TmanNZ Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 I got a Heater of Trademe yesterday for 5$ As I have a spare 55L tank which I want to make into a planted Community... The heater doesn't have the Wattage on it but it's pretty long so I'd say around 150w, also the seller made that assumption as well. The problem is, the heater doesn't have an adjustable thing which specifies the degrees.... rather a little knob on top that you twist towards a + or a - How do I go about setting the Temp? And making sure it's right. Also are the thermometer strip things you stick on the front of your tank trustworthy or do I get a proper thermometer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camtang Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 A new digital thermometer or a glass on you stick on the inside would be the best bet. Put it in a bucket of water or your tank with no stock, turn it on let it heat up and then adjust the dial according to what the thermometer is say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 I got a Heater of Trademe yesterday for 5$ As I have a spare 55L tank which I want to make into a planted Community... The heater doesn't have the Wattage on it but it's pretty long so I'd say around 150w, also the seller made that assumption as well. The problem is, the heater doesn't have an adjustable thing which specifies the degrees.... rather a little knob on top that you twist towards a + or a - How do I go about setting the Temp? And making sure it's right. Also are the thermometer strip things you stick on the front of your tank trustworthy or do I get a proper thermometer? Same way you set most thermometers since you can't trust their labeled temps are accurate. What I usually do is throw it in the tank, let it equalize with the tank water for 10-15 minutes. Then plug it in, adjust the knob to find where it's turning on and off. If the tank is a bit too cold set it a bit warmer than that. Then monitor the tank over the next day or two and tweak as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rouseabout Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 IMO probably best to have the heater running and then after a day or so see what the temperature is and adjust the heater up or down accordingly (like Camtang just said :lar: ) Proper thermometers that attach with a suction cup are in most LFS for about $7. I dont know how accurate the stick-on strip ones are but they can be difficult to read. Depending on how warm it gets where you are you will probably need to adjust the heater again as we approach winter. Most of my heaters are only just starting to switch on now as the mornings get a little cooler in Auckland. A 150W heater is almost overkill in a 55L tank but on the bright side you should have no trouble in winter even if the ambient temperature gets really low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 1, 2014 Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 The stick-on strips are not as good as the internals. Digital ones are cheap these days too and accurate, as far as I know. If you are buying a glass one that sticks on with a small suction cup, line them all up in the shop then move aside the ones whose temp varies greatest from the rest then pick the one that seems to agree with the majority. That will hopefully be the most accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TmanNZ Posted March 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2014 Sweet, Thanks guys... There will be a lot more questions from me in the freshwater section about tropicals, And it may get quite cold as Im down in palmy, so 150w is a bit over kill but she'll b right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 Digital ones are cheap these days too and accurate, as far as I know. I think KrazyGeoff posted a pic a while back of about half a dozen cheap digital digital ones showing a massive variance. Here's the difference I found between a cheap one [top] and a more expensive one [bottom]; Before I took the good one off my existing tank I was wondering why 7 300W heaters couldn't get my tank up to 26C! The Reptiland one is within a few tenths of my digital TDS meter/thermometer and also the thermometer on my heater controller. That said, if you have something accurate to compare it to you can "calibrate" the cheaper ones by writing the adjustment to the actual temp on the thermometer. :lol: RE the heater, I would certainly invest in a reasonable thermometer. The one I posted above is $32 from HFF (about double the price of the AquaOne in the top of the pic) so not really "expensive" as far as electronic monitoring equipment goes, but worth every penny IMO especially if you're using it to calibrate heaters. http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/deta ... ter/m/937/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 I think(Hope?Haha) that's an extreme case though. I do keep wanting to buy a good quality scientific type thermometer that I could use to calibrate anything else, but haven't gotten around to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 I have about 6? jay-car ones meant for panel attachment and they are all with in .1 or .2 of each other, the cheap AquaOne is normally within .5 of a degree but did wander a lot last time the battery went low Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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