cadmanof50s
New member
I have been wresting with aquarium thermometer accuracy for some time now.
I've owned many thermometers (at any given time) over the years and very rarely did any two come close to giving the same reading.
I did freezing point tests with several of the "pricier" LFS units and ones that I purchased from reputable, on-line suppliers....all were out by several degrees. The most expensive one was in fact the one with the largest margin of error....and it would drift by 5 to 6 degrees every two or three days....it needed recalibration weekly!!
For most applications (including) the ones we use in our hobby, being off (consistently) by a few degrees (plus or minus) makes very little difference. Off the shelf thermometers are more than adequate for our needs...but....
Personally I spend so much time getting other parameters as accurate as I can... for me, temperature should be treated no differently. I wanted more than a couple of degrees accuracy...especially since I measure Conductivity and you would be surprised how much difference a few degrees makes for conductivity (and ultimately Salinity) readings. (i.e. temperature compensation factors).
So I spent a lot of time and a fair bit of coin researching a good usable thermometer for my reef tank. Here is one I found that was consistent and has documented calibration papers that come with it. It is a bit pricey....but cheaper than some reef parameter testing kits on the market today.
For me it was well worth my money ..and I have calibrated all my Neptune Temp probes using this very fine product:
http://www.coleparmer.com/assets/Catalog_pdfs/PDF_CP/GH_812.pdf
I purchased GH-94460-88 because it was the more accurate readings and suited my specific needs.
Very happy with this solid, usable, and dependable product.
Hope this post helps others who are looking for temp accuracy.
Vic
I've owned many thermometers (at any given time) over the years and very rarely did any two come close to giving the same reading.
I did freezing point tests with several of the "pricier" LFS units and ones that I purchased from reputable, on-line suppliers....all were out by several degrees. The most expensive one was in fact the one with the largest margin of error....and it would drift by 5 to 6 degrees every two or three days....it needed recalibration weekly!!
For most applications (including) the ones we use in our hobby, being off (consistently) by a few degrees (plus or minus) makes very little difference. Off the shelf thermometers are more than adequate for our needs...but....
Personally I spend so much time getting other parameters as accurate as I can... for me, temperature should be treated no differently. I wanted more than a couple of degrees accuracy...especially since I measure Conductivity and you would be surprised how much difference a few degrees makes for conductivity (and ultimately Salinity) readings. (i.e. temperature compensation factors).
So I spent a lot of time and a fair bit of coin researching a good usable thermometer for my reef tank. Here is one I found that was consistent and has documented calibration papers that come with it. It is a bit pricey....but cheaper than some reef parameter testing kits on the market today.
For me it was well worth my money ..and I have calibrated all my Neptune Temp probes using this very fine product:
http://www.coleparmer.com/assets/Catalog_pdfs/PDF_CP/GH_812.pdf
I purchased GH-94460-88 because it was the more accurate readings and suited my specific needs.
Very happy with this solid, usable, and dependable product.
Hope this post helps others who are looking for temp accuracy.
Vic
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