Water temp question, ich related

[HopefulHobbiest]

I'm new at this so I wanted to check with people more knowledgable then myself lol...

My heater has a marked dial on it so you can set it to a desired temp without tryin to guess how far to turn it... Either way my temp gauge/strip on the side of the tank says 80-81 but the heater dial is sitting on 84 or slightly past(maybe 85)..

Which do I go by? The heater dial or the temp strip??

And yes for some who won't read the title I'm heating to rid the ich from my clown loaches

 

[christine2012]

You should invest $10 in a digital. Other than that there's really no way to know for sure.

My heater's thermostat isn't accurate at all.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Digital temp gauge? Hmm never knew about those... Any chance you have a link for one?

 

[christine2012]

This is what I use!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002DI4TO

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Awesome, thanks for the link. I'll have to get one lol

 

[jcolon]

I'm new at this so I wanted to check with people more knowledgable then myself lol...

My heater has a marked dial on it so you can set it to a desired temp without tryin to guess how far to turn it... Either way my temp gauge/strip on the side of the tank says 80-81 but the heater dial is sitting on 84 or slightly past(maybe 85)..

Which do I go by? The heater dial or the temp strip??

And yes for some who won't read the title I'm heating to rid the ich from my clown loaches

I'm not a big fan of those temp strips. Petco/ Petsmart sells those inexpensive thermometers (red alcohol that rises and lowers) you hang on the inside of the tank. They're actually pretty accurate and give you reliable overall tank temp if you hang it on the opposite end of the heater.

 

[pugmom]

I agree with the second thermometer. I have a stick on and one of the cheap rocket shaped ones just as a double check.

What is your tank size and wattage of heater? Do you think you might be at the upper limit of what your heater can do?

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Just bought the new heater... Tank is 55G heater is 200 watts

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Also... I left my house a few hours ago and just got home, before I left I out my hand in the water to see if it was actually warm and it was... But when I checked a few mins ago it's only slightly warmer than it's normal feel... Seems odd to me that it was really warm a few hours ago and is cooling off so drastically... I really can't see the heater being defective

 

[jcolon]

Also... I left my house a few hours ago and just got home, before I left I out my hand in the water to see if it was actually warm and it was... But when I checked a few mins ago it's only slightly warmer than it's normal feel... Seems odd to me that it was really warm a few hours ago and is cooling off so drastically... I really can't see the heater being defective

Oh I can ... I had to return my first heater for my 75gal ... It wasn't working at all ... Right out of the box. There is also the chance that your heater's not enough to heat your tank to temps warm enough to deal with ick. See the link below for a heater guide. Hope this helps.

Aquarium Heater Size Guide

 

[christine2012]

If your heater can't go that high another option is to wrap the tank in foil. Reflective side in.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Ok well according to the chart my house temp is currently 69 I need 85-86 at most its a 17 degree difference which should be fine with my 200 watt heater... I wondering if I should plug in the other heater opposite the current one... I bought my 55 as a starter and still have the original heater

 

[christine2012]

I'm gonna say take it to the next level and shoot for 87. Your 200 Watt will do just fine, I've done it with 150 in a 55.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

The new heater has degree marks and only goes to 88 theoretically... I'm afraid that if I just jam the thing into its highest temp I'll fry everything in my tank :/

 

[christine2012]

Take it really slow, no more than one degree every 2 hours is my best guess. Don't just crank it to the Max all at once.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Yup otherwise you'll fry/shock all the fish, but like I said heater shows 88 as highest, currently sitting somewhere between 84-86(dial on heater only) now the stupid little strip only reads 80... However the water feels a lot warmer than usual but I'm no human temp gauge lol