Hi...there was another thread here about having two thermometers in a tank, conflicting readings and reliability of LCD stick on thermometers. I received a Coralife digital thermometer in the mail the other day and was able to compare the two. They were almost exactly the same temp...not off by more than 0.5 degrees. IMO, if you have a new LCD thermometer, it should be very close to the actual water temp. We use them in the OR to monitor patient's temperatures. That is NOT a good place to be off by two degrees. The Coralife digital thermometer seems to be a good buy (sheesh, I sound like Consumer Reports). Just a post. SH