Freshwater Aquarium Temperature - Measuring The Aquarium Temperature
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009
by Brian Wong
How to measure the temperature of freshwater aquarium is a skill that all fish hobbyists have to know. Merely thinking that the water inside the fish tank will stay at whatever temperature you have the home thermostat set on is wrong. The water in the tank will not become the same temperature as the room. The fish are subject to different elements than the room is. For example, the light from under the hood raises the temperature. So assuming that the water is fine without any input from you can be detrimental to your fish collection.
No matter what temperature you set your home thermostat on, you'll notice the temperature will change over the course of the day sometimes by only a few degrees sometimes by a lot depending on the time of the day and the things that caused the change. For example, in the summertime, if you set your air conditioner to come on at seventy three degrees, you might find the temperature reading inside the living room is a nice seventy three. But suppose you've had family and friends over all day. They've been going in and out of the house and you've been in the kitchen cooking for them. You feel warm so you check the temperature in the kitchen and discover the thermometer reads that it's seventy six degrees. The extra people in the home and the heat from the cooking raised the temperature.
The best temperature for a fish tank was set under optimal conditions, which means you must be prepared for circumstances that are not always optimal. You need a thermostat to keep a check on the water. These are very inexpensive tools that will keep you apprised of the conditions inside the tank. Some of these thermometers on the lower end of the pricing scale can be placed inside the water either secured to an inner wall or free floating and you can read the temperature.
There are thermometers that are secured to the exterior wall of the tank and you can read the temperature that way. Perhaps one of the best kinds is the digital thermometer. The way it measures the temperature is by placing the attached wand inside the water. A digital display will show you what the temperature reads. Some of these models will keep a digital temperature recording stored in the memory and can even warn if the temperature changes become too high or too low.
Brian Wong is a freshwater fish enthusiast, and enjoys helping others get started in this amazing hobby. His newest book, "The Ultimate Guides To Freshwater Aquariums" teaches aquarists everything they need to know about starting and maintaining a thriving freshwater aquarium. For more great information on freshwater aquarium temperature, visit http://www.freshwateraquariumguides.com
This Article has been viewed 337 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.