually concealed. Pic was taken to demonstrate the new controller the day I put it on).