Fishes / Getting Started
A thermometer is one of the cheapest pieces of aquarium equipment, and also one of the easiest to get wrong, since an inaccurate reading gives you false confidence right up until a heater malfunction
A thermometer is one of the cheapest pieces of aquarium equipment, and also one of the easiest to get wrong, since an inaccurate reading gives you false confidence right up until a heater malfunction goes unnoticed.
These adhere to the outside of the glass and are inexpensive and easy to read at a glance. Their main weakness is that they measure the glass surface temperature rather than the water itself, which can read a degree or two off, particularly in a room with strong air conditioning or direct sun hitting one side of the tank.
Submerged directly in the water, these tend to be more accurate than stick-on strips since they measure the water itself. They are inexpensive and reliable, though the glass ones carry a small breakage risk around fish, and a suction mount can occasionally come loose.
A separate probe sits in the water while a display unit stays outside the tank, often with a memory function to show recent highs and lows. These are generally the most accurate option and particularly useful for larger tanks or anyone wanting to catch a slow overnight temperature drift before it becomes a problem.
Handy for a quick spot check without touching the tank, but they measure surface temperature and are best used as a secondary check rather than a primary reading source, since a slightly stratified tank can show a different reading at the surface than at fish level.
A digital probe thermometer with a high and low memory function is worth the modest extra cost, particularly for anyone relying on a heater through unpredictable power supply conditions, since it lets you catch and correct a temperature drift from a power cut or heater failure well before it becomes dangerous for the fish.
Article content © Ravi Teja. All rights reserved.
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