Thermometer Placement

[coyemuse]

Hey Just out of curiosity, where is the best place in the tank to put a submersible thermometer? Is it better to have it in a front corner, or back corner, next to the heater or farthest away from the heater, top of the tank or bottom... For the most accurate reading

 

[Fishy friend2]

I would put it the furthest away frm the heater just to make sure that it is heating correctly

 

[snake007]

I put it further away from the heater.

 

[ShinySideUp]

I put my hand in and if it doesn't feel right I move a photographic thermometer around in the water.

 

[coyemuse]

I'm mostly curious because I got a new thermometer. I have one that sticks to the outside of the tank but it wasn't working very well. But since I put the new one in the tank, Ive had it in a couple spots. the heater is in one corner of the tank, the thermometer in the other end, but there's a patch of water in the center that is always about 2 degrees colder...

 

[Fishy friend2]

Maybe you could put the heater by the flow of the filter. So the warm water goes all over the tank instead of just the area it's in

 

[Cazgar]

The ones that stick on the outside of the tank aren't very accurate, I put mine the furthest away from the heater to get a better reading

 

[coyemuse]

Maybe you could put the heater by the flow of the filter. So the warm water goes all over the tank instead of just the area it's in

That sounds like a good idea. My only concern is that the few fry I have in the tank really like the heater, would it become a problem to have them next to the filter? I think they're big enough that they wont get sucked in, but I'm not 100% on that

 

[Fishy friend2]

I wouldn't worry about them getting sucked in I had newborn fry not get sucked in at all,

 

[coyemuse]

I wouldn't worry about them getting sucked in I had newborn fry not get sucked in at all,

Ill try it and let you know if it changes the cold spot

 

[Fishy friend2]

But if you wanted to be in the safe side, you could place a sponges over the filte inlet

 

[Rummynose]

Or if you have a brand new nylon stocking (rinse it before adding it to your tank), you can attach that to your filter intake, the fry would be too big to pass through, but you will have to clean it regularly to get any debris out.

 

[coldcazzie]

I have two thermometers - 1 right next to the filter flow and one on the opposite corner. I've an external filter so the water is heated on the way back from the filter. However, they both show the same temp, so I could do away with one if I felt the urge. The nice thing is that you can place them all over the tank to see how it changes - which sounds like what you're doing.