How accurate are the heaters?

F

falcon

AC Members
Dec 16, 2003
216
0
0
Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Visit site
I have an Abo Jager and a Rena heaters in my 120g. Recently, the temp in my tank shot up to 87F, killing a couple of amano shrimps. Minds, the outside temperature is pretty hot as well. I try to keep the temp in the tank at around 84F.

Here is the problem. I have adjuste the heaters, turning it down to 80 or so. I measure the temperature in the tank with Tom's digital thermometer with a probe. A couple of days ago the temperature showed 83.9F and the Rena heater that has been set at 80F came on. So, I turned the heaters down again. This morning, the tempature was at 83F and the Rena came on again briefly, even though it turned it down to 78-76F. At that point, I have unplugged it leaving Abo Jager plugged in. Jager is a 250W heater and Rena 300W.

I am confused here as I can rely either on the heaters and their dial setting or how they read/measure the temperature or the digital thermometer. Any opinions would be appreciated.
 
Thermostats on heaters rarely read the right temperature,a different manufactured heater will usually read a different temp and come on according to that temp. Your best bet is to rely on your digital thermometer and adjust the heaters accordingly.
 
I had the same problem.
The Marineland Dual-Temp heater thet i have is off by 3*F.
I "set" it at 76*F (it has two settings) but it keeps my water at 79*F
Steady but higher. No biggie but still a difference for some species.
I had to buy 2 thermometers to prove this.
 
The temperature dial on any aquarium heater is only good if you happen to have the same conditions in your tank/home as the factory had when calibrating the heaters.

For instance, if the heater was calibrated in a 70 degree ambient temperature, and your house temp is not 70 degrees, the numbers on the dial mean very little. Other factors, such as water movement in your tank also come into play, so consider the heater thermostat as little more then a rough guide.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom