View Full Version : Thermometers
jeepn4x4
12-17-2008, 9:15 PM
What types of thermometers do you guys use. I was using the cheap coralife ones but they are crap. I put 3 of them and they each showed extremely different temps(20 degrees diff). I bought a large floating pond style and it seems pretty accurate but it is pretty bulky.
jpappy789
12-17-2008, 9:21 PM
I used to have the regular glass ones but I had really bad luck with them. One shattered in the tank, I have no idea why. So I switched to the digital Coralife ones (is that the kind you have?) and I too am doubting the accuracy. They seemed fine at first but now the temps are much lower than before....
jeepn4x4
12-17-2008, 9:25 PM
Yes those sound like the ones. Same thing with mine one of them shows 64 degrees in my 180. Not even close to the actual temp. Have you ever tried the stick on ones?
davidtcb1
12-17-2008, 9:26 PM
Has anyone had any luck using a medical type digital one like you'd put under your tounge? I've wondered if those would work at all?
jeepn4x4
12-17-2008, 9:30 PM
Never tried that. But I don't think they register temps under 92 degrees.
davidtcb1
12-17-2008, 9:31 PM
Ah, good point.
jeepn4x4
12-17-2008, 9:33 PM
I have wondered if the batteries in the Coralife thermometers are dying and that is reason for inaccuracies.
I use those glass ones that cost $1.50, I've only had one break, and that was because I pressed it against it's suctioncup too hard.
As far as the digital ones, when it stops being accurate change the batteries.
jeepn4x4
12-17-2008, 9:36 PM
Probably cost more to replace batteries than to buy a new one for 5 bucks.
i use the stick on ones but if it says its movable. its really not. i screwed mine up trying to move it to a diff part of the tank.
Fordtrannyman
12-17-2008, 10:52 PM
What types of thermometers do you guys use. I was using the cheap coralife ones but they are crap. I put 3 of them and they each showed extremely different temps(20 degrees diff). I bought a large floating pond style and it seems pretty accurate but it is pretty bulky.
I'm kind of a computer hardware geek. Back in the day when fast processors were really expensive. I used to overclock processors to see how far I could push them and remain stable. In that process heat is always the limiting factor. The cooler I could keep the chips the better and faster they would run. So I would monitor the chips heat and heat dissipation with those Inside/Outside Digital Thermometers from K-Mart/Wal-Mart. They work well in aquariums too. It's an instant reading. No waiting for the mercury to rise.
I also have a high end temperature gun I can just point at a tank or anything and get an accurate temperature. The fish and my cats like to chase the red dot too. But really my hand works just as well in telling if tank water is warm enough.
zzyzx85
12-18-2008, 12:16 AM
FTM: any link to one of these inside/outside digital thermometers or how it looks like? Brand? I also have one of the Coralife units and I find myself second guessing the accuracy of it.
BreellaBlue87
12-18-2008, 12:20 AM
It's commonly believed in the reptile trade that stick on thermometers are bad. not sure if the same applies to their use in fishtanks.
bghill
12-18-2008, 1:55 AM
I have 3 tanks, each with it's own $2.00 floating glass thermometers, all the same. I put them all in one tank to calibrate them and 2 were the same and the 3rd was plus 2 degrees. I would guess the 2 were correct and assumed that to be the correct temp. Then just adjust for the difference. I just let the thermometers float around in the feeding ring at the front of the tank. This forces me to check the temp every time I feed them.
Fordtrannyman
12-18-2008, 2:27 AM
FTM: any link to one of these inside/outside digital thermometers or how it looks like? Brand? I also have one of the Coralife units and I find myself second guessing the accuracy of it.
Accu Rite, Large display, Lighted. That's all I can tell you. They were purchased more than a decade ago.
It's commonly believed in the reptile trade that stick on thermometers are bad. not sure if the same applies to their use in fishtanks.
The degrade after a while, so you have to replace them.
johnhoover
12-19-2008, 12:26 PM
I've had good luck with my Coralife gauges. I had to shim the battery into place to get it to make really solid contact. After that, no problems at all.
I've got a good digital probe thermometer that I check against every so often. The Coralife are inside 0.5 degree F. I have yet to find a stick on that's not off by 2-3 degrees F all the time.
John.