Newbie degital thermometer help

[heathern]

I recently got two fiddler crabs and when setting up their tank I realized that the digital thermometer I bought for the outside of the tank has to be below the water line but the waterline is not high enough for it to be vertical. So my question is will the thermometer still work if I put it horizontal?
Also the water heater is on the back of the tank can I put the thermometer near it or do I have to put it somewhere else?

 

[StevenF]

IF it is external and no part of it will get wet then yes it should work horizontally. I would put the thermometer as far away from the heater as possible. You don't want to measure the temperature of the heater

 

[heathern]

IF it is external and no part of it will get wet then yes it should work horizontally. I would put the thermometer as far away from the heater as possible. You don't want to measure the temperature of the heater

Ok great... l will try it thank you for the response!

 

[heathern]

What if the thermometer is slightly below the sand would that mess up the reading? I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture but the water level is about a half inch or so below the pink plant ornament in front so if I put a thermometer there it would pretty much completely cover the little bit of water view I have. But the heater is horizontal across the back of the tank so I can't really put it there. That's why I'd like to put it just below the sand....any opinions?

 

[Ch4rlie]

nice.

But what is this tank set up for?

Turtles / terrapins?
I know very little, if anything, on care for turtles and if they need heated water or not.

With such a small amount of water, its subject to some fluctuation simply from the heat lamp being on during the day and off at evenings so having a thermometer will tell you little of the water temp.

Though of course I could very well be way off the mark, just my 2 cents is all.

 

[heathern]

It's for fiddler crabs....from what I read on the heater it will automatically stop heating when the water reaches the correct temp and restart once it drops below that temp.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Ah, fiddler crabs, nice

Thats indeed correct about most brands of heaters that will stop heating once the optimum water temperature has been reached and will switch on again once the temperature has dropped below the desired temperature.

I know even less about fiddler crabs than I do about terrapins

So I doubt I will be of much help at all, hopefully someone with experience of these adorable little crabs will chime in, I'll keep an eye on this as its interesting reading about husbandry on these and learning something new

 

[StandbySetting]

A thermostatic heat mat may be of more benefit to you than an aquarium heater.

 

[heathern]

Ah, fiddler crabs, nice

Thats indeed correct about most brands of heaters that will stop heating once the optimum water temperature has been reached and will switch on again once the temperature has dropped below the desired temperature.

I know even less about fiddler crabs than I do about terrapins

So I doubt I will be of much help at all, hopefully someone with experience of these adorable little crabs will chime in, I'll keep an eye on this as its interesting reading about husbandry on these and learning something new

Thanks for the response anyway though...I've done several hours at least of research on them and feel like I know enough to at least keep them alive lol....but it's hard to find much on setting up a tank spacifically for them. It's weird a week ago I could have never seen myself owning any type of creature with 8 legs! To be honest when my son asked if he could bring them home from school I was really hesitant and dreading it...then they came home and after several days of watching them/them watching me I literally fell in love with them!!! And setting up the tank from start to finish has been so much fun!!! I even liked washing the sand to put in the tank lol!

 

[heathern]

A thermostatic heat mat may be of more benefit to you than an aquarium heater.

That's a great idea.... Didn't even know thar existed! I will try that when i clean the tank and sand in a few weeks. Thank you!!!

 

[heathern]

Thanks for the response anyway though...I've done several hours at least of research on them and feel like I know enough to at least keep them alive lol....but it's hard to find much on setting up a tank spacifically for them. It's weird a week ago I could have never seen myself owning any type of creature with 8 legs! To be honest when my son asked if he could bring them home from school I was really hesitant and dreading it...then they came home and after several days of watching them/them watching me I literally fell in love with them!!! And setting up the tank from start to finish has been so much fun!!! I even liked washing the sand to put in the tank lol!

Also I didn't realize how much work and research goes into setting up any type of aquarium!!! Props to anyone who pulls it off! It is its own reward though