Digital thermometer

[sharkweek178]

Can anyone recommend a good accurate digital thermometer that won't stop working in a month?

 

[jaylach]

I don't personally use them so the best I can offer is to do a search and check reviews. Look at the reviews that only give 1-2 stars as the good reviews do you no good. You want to see where people had issues.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I get the cheapies off Amazon or Ebay, the ones that look like this. They usually work fine for years, and they're cheap enough to buy several so you have a backup.

 

[connorlindeman]

I'm too cheap to buy a thermometer. I bought one that said it was waterproof and within a week it stopped working from water damage. Never bought one after that. There's better things to spend money on imo

 

[jaylach]

I'm too cheap to buy a thermometer. I bought one that said it was waterproof and within a week it stopped working from water damage. Never bought one after that. There's better things to spend money on imo

I use a glass internal thermometer and an external thermometer strip. Between the two I just go with the average. Actually they match within a degree.

If you use no thermometer how can you know if your tank temperature is proper for your fish?

 

[Fishmanic]

The one WhistlingBadger recommended above is very good. I have several of them and they are within a degree of each other. I've had them for many years. You can replace the battery if necessary...they run a year or two on one battery.

 

[connorlindeman]

I use a glass internal thermometer and an external thermometer strip. Between the two I just go with the average. Actually they match within a degree.

If you use no thermometer how can you know if your tank temperature is proper for your fish?

Touch is how I do it

 

[jaylach]

Touch is how I do it

I won't say that you are wrong in this but do you know that what you feel as temperature by touch can be very affected by the mood you are in, ambient temperature and humidity? These are all factors as to how we "feel" temperature and can vary to a large degree. I would have to consider checking tank temperature by touch to not be reliable. Think about it... Say you have the flu and feel your forehead. Even though you probably have an elevated temperature your forehead may actually feel cold.

 

[connorlindeman]

I won't say that you are wrong in this but do you know that what you feel as temperature by touch can be very affected by the mood you are in, ambient temperature and humidity? These are all factors as to how we "feel" temperature and can vary to a large degree. I would have to onsider checking tank temperature by touch to not be reliable. Think about it... Say you have the flu and feel your forehead. Even though you probably have an elevated temperature your forehead may actually feel cold.

I know its not optimal. I guess I'm too lazy to buy one

 

[jaylach]

I know its not optimal. I guess I'm too lazy to buy one

I'm not actually sure as to how I should reply. I mean you can stop by a store and pick up a thermometer while you are already out and about. Even a cheap $5.00 thermometer would do better than sticking in your finger.

Always remember that having a pet is not a privilege but, rather, a responsibility. You are responsible for the well being of a life form.

 

[GaryE]

If you have a heater in a tank, and way of measuring temps other than your finger... yikes. A whole lot can go wrong there.

That's a car without a gas gauge and multiple drivers.

I have a hand held infra-red gauge I just walk along and check with. I compare to a couple of quality (but very old) battery operated digital gauges. At one point, I had the ones @WhistlingBadger suggests. With a multi-tank set up, I bought 20 directly from China, for under a buck each. They were the exact ones stores here had for $9.95. A large percentage of them were accurate, but one in five was an outlier by several degrees. In time, I replaced their batteries a couple of times, but they didn't last.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have some very pricey plecos. They like warm well oxygenated water. I have a Digital temperature controller on those tanks. Heates in the tank plug into the controller which determines when the heaters get power. The controller also has a digital display for setting the desired temp and then for displaying the actual temp. A little red light informs me when the controller turns on the power.

I have two tank wipe outs due to a maldunctioning heater which stuck full on. So I pay up for a good controller. I have 12.

I always wanted one of the infrared thermometers, never got one. I do have a lot of less cheap suction cup plastic thermometers and traditional metal hang-ons. They are more of a guide than anything. I get a bunch and then array them by the temp they show and use the ones nearest the middle of the range. With the metal ones you can often slide the glass tube up or down some,

 

[sharkweek178]

I get the cheapies off Amazon or Ebay, the ones that look like this. They usually work fine for years, and they're cheap enough to buy several so you have a backup.

I'm just going with that. And I'll have a regular thermometer in there as well. Between the two, I should be able to get an accurate read.

 

[Glenn407]

I'm just going with that. And I'll have a regular thermometer in there as well. Between the two, I should be able to get an accurate read.

That's the same one that shipped with the last heater I bought. It's within 1.5 degrees F with two digitals I use for my work.