Equipment Review and Discussion

Hi people,
Haven't bugged you for a while but I have a quandary.

I've got this Zoo-Med digital aquarium thermometer and I don't think it's reliable or even close to accurate.

1. Taking it out of the water and just exposing it to room temp give a wildly inaccurate reading of about 80 degrees. Our rooms are at 66-68.

2. I did this because I want to take temperatures on the basking platforms I have - so I figured that the thing better be accurate at least as a baseline in room temp.

3. The second 'test' I did: I have a Fluval E200 heater in my 55 gallon tank that says the water is 75 degrees. The zoo-med, when placed in the tank, reads 82.5 degrees.
(the Fluval E-200 is UNDER-powered for even the 55-gallon tank (just letting you know to save someone the trouble I'm having) because it won't heat the water above 75 degrees in this 55-gallon tank and I can't afford to replace it with a new one right now and I figured 75 is probably close enough to 77-79 (which I thought were ideal temp????). Get the E-300 at least. This is all assuming that it's digital read-out is accurate

4. The zoo-med, when I put it in my OTHER, 75 gallon tank with Tronics 200 (I think) heater, says the water is ALWAYS 79 degrees, even though I have the Tronics 'dial' set at 71 degrees (because I thought I better not heat up the water if the zoo-med says it's already 79 degrees).

NOW - I have NO idea what the real water temperatures are and I have absolutely no way to measure the temperatures on the basking platforms in each tank. I don't trust the Zoo-Med because it doesn't even agree with either outside air temp or in-water temp vis a vis the Fluval E series heater.

Can you recommend thermometers that work accurately (and quickly if possible) that are not that expensive - and that work both in and out of water equally well? (or is that not possible?) If I need one for in-water and one for out-of-water (basking platform) can you recommend?

Thanks - I don't want to just run to petsmart and buy whatever they have and waste more money. I'm already upset that this Zoo-Med is probably not functioning properly.

Thank you

Matthew Peretz

You should definitely return it. An infrared temp gun will set you back about $20 but it's fast and accurate. A decent one for water is those LCD sticker types. They are fairly reliable. For one that works out of water, you can probably use any kind that is made for aquariums that is not digital.

Is there a 'brand' of infrared temp gun? And is that for measuring the temp on the basking platform (and NOT for water temperature in general? (which is the sticker type)
then why do you mention a third 'out of water' type :any kind that is made for aquariums that isn't digital

You seem to be recommending 3 different things. Can you clarify?

Temp Gun is a brand, but there are others. It'll measure water and basking temps. You asked for an out of water thermometer, so that's another option.

I use both the sticky type and a temp gun.

Temp Guns are cool.... useful in the kitchen too.

I know I posted this in a response to your PM, but I'll post it again here for everyone else with thermometer problems to see.

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Yes those $10 digital thermometers are useless. You can get 5 of them put them in the tank and you'll get 5 different temperatures.

How can you check a thermometer... if you get a small glass of water and put a good amount of ice in it.... and swirl the ice around your thermometer better tell you the water is very close to 32 degrees F.

So... for an accurate thermometer that works in water and on the basking area that's cheap. $2 will buy you one of those floating glass thermometers. They are very accurate and don't cost much. The downside is they are fragile... your turtle will chomp through them in 2 seconds flat. So my advice is to get one of these thermometers and just use it on occasion to spot check your water and basking areas. Don't leave the thermometer in with your turtle unattended.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... =525395200

As I said in PM, I just ordered Zilla's temp gun so that should be good.

Steve: How do you use a temp gun to measure water temp? I thought it measured only things it could be pointed 'at' .... but again, obviously I'm no physics person so I don't have a clue as to what I'm talking about.

You just point the temp gun at the water surface (about an inch away), press the button and you'll instantly have a reading. You can point it at the glass if you have an ATBA or canopy, but the reading might be between .5-1 degree off (depending on room temp).

I can just reach over the top of my ATBA (made of lexan (4 walls) and down onto the cork bark where the lights shine. Wouldn't that be the simplest thing for the basking platform temp?
And as for the water- now I understand. So with my new temp gun I should be all set! (assuming it's accurate itself :-)

I haven't really tried out many brands, but the Zilla one should be fine. That's why I also recommend a $2 sticky thermometer as a backup.

well... I got two of those too, so all should be well. Thanks for your help.

Equipment Review and Discussion :: PROBLEM: Need reliable IN WATER/OUT-OF-WATER thermometer

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