Reef Discussion

[daveH]

I've been looking around for an accurate thermometer to finally get a true temp reading.
Mercury thermometers have been banned since 2010 and digital ones vary so much.
I found these on EBay, they are used in the photo development industry and are guaranteed to .3 of a degree.
It seems that's as accurate as I'm going to find that is in our temp range and easy to read.
These units do 13 to 30 which is great.
So now I'll be able to recalibrate my STC 1000 and be way closer than I was before.
They are available from digidirect in Melbourne for $24.
It's called the Paterson Certified Thermometer - 9" PTP363.

 

[slin1977]

Great review Dave!
Yes, most LFS thermometers are out by up to 2 degrees. With that in mind I went through about a dozen and found about three that read the same which I took for the average in the middle range.
This themometer happens to read the same as my chiller to the .1 of a degree.

 

[curly747]

Thanks for the post. I am going to pick one up tomorrow. I don't really trust the cheap digital ones and this looks pretty reputable and a reasonable price.
Looks like they have a few stores so hoping to get one from the Sydney CBD store.

 

[somethingfishy76]

I used @daveH thermometer and found my temp high by 1.8 degrees. This means I was running at 25.8... now i'm down to 24 and will most likely run 25 during summer. So good knowing now where i'm at and from here on I can be sure it will be correct. Thank you Dave for getting this mate, it really is great to be sure for once.

 

[gtrxu1]

Nice one, I have been looking for better temp accuracy as well.
Found out recently I was out by 2-3 degrees.

 

[daveH]

It makes it pretty hard to get an accurate reading when your digital temp is out, your STC1000 is out and your chiller is also out.
We now have something accurate enough to calibrate the system and get back on track.

 

[jaspass]

Until I received my new Temperature controller from Dave I didn't really have a clue what my temp was ! Between the chiller, my heater controller and a separate digital probe I had about 2.5 deg spread. So now thanks to @somethingfishy76 and @daveH finally I know where I am, thanks again boys.

 

[MagicJ]

These don't seem to be available any more :( - @daveH do you have a link to your original purchase?

 

[MagicJ]

I found one for $27 - https://www.vanbar.com.au/catalogue/product.php?id=106525 But the $15 postage hurts a bit

 

[daveH]

I found one for $27 - https://www.vanbar.com.au/catalogue/product.php?id=106525 But the $15 postage hurts a bit

They are still appearing on the Digidirect website - Paterson Certified Thermometer - 9" - PTP363 - $24.00 - shipping $9.90
Call 1300 889 148
They have stores in Melbourne, Brisbane and 2 in Sydney.

 

[MagicJ]

Thanks @daveH - I was just looking on their ebay store.

 

[MagicJ]

Ordered :)

 

[daveH]

Ordered :)

Good one. :)

 

[curly747]

MagicJ i ordered one of these a month ago and they still have no stock in. Hopefully you have better luck. I am thinking of cancelling it although it does look like exactly what i want.

 

[daveH]

I'll give the Brisbane store a call tomorrow and see if there are any there or if they know where some might be.

 

[MagicJ]

@curly747 - bugger, that sort of thing is just wrong - if they don't have the stock then they should remove it from their site so that buyers don't waste their time. I must admit to being a bit suspicious when I read their confirmation email as it mentioned something about checking stock within 72 hours.

@daveH, that would be great if you could.

 

[daveH]

I rang Brisbane store and they don't have them in stock but said they are on back order and will definitely be available shortly.

 

[MagicJ]

Thanks @daveH, appreciated - I wonder what they mean by 'shortly' ?

 

[daveH]

Thanks @daveH, appreciated - I wonder what they mean by 'shortly' ?

Yeah, I hope it's not the same "shortly" as my apartment developers keep telling me. haha!
If you're really hanging out to get your temps all setup, I'm happy to mail mine to you.
Maybe make mine the communal one and members can keep passing it on - once you set everything to a true temp it's kind of set and forget.

 

[MagicJ]

Thanks for the offer but it's more of a 'nice to have' rather than a 'must have'.

I am working with some temperature sensors and would like to be able to calibrate them if I can.

I will see what Digidirect say over the next few days - if they can't supply then I will cancel the order and get one from vanbar.