heater?

[sophiefishstuff]

my new (secondhand) tank came with a heater, which looks to be about the
right wattage for a cold winter's night, but rather overdone for the
summer... 35 (US) gallon; heater = 200W.

Is this a problem?
--
sophie

www.freewebs.com/fishstuff
(under construction. ish.)

[NetMax]

"sophiefishstuff" > wrote in
message ...
>
> my new (secondhand) tank came with a heater, which looks to be about
> the right wattage for a cold winter's night, but rather overdone for
> the summer... 35 (US) gallon; heater = 200W.
>
> Is this a problem?
> --
> sophie
>
> www.freewebs.com/fishstuff
> (under construction. ish.)


I don't think so. They are all a problem if they get stuck in the ON
mode, and the more powerful, the higher and faster the temperature will
go. If you don't trust the heater, buy a new one, otherwise the wattage
is fine. The recommended size for a 35g is 175W, so round that to the
nearest value, 200W.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Derek Benson]

On Sun, 1 May 2005 15:02:38 +0100, sophiefishstuff
> wrote:

>
>my new (secondhand) tank came with a heater, which looks to be about the
>right wattage for a cold winter's night, but rather overdone for the
>summer... 35 (US) gallon; heater = 200W.
>
>Is this a problem?

What I've usually seen on the spec sheet that comes inside the box
with a new heater is that the manufacturer recommends 3-5 watts per
gallon. This can also be found in various books and probably on the
Net. In my personal experience 5 watts per gallon is too much,
particularly in smaller tanks; and I'm talking about the heater
functioning correctly, I'm not thinking of a situation where the
heater gets stuck. Just for general use, these 5 watts are too
powerful.

I would never use anything stronger than a 100 watt heater in a 35
gallon tank.

-Derek

[[email protected]]

I have a good experience to tell.
Last friday when I got up I had some cabombas plants floating.
(is there a way to have them stick to the bottom definatly?)

Before I touch the water I always unplug the heater.
For some reason I forgot to plug it back in.

I have my 33Gal tank set up at 24C.

When I got home roughly ten hours later, my tank temp had dropped 2C
and it was at sitting at 22C.

So it does take awhile to lose alot of temp to affect the fish.

I am glad to say that no fish seemed affected by the temp drop. :)

[Nikki Casali]

wrote:

> I have a good experience to tell.
> Last friday when I got up I had some cabombas plants floating.
> (is there a way to have them stick to the bottom definatly?)

I make a bunch of plants and wrap the stems with a lead weight.

> Before I touch the water I always unplug the heater.

I've never done this in my life. But I do have an RCD on my fusebox.

> For some reason I forgot to plug it back in.

Maybe you should buy a timer and put it on an hour setting to remind
you? I can never remember anything like needing to switch back on stuff.
So that's what I use. By brother left his 3 gallon aquarium switched off
for 2 weeks accidentally. The two guppies survived the 16 degrees C in
that period. Moreover, they survived with no filter.

> I have my 33Gal tank set up at 24C.
>
> When I got home roughly ten hours later, my tank temp had dropped 2C
> and it was at sitting at 22C.
>
> So it does take awhile to lose alot of temp to affect the fish.

It depends on the ambient temperature of the air around the tank.

> I am glad to say that no fish seemed affected by the temp drop. :)

2 degrees? I shouldn't think so. It's a negligible change. My tanks
fluctuate naturally more than 2 degrees in the summer.

Nikki

[[email protected]]

Nikki Casali wrote:
> wrote:
>
> > I have a good experience to tell.
> > Last friday when I got up I had some cabombas plants floating.
> > (is there a way to have them stick to the bottom definatly?)
>
> I make a bunch of plants and wrap the stems with a lead weight.
>
Good tip, but do you bury it or just leave it hanging at the bottom?

[Nikki Casali]

wrote:

> Nikki Casali wrote:
>
wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I have a good experience to tell.
>>>Last friday when I got up I had some cabombas plants floating.
>>>(is there a way to have them stick to the bottom definatly?)
>>
>>I make a bunch of plants and wrap the stems with a lead weight.
>>
>
> Good tip, but do you bury it or just leave it hanging at the bottom?
>

Woops, sorry. Yes, I still bury the stems in most cases. I think Cabomba
does better when planted, not that I've ever had any lucky with this
fastidious plant.

Nikki

[[email protected]]

I know what you mean.
I am doing alright with it, but it just doesnt make any roots at the
bottom.
I usually bury it in the gravel to hold, but it either rots or the fish
suck too much on it, and I have it flooting in the water. :)

I really want that plant to develop, it is beautiful.

[NetMax]

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>I know what you mean.
> I am doing alright with it, but it just doesnt make any roots at the
> bottom.
> I usually bury it in the gravel to hold, but it either rots or the fish
> suck too much on it, and I have it flooting in the water. :)
>
> I really want that plant to develop, it is beautiful.


I wrap them in lead weight as well, but in groups of about 4 to 5 (less
is too thin, more and they lose their bottom leaves), but I found that it
was difficult to not damage the stems with the lead, so I first wrap the
stems in a pinch of thin sponge, and then put the lead over that. Other
tricks are to snip off the ends of each stem (unless they already have
roots), and to be very careful to not damage the ends when planting
(place them in a depression and then push substrate in to fill the hole).
You can also put a small piece of fertilizer near the roots. I've seen
these mentioned http://www.petmeister.com/item801.htm and Elaine is using
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Root Tabs plus Iron laterite pellets. hth
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Elaine T]

NetMax wrote:
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>
>>I know what you mean.
>>I am doing alright with it, but it just doesnt make any roots at the
>>bottom.
>>I usually bury it in the gravel to hold, but it either rots or the fish
>>suck too much on it, and I have it flooting in the water. :)
>>
>>I really want that plant to develop, it is beautiful.
>
>
>
> I wrap them in lead weight as well, but in groups of about 4 to 5 (less
> is too thin, more and they lose their bottom leaves), but I found that it
> was difficult to not damage the stems with the lead, so I first wrap the
> stems in a pinch of thin sponge, and then put the lead over that. Other
> tricks are to snip off the ends of each stem (unless they already have
> roots), and to be very careful to not damage the ends when planting
> (place them in a depression and then push substrate in to fill the hole).
> You can also put a small piece of fertilizer near the roots. I've seen
> these mentioned http://www.petmeister.com/item801.htm and Elaine is using
> Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Root Tabs plus Iron laterite pellets. hth

There's another good product for a few dollars by Aquarium
Pharmaceuticals called Plant Plugs. They're rockwool with a stretchy
netting to hold stems against the rockwool. You put the stems between
the netting and rockwool or into slits in the rockwool and then you bury
the whole thing in the gravel. The rockwool has fertilizer for the
first couple of months to help root development and then you start using
the fertilizer tabs NetMax mentioned. (Good memory, BTW!) They're the
best product I've ever found to help difficult stem plants stay
submerged and root - saved my otherwise impossible Rotala macrantha many
years ago.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[lgb]

In article >,
says...
> > Before I touch the water I always unplug the heater.
>
> I've never done this in my life. But I do have an RCD on my fusebox.
>
OK, you got me. I know what a GFCI (or GFI) is, but what is an RCD?

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[lgb]

In article >, eetmail-
says...
> There's another good product for a few dollars by Aquarium
> Pharmaceuticals called Plant Plugs. They're rockwool with a stretchy
> netting to hold stems against the rockwool. You put the stems between
> the netting and rockwool or into slits in the rockwool and then you bury
> the whole thing in the gravel.
>
I use those. They work great.

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

[Jim Anderson]

In article >,
says...

> In article >,
> says...
> > > Before I touch the water I always unplug the heater.
> >
> > I've never done this in my life. But I do have an RCD on my fusebox.
> >
> OK, you got me. I know what a GFCI (or GFI) is, but what is an RCD?
>
>

<http://www.acronymfinder.com/> Residual Current Device

--
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To email me just pull my_finger

[Elaine T]

Elaine T wrote:
> NetMax wrote:
>
>> > wrote in message
>> oups.com...
>>
>>> I know what you mean.
>>> I am doing alright with it, but it just doesnt make any roots at the
>>> bottom.
>>> I usually bury it in the gravel to hold, but it either rots or the fish
>>> suck too much on it, and I have it flooting in the water. :)
>>>
>>> I really want that plant to develop, it is beautiful.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I wrap them in lead weight as well, but in groups of about 4 to 5
>> (less is too thin, more and they lose their bottom leaves), but I
>> found that it was difficult to not damage the stems with the lead, so
>> I first wrap the stems in a pinch of thin sponge, and then put the
>> lead over that. Other tricks are to snip off the ends of each stem
>> (unless they already have roots), and to be very careful to not damage
>> the ends when planting (place them in a depression and then push
>> substrate in to fill the hole). You can also put a small piece of
>> fertilizer near the roots. I've seen these mentioned
>> http://www.petmeister.com/item801.htm and Elaine is using Aquarium
>> Pharmaceuticals Root Tabs plus Iron laterite pellets. hth
>
>
> There's another good product for a few dollars by Aquarium
> Pharmaceuticals called Plant Plugs. They're rockwool with a stretchy
> netting to hold stems against the rockwool. You put the stems between
> the netting and rockwool or into slits in the rockwool and then you bury
> the whole thing in the gravel. The rockwool has fertilizer for the
> first couple of months to help root development and then you start using
> the fertilizer tabs NetMax mentioned. (Good memory, BTW!) They're the
> best product I've ever found to help difficult stem plants stay
> submerged and root - saved my otherwise impossible Rotala macrantha many
> years ago.
>
I got the brand wrong. They're Aquarium Products.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Dick]

On 2 May 2005 13:09:09 -0700, "
> wrote:

>I know what you mean.
>I am doing alright with it, but it just doesnt make any roots at the
>bottom.
>I usually bury it in the gravel to hold, but it either rots or the fish
>suck too much on it, and I have it flooting in the water. :)
>
>I really want that plant to develop, it is beautiful.

I have a 10 gallon quarantine tank with no gravel. I have found some
plants do ok weighted and no gravel. A couple of times I moved the
plants to a 29 gallon community tank while I had medicine in the
quarantine tank. Again I let them float on the bottom only to find
some planted themselves, the roots just extended from the bottom stems
into the gravel.

As to your pet plant, I have no specific knowledge. How about
planting half of what you have and floating the other half and see
what happens.

Perhaps someone will have direct experience, so much nicer than making
guesses.

dick

[sophiefishstuff]

In message >, Derek Benson
> writes
>On Sun, 1 May 2005 15:02:38 +0100, sophiefishstuff
> wrote:
>
>>
>>my new (secondhand) tank came with a heater, which looks to be about the
>>right wattage for a cold winter's night, but rather overdone for the
>>summer... 35 (US) gallon; heater = 200W.
>>
>>Is this a problem?
>
>What I've usually seen on the spec sheet that comes inside the box
>with a new heater is that the manufacturer recommends 3-5 watts per
>gallon. This can also be found in various books and probably on the
>Net. In my personal experience 5 watts per gallon is too much,
>particularly in smaller tanks; and I'm talking about the heater
>functioning correctly, I'm not thinking of a situation where the
>heater gets stuck. Just for general use, these 5 watts are too
>powerful.
>
>I would never use anything stronger than a 100 watt heater in a 35
>gallon tank.

Thanks for this, Derek, I appreciate it. I do wonder though if your
ambient temp might be a bit higher than mine? I'm in the UK and I don't
have the heating on at night or during most of the day during the week,
so from October - April I need a temperature hike of a _minimum_ of 8
degrees C and often more, and I wonder if a 100W heater would be
suitable for this? I'll keep a careful eye on things over the next few
weeks as the weather warms up.

If the weather is warmer (and I have to say it is not for many days a
year that the ambient temp. is close what I want the tank to be) won't
the heater just switch itself off? The original heater I had looked very
dodgy, so I got rid of it and got a (very expensive) Hydor Theo, also
200W... I take it you think this was a mistake ;-) The info on the box
recommends the 200 for the temperature hike I need and suggests the 100
wouldn't be adequate, and the fish-shop man agreed - he's someone I'd
trust, btw.

--
sophie

www.freewebs.com/fishstuff
(under construction. ish.)

[Bill]

On 2005-05-03, sophiefishstuff
> wrote:
> If the weather is warmer (and I have to say it is not for many days a
> year that the ambient temp. is close what I want the tank to be) won't
> the heater just switch itself off?

I'm too newbie to properly answer the question about the 8C temperature
difference, but he was referring to what happens when (it's my
understanding that it's a "when" and not an "if") the heater fails. If
it's a standard analog heater, it will probably get stuck in the on
position, and a smaller heater will likely cause less damage to your
fish. If, on the other hand, it's a digital heater, it will probably
fail in the off position, causing a somewhat less dangerous (but still
serious) situation.

NetMax has a great explanation on his site here:
http://www.2cah.com/netmax/basics/heaters/heaters.shtml

--
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea -- massive,
difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a source of mind -
boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect it." -- Gene Spafford, 1992

[sophiefishstuff]

In message <iHOde.9631$fI.6272@fed1read05>, Bill
> writes
>On 2005-05-03, sophiefishstuff
> wrote:
>> If the weather is warmer (and I have to say it is not for many days a
>> year that the ambient temp. is close what I want the tank to be) won't
>> the heater just switch itself off?
>
>I'm too newbie to properly answer the question about the 8C temperature
>difference, but he was referring to what happens when (it's my
>understanding that it's a "when" and not an "if") the heater fails.

actually, I'd understood him to be referring to exactly the opposite -
that it was too many watts for *normal usage*... I understand the
problem with the heater getting stuck on...

<snick>
>
>NetMax has a great explanation on his site here:
>http://www.2cah.com/netmax/basics/heaters/heaters.shtml

I think Netmax though this wattage would be fine!
--
sophie
increasingly bemused...

www.freewebs.com/fishstuff
(under construction. ish.)

[Bill]

On 2005-05-03, sophiefishstuff >
wrote:
> actually, I'd understood him to be referring to exactly the opposite -
> that it was too many watts for *normal usage*... I understand the
> problem with the heater getting stuck on...

My mistake. I missed the part where he said that he wasn't talking
about a malfunction.

> I think Netmax though this wattage would be fine!

Indeed he did. I wasn't trying to indicate that he said otherwise.

In any case, I found http://gpas.org/pub/flash/2002/june02/bobk.htm
while I was Googling. It says, in part, that "[w]hen an oversized
heater is used, it will cycle on and off more often causing an early
failure."

In any case, I'd be more likely to round down to 150W from the 175W that
"five watts per gallon" gives you than round up to 200W. I do have a
100W heater on the 20G tank (came with the kit), a 50W heater on the 10G
(didn't feel comfortable with only 2.5Wpg), and 25W heaters on my and my
wife's 5G betta tanks (couldn't find adjustable heaters of less than
25W). I'm personally planning on shooting for the three-to-four watt
range with larger tanks we'll soon be getting, but I live in Phoenix, so
not having enough heating doesn't seem like it will be an issue. Also,
my first summer with fish is approaching, and this is affecting my
outlook. It probably doesn't get nearly as warm (and probably gets much
colder) where you live, wherever that is. ;-)

If you already have the 200-watt heater, I guess it would be silly to go
out and buy a new one, all things considered.

In any case, I had completely missed the statement that he wasn't
referring to failure, so just disregard me. :-)

--
"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea -- massive,
difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a source of mind -
boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect it." -- Gene Spafford, 1992

[Derek Benson]

On Tue, 3 May 2005 17:40:40 +0100, sophiefishstuff
> wrote:

>In message >, Derek Benson
> writes
>>On Sun, 1 May 2005 15:02:38 +0100, sophiefishstuff
> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>my new (secondhand) tank came with a heater, which looks to be about the
>>>right wattage for a cold winter's night, but rather overdone for the
>>>summer... 35 (US) gallon; heater = 200W.
>>>
>>>Is this a problem?
>>
>>What I've usually seen on the spec sheet that comes inside the box
>>with a new heater is that the manufacturer recommends 3-5 watts per
>>gallon. This can also be found in various books and probably on the
>>Net. In my personal experience 5 watts per gallon is too much,
>>particularly in smaller tanks; and I'm talking about the heater
>>functioning correctly, I'm not thinking of a situation where the
>>heater gets stuck. Just for general use, these 5 watts are too
>>powerful.
>>
>>I would never use anything stronger than a 100 watt heater in a 35
>>gallon tank.
>
>Thanks for this, Derek, I appreciate it. I do wonder though if your
>ambient temp might be a bit higher than mine? I'm in the UK and I don't
>have the heating on at night or during most of the day during the week,
>so from October - April I need a temperature hike of a _minimum_ of 8
>degrees C and often more, and I wonder if a 100W heater would be
>suitable for this? I'll keep a careful eye on things over the next few
>weeks as the weather warms up.
>
>If the weather is warmer (and I have to say it is not for many days a
>year that the ambient temp. is close what I want the tank to be) won't
>the heater just switch itself off? The original heater I had looked very
>dodgy, so I got rid of it and got a (very expensive) Hydor Theo, also
>200W... I take it you think this was a mistake ;-) The info on the box
>recommends the 200 for the temperature hike I need and suggests the 100
>wouldn't be adequate, and the fish-shop man agreed - he's someone I'd
>trust, btw.

I have a tank which is 86 liters, how many gallons is this? 25 or a
bit less? The heater which came with the tank was 100 watts. I was a
bit skeptical at the time but the store guy said, yes yes this is
correct for the tank.

After a few months I noticed that the temperature fluctuated a bit up
and down, more than it should IMO and more than I like anyway. What I
discovered was that when the heater turned off, the orange light went
out so it's off, there is still some heat in the heater coil (or
whatever it's called) which must dissipate in the water. This is how
it is with all heaters, when that orange light goes out there is still
warmth in the thing, it needs to cool down. So this heater was pushing
up the temp 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 degrees above the target temp,
because of this extra dissipating heat in such a small volume of
water. I still have this heater today and there's nothing wrong with
it; I'm not using it at this moment but it functions as its supposed
to.

I replaced this heater with I think a 50 watt heater, and this
fluctuating temp problem disappeared.

My personal opinion is that it's impossible for a 100 watt heater to
have any problem raising 35 gallons of water 8 degrees over ambient
temp. But I've never done it, I keep my living room warm enough that I
can use a t-shirt, I don't want to wear a sweater every day when I'm
at home. I've also never owned a 35 gallon tank. The 100 watter would
be on a little bit longer than the 200 watter every time it turns on,
this is all. But if you've never seen this temp swing that I'm talking
about or don't see it, then there's nothing specifically dangerous
with the 200 watt heater in this tank.

-Derek

[NetMax]

"Derek Benson" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 3 May 2005 17:40:40 +0100, sophiefishstuff
> > wrote:
>
>>In message >, Derek Benson
> writes
>>>On Sun, 1 May 2005 15:02:38 +0100, sophiefishstuff
> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>>my new (secondhand) tank came with a heater, which looks to be about
>>>>the
>>>>right wattage for a cold winter's night, but rather overdone for the
>>>>summer... 35 (US) gallon; heater = 200W.
>>>>
>>>>Is this a problem?
>>>
>>>What I've usually seen on the spec sheet that comes inside the box
>>>with a new heater is that the manufacturer recommends 3-5 watts per
>>>gallon. This can also be found in various books and probably on the
>>>Net. In my personal experience 5 watts per gallon is too much,
>>>particularly in smaller tanks; and I'm talking about the heater
>>>functioning correctly, I'm not thinking of a situation where the
>>>heater gets stuck. Just for general use, these 5 watts are too
>>>powerful.
>>>
>>>I would never use anything stronger than a 100 watt heater in a 35
>>>gallon tank.
>>
>>Thanks for this, Derek, I appreciate it. I do wonder though if your
>>ambient temp might be a bit higher than mine? I'm in the UK and I don't
>>have the heating on at night or during most of the day during the week,
>>so from October - April I need a temperature hike of a _minimum_ of 8
>>degrees C and often more, and I wonder if a 100W heater would be
>>suitable for this? I'll keep a careful eye on things over the next few
>>weeks as the weather warms up.
>>
>>If the weather is warmer (and I have to say it is not for many days a
>>year that the ambient temp. is close what I want the tank to be) won't
>>the heater just switch itself off? The original heater I had looked
>>very
>>dodgy, so I got rid of it and got a (very expensive) Hydor Theo, also
>>200W... I take it you think this was a mistake ;-) The info on the box
>>recommends the 200 for the temperature hike I need and suggests the 100
>>wouldn't be adequate, and the fish-shop man agreed - he's someone I'd
>>trust, btw.
>
> I have a tank which is 86 liters, how many gallons is this? 25 or a
> bit less? The heater which came with the tank was 100 watts. I was a
> bit skeptical at the time but the store guy said, yes yes this is
> correct for the tank.
>
> After a few months I noticed that the temperature fluctuated a bit up
> and down, more than it should IMO and more than I like anyway. What I
> discovered was that when the heater turned off, the orange light went
> out so it's off, there is still some heat in the heater coil (or
> whatever it's called) which must dissipate in the water. This is how
> it is with all heaters, when that orange light goes out there is still
> warmth in the thing, it needs to cool down. So this heater was pushing
> up the temp 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 degrees above the target temp,
> because of this extra dissipating heat in such a small volume of
> water. I still have this heater today and there's nothing wrong with
> it; I'm not using it at this moment but it functions as its supposed
> to.
>
> I replaced this heater with I think a 50 watt heater, and this
> fluctuating temp problem disappeared.
>
> My personal opinion is that it's impossible for a 100 watt heater to
> have any problem raising 35 gallons of water 8 degrees over ambient
> temp. But I've never done it, I keep my living room warm enough that I
> can use a t-shirt, I don't want to wear a sweater every day when I'm
> at home. I've also never owned a 35 gallon tank. The 100 watter would
> be on a little bit longer than the 200 watter every time it turns on,
> this is all. But if you've never seen this temp swing that I'm talking
> about or don't see it, then there's nothing specifically dangerous
> with the 200 watt heater in this tank.
>
> -Derek

If I can comment on Derek's observations, a 100W heater causing a 2,3 or
4 degrees over-temperature swing in a 22-1/2g tank would suggest to me
that there was a defect in the heater and/or insufficient water flow past
the heating elements.

For those who are technically inclined, this calculator
http://www.kernsanalysis.com/HeaterCalculator.cgi will tell you exactly
how many watts of heat that your tank will radiant (which is the amount
you need to replenish to keep a uniform temperature). As a calculated
value, it will always be lower than what you actually need, as real life
tends to change temperature more ;~), and certain types of filters can
lose heat while others add heat, so there is a little 'ymmv'.

Someone mentioned that an oversized heater cycles more often (absolutely
true). There is an optimal size which is a balance between wear and
safety margin. If you don't need much safety margin (your ambient is at
a fixed temperature 24/7), then you might reduce the size of the heater
to reduce wear, but you need to be significantly oversized to run into
real trouble, so it might not be worthwhile. The most common problem is
underestimating the requirements. Looking purely at the wear issue, the
most susceptible types are the analog heaters (their contacts arcing) and
the least susceptible are the ones with solid state switches. In either
case, the heating elements fail eventually but that takes many years. I
seem to be getting about 12-15 years out of elements, so I can't complain
;~).

Another factor (which is important to me), is that bigger heaters are
more practical for people with many aquariums (and heater prices are
fairly flat and independent of wattage). I'm always putting tanks into
or out of service, and smaller than 200W is of minimal usefulness. If
all my heaters are 200-250W, I find that I have the most flexibility (ie:
doubling up for larger tanks), and I don't have to deal with the risks of
300W heaters. jmo :o)
--
www.NetMax.tk

[[email protected]]

I like to let my java fern, hornwort, and wisteria float as they get
more light this way because the light is closer. The plants definitely
grow more this way for me. Just my experience, later!

[[email protected]]

I'd recommend to the original poster and everyone else to consider
water flow around the heater (I think netmax recommended this) and the
thermometer as well. I mistakingly attached my lcd thermometers to a
place as low on the tanks as possible without touching the bottom
plastic rim to keep the thermometer out of the way and I experience
temperature fluctuations on all of them I think because of that. There
is gravel substrate on the other side (i.e. in the tank) and I think it
prevents accurate readings and I am using all ebo jagers which are
rated as having a temperature fluctuation (on the box it came in) of .5
degrees fahrenheit and in the manual (or vice versa) a fluctuation of
..5 degrees celsius. My heaters generally have good water flow around
them though. I think the cause of the fluctuations in my case is
inadequate water flow around the thermometers. I have temperature
fluctuations of approximately 4-5 degrees at times either above or
below what I have the heater set to as far as temperature goes. I tend
to trust the heater's temperature dial more than the thermometer but I
keep both in mind and keep the temperature setting on the heater in
range with the creature's requirements and read the thermometer keeping
the accuracy in mind and seems an acceptable solution at the very least
for now. Later!