got a aqua-minder but i am unsure what wold be a good temp range for the high low temp alarm. I was thinking 18-29deg c (temp range for fish in my tank will be on web sites are 18 min for the guppies and 28 max for the Angels)........Did note that my heater is at 24 but the minder says 25.9

18C is to low for angels. http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/539.htm

I set my aqua-minder to 24C to 28C.

i have a uk site that has them at 24-28c and a book that has them at 26

all 3 of my tanks are set to 26oC. not too hot and not too cold.

the fish shop set the heater up at 24, but there must be a min and max range of temps before xxxx hits the fan

My tanks are all about 22C unless it is summer then they heat to whatever the room temp is - anything from 24 - 33C

depends what you wana keep, i say 25-26C for your tank but what else will be in the tank?

Angels,guppies,jewel rainbow,cherry barbs and bristlenose....as i have said temp range is 18 to 28 but to set the alarm on the minder ther has to be a temp that is the top and bottom line before you have got heater problem.

id say 25-26 would be ok for all of them, just my opinion though

i know what temp is best for my fish...what i want to do is set the high temp alarm and the low temp alarm eg.at 30 the high alarm gos off....say 20 the low alarm gos off so there must be a range of temps that they would be alright at.

Ideally it would be good to have it at a constant temp. a change too quickly may/ more than likely will result in shock so try to have the range asap (as small as possible ) maybe if it's at 24degrees then 25/26 high and 23/22 low

i say 22-28 most torpicals are ok at that, best is 24-26

I've just picked up one of these too. I think the point of the high and low alarm is to warn if anything has gone wrong with the heater thermostat. Your heater should be able to keep your water pretty close to your desired temperature. So in the case of the low temperature warning I think if you have it set at a couple of degrees below your desired temperature it will warn you something has gone wrong with the heater (our cold snaps in New Zealand aren't usually so extreme the heater can't keep up). The high alarm is slightly different because as Caryl points out the ambient temperature of the surroundings can raise the tank temperature considerably, not just the heater jamming on. I'd set it two or three degrees higher than your desired temperature and then when it beeps you can check whether it's a heater problem or if just the surrounding air temperature has raised the water temperature.

Rod

i agree, very good advice rtm. also when doing water changes try to get it as close to the tank temp as possible, dont wana have the heater screaming at ya everytime :lol:

thankyou that is what i have been trying to find out..my heater has a light on it to let you know if it is going. With the heat in the house from the fire it dosnt go much temp on minder is showing 25.9. The heater is set at 24

heaters rarely have accurate thermostats on them. Best to find an accurate thermometer and gauge the tanks using that. Figure out how off the thermometers on each tank may be (including the aqa-minder) and make a note on each one to remind yourself.

As for the original topic, 2 degrees above and below the normal temp is what I do with my aqua minders. That simple. Alarm goes off during water changes, but you learn to live with it.

Best to find an accurate thermometer and gauge the tanks using that

How would you know if you thermometer is accurate? Do they eventually loose their...ah...ummm...accuracy They must eventually wear out too, don't they?

I've found that my thermometers retain their accuracy for many, many years. It seems that once they're manufactured and sealed, nothing much bothers them (unless you drop them...)

If you're choosing a new thermometer in a pet shop, line them all up in order of the temp they're showing (air temp in the shop) then pick one of the middle ones. Shop staff look at you funny, but your fish will be happy.

I've found the thermostats on the heaters are useless to tell the water temp by. I always use an independent thermometer on the opposite side of the tank from the heater.