How to Read Aquarium Thermometer

The temperature of water in a fish tank is crucial for the health and growth of your fish. If the water temperature drops too low, your fish will suffer and may even die. If the water temperature rises too high, your fish can also become sick or even die. So how do you maintain the ideal temperature?

Well, the knowledge on how to read an aquarium thermometer should come first. In this article, we will give you insights on how you can read your aquarium thermometer as well as helpful information regarding the best water temperature for your fish.

What is an Aquarium Thermometer?

The aquarium thermometer is a little device that can be dropped into the water of your aquarium. It will measure the temperature and give you a reading of the water temperature. In some cases, if you have more than one fish tank in your place, then each individual measuring stick could help to monitor the water quality as well – which makes it ideal for many households.

Why Should You Use an Aquarium Thermometer?

An aquarium temperature refers to how hot or cold a certain temperature is. Water has a natural tendency to get cooler as it gets more and air in a greater amount. It is useful in the sense that it’ll not only tell you how hot or cold your water looks, but will also show if there’s an excessive gas production and what kind of condition things are right now.

When maintaining the perfect water temperature in your aquarium, it can be done easily with the help of aquarium thermometer. Also, when measuring the water temperature of your fish tank daily, you will know if there is a sudden change in the climate within seconds and you won’t need to worry about how much time it takes for all of those different changes (overheating or low wattage) to lead to dying fishes.

How To Read Aquarium Thermometer

Reading an aquarium thermometer is not always as straightforward as it might appear. The temperature of the water in your aquarium is not always exactly the same as the temperature of the air around it. In fact, the water itself can behave like a heat sink, absorbing the same amount of heat as it gives off.

A thermometer placed in the water will therefore only give you the temperature of the air around it. The temperature of the water itself is slightly below the air temperature, even if the air is warmer. This means that the water in your aquarium will always be slightly cooler than the air it is in. This is why your temperature gauge will always read “normal” as long as the air temperature is normal. If you want to find the temperature of your water, you need to take into account the temperature of the air around it.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to read the temperature strips in the aquarium. However, these strips play a very important role in knowing the water temperature and helping to keep the water temperature at the required level. The temperature strips in the aquarium are not only used to keep the temperature of the water, but they are also used to control the normalcy of the fish.

In the thermometer, you will see different colors. There will be a small black circle with different colors. This color identifies the temperature. The following color markers are used by the majority of strips: blue/violet, green/red/orange, and blue/white. These markers will be right next to certain degrees of temperature.

The temperature is most likely closest to 86 degrees if the blues and purples are at 84 degrees Fahrenheit, the green is at 86 degrees Fahrenheit, and the red is at 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Are Aquarium Thermometers Accurate?

As the fish tank water temperature is vital to keeping your biological and ambient ecosystem in equilibrium, so do you need a specific set of aquarium thermometer that able to consistently give exact readings. However, most common aquarium thermometers usually have an outer sleeve made from rubber or plastic which sits on top of the sponge at one end (much like their counterparts for human use).

Inside each reservoir unit are dozens and even hundreds of cubic millimeters sensors that are dispersed in a few different layers. Some aquarium thermometers even use balls of plastic or other materials, but this doesn’t withstand heat very well and their resulting readings may not be as accurate.

The most important things to consider when purchasing an aquarium temperature gauge is its accuracy (or inaccuracy) and how easy it will be read by human eyes without any need for calibration every time you take measurements. Accuracy refers to the high degree of consistency for the reading in a certain set of conditions. For instance, if an aquarium temperature gauge has 95% accuracy level(or lower), or at least as good as any other one available on the market with this kind of rating, then you can be sure that it will give accurate readings regardless of anything (ambient and biological factors) changing within your tank environment frequently.

What is the Best Temperature For Your Aquarium?

Aquatic creatures need to keep themselves warm or they will suffer. Keeping water temperatures at between 61 to 75°F are required by fish and invertebrates in order not to freeze ; of 70 to 83°F drastically lowers heat stress on fishes; while 87 to 95 ° F is beneficial for keeping them cool (stay clear/ safer that near freezing); and an ideal temperature for your aquarium is around 76°F to 80°F.