I've had my Cascade heater running in my 50+g corner tank for about a week now, I have it going at full tilt. The thermometer on the heater says the water is at 76 degrees, the thermometer that came with the tank says it's 72.5, which reading should I trust? And shouldn't a heater turned all the way up be able to get the water temp over 76 when it's thermometer gos up to 86?
Which thermometer should I trust?
- Thread starter Kengel
- Start date
are the heater and the thermometer in the same corner? its possible they could both be right. perhaps your heater isn't heating the tank efficiently and the area around the heater is 76 and the area around the thermo is really 72.5 ...... what is the size of the tank and the wattage of the heater?
200w heater 50ish gallon tank, the heater is right next to the filter to heat more efficiently, and the thermometer is right next to it probably about 6 inches away.
And whats the ambient temperature? A 200 watt should definitely be enough given that your not in any extremes temp wise. I got a 200 watt stealth on my 90 with no problems keeping the tank at 80 even when the house is 65.
What kind of thermometer is it the stick on tank type or the glass type ?
What kind of thermometer is it the stick on tank type or the glass type ?
It's a Cascade...It's glass with suction cups that stick to the side of the tank if that answers your question...I'm not up to date on terms...I'm not sure what the ambient temperature is, I think my house is in the low 60s now.
I would trust the one in the heater. The one that came w/ the tank is a sticker i am guessing. I find those to be not as acurate to the thermometer actually inside the tank.
you probably wont be able to get up to 86 using a 200w heater on a 50 gallon tank if the room is in the lower 60s. try a little test though : try putting the thermometer at the other end of the tank and see what the reading is. i'm wondering if the temp is really 72 or if the further you get from the heater, the lower the temp will read
The thermometer that came with the tank isn't a sticker, its a little screen with a thermometer that runs inside the tank, I'm only looking to get like 78 or so with the heater, I'm going to try another thermometer, I may just go with the heater though because it's brand new out of the box.
its worth testing the temp on the other end of the tank. it doesn't take much effort and will tell you if you need more wattage or not. if there wasn't such a difference in temp in the house from the tank i would suggest placing the heater and a therm in a 5 gallon bucket and reading the temp, but the tank without the heater with that much of a difference might cause a big drop relatively fast.Kengel;3579657; said: