More Temp fluctuating

[Lewjo11]

I'm posted before but I'm really worried. My 29G tank today is 80.5. Yesterday it morning low was 82.5 and went as high as 83.3 by end of day. I have a 100 watt in there now and the smaller one that came with the tank did similar 82-84.6.

My home is set at 65 at night and at 68 at 6am ..after 3 goes to 73. The fish are in a small room.

I've had the fish for a week now 7 days. They haven't had a constant temperature from day one. Is it even possible I've tried 2 heaters already.....

I would like it to me a constant 83.

Thanks

[Paul Sabucchi]

My advice would be to get a separate temperature controller, STC 1000 are cheap but require some wiring while inkbird 308 cost a little more (but you should be able to get it from Amazon under 40 bucks) but comes ready to use and has more bells and whistles (literally, you can set allarms for temperature too high and too low). With mine the temperature in the tanks varies no more than 0.3 degrees Celsius. You plug your heaters (set a little higher) into the socket and it will control the temperature very precisely

[Lewjo11]

What's a temperature controler? Does the work with a heater? What brand heater do you use on your 29g tank...ya my 90 is no problem exactly same all day

[RickMay1]

The temperature controllers are a great Idea. I use a temperature controller with broken heaters that are stuck on for my water supply tanks.

My advice would be to get a separate temperature controller, STC 1000 are cheap but require some wiring while inkbird 308 cost a little more (but you should be able to get it from Amazon under 40 bucks) but comes ready to use and has more bells and whistles (literally, you can set allarms for temperature too high and too low). With mine the temperature in the tanks varies no more than 0.3 degrees Celsius. You plug your heaters (set a little higher) into the socket and it will control the temperature very precisely

[Lewjo11]

Itc-308.. by rain bird.. is this the one

[Lewjo11]

Does the override the temperature I set on the heater? How is yours set up?

[Adam S]

Like Paul said, get a controller. My preference is the Ranco ETC 111000, some assembly required. One of the Inkbird heat only models would be appriopriate if you don't want to wire anything.

For your situation, 87 to 145 watts of heater is enough. Insulating the tank might also help.

Again, I really don't think that change is enough to worry about. Are the fish showing signs of stress?

[LizStreithorst]

You set the heater at the highest temp and the controller at the temp you want the tank to stay. The Ink Bird is great because as well as being very reliable is comes with alarms if the temp goes above or below the limits you set.

[Adam S]

If the heater is even semi reliable, it's a good idea to set the heater only a few degrees higher than the controller in case the controller fails.

The Inkbird model is ITC 306T. It's heat only, so you can use two heaters if you want instead of one. Cooling is kind of pointless in this case.

[RickMay1]

a temperature controller is basically a temperature controlled outlet. I use several, one in a freezer set to turn the freezer on or off depending on the internal temperature. Use it to keep my home-brewed beer on tap...called a Keeser. (keg-freezer) but instead of letting the freezer keeping the temperature in the freezing range, it keeps it a frosty 38 degrees. I also use them on some broken fish tank heaters that are stuck "on" that I use to controll the temperature in my water supply barrels. instead of the device using its internal thermostat, it is handled by the temperature controller.

[RickMay1]

Does the override the temperature I set on the heater? How is yours set up?

either.... if the temperature set by the heater is inside of the range on the temperature controller, the temperature would be controlled by the heater.

So if you set the heater to 84 but set the controller to be "on" if the temperature is less than 86, the controller wouldn't ever shut off....but here is the key..... if your heater breaks and gets stuck on, the controller will take over when the temps hit 86, and shut off the power....saving your fish.

the same thing in reverse, you set the heaters thermostat to 86 but the controller to 84, the heater would never shut off itself because the controller would shut off power to the heater at 84.

[Lewjo11]

Ok I ordered one. I may order two one for my aged barrel. I'll set the thermostat to 88 and the controller to 83.5. My main 90 is always 83.3 very constant.. this way there all the same temp. Thanks

[Lewjo11]

Thank you for the advice I saved $5 and got 2 that just do the heating..

[Lewjo11]

So I just order 2. The ones that heat only. One question is how well are they calibrated... I purchased some cheap digital temp readers in a package of 4 and the all show different temps. When I receive this 2 controllers what should I expect... Will the read exactly the same? Has anyone ever purchase more the one? What has been your experience? Thanks

[LizStreithorst]

I check my digital thermometer (it reads 3 degrees low) against this one. It can be re-calibrated easily in a glass of ice water. https://www.thermoworks.com/ChefAlarm

I also have one of these that so far reads the same as the one as above. I don't know if it can be re-calibrated, though.
https://www.thermoworks.com/Thermapen-Mk4