Tank Journal Archive

[chimaera]

I've never had a thermometer on my tank. It's one of those things I never thought important, just relied on my heater to keep a decent temperature.

Recently I bought 2x cheap digital thermometers from eBay (think they were $6 delivered) - I got two so I could see how consistent they were and potentially place one in the display, one in the sump.

First reading - 31.6C! Cheap shitty things, I said. It can't be that warm. Checked my heater, set to 25C like always ...

So I went to the store and bought a better digital thermometer, a waterproof internal one. It read 31.0C. Shit. Heater off, back to the store to buy a new Eheim Jager. Now constantly monitoring and calibrating the heater to ensure it's at the right temperature. I figure the old heater might have got knocked in my move from Melbourne (it was a Hydor).

What a fool I am. I now realise it is probably the heat that killed my snails, not the ALK. Interestingly, the two fish (possum wrasse and lawnmower blenny) seemed okay in there, as did the small hammer coral I got. I need to get back to basics and stop relying on my 'gut feel' so much

 

[Tom H]

I've got my heater plugged into a STC 1000 temperature controller. I didn't trust myself to wire it up without burning down my house, so I bought one already assembled for $70.

http://www.brewmart.com.au/brewmart...94&SZIDX=0&CCODE=18701&QOH=15&CATID=311&CLN=1

 

[Sam Parker]

Time for an STC1000 I think.... Temperature is one of those things I never trust, it always feels too cold or too hot to my touch!

 

[Sean81]

Since using the stc1000 all the heater I've had are out from 1-2 dregs all the way up to 4-5 deg. Plus there high low temp swings are to large.

 

[chimaera]

STC1000 it is! @Tom H thanks for the link, I wouldn't trust myself to wire either so a prebuilt one is perfect.

 

[Mattres]

The probes used on the STC 1000, how long do they last and would you recommend they be replaced every now and then?
The STC 1000 is on my to get list.

 

[Sam Parker]

The probes used on the STC 1000, how long do they last and would you recommend they be replaced every now and then?
The STC 1000 is on my to get list.

Depends which probe you get. The plastic ones last forever, the metal ones get a surface rust on them which doesn't seem to impact anything. But you can replace them with any 2 wire 10k ohm temp sensor.

 

[Tom H]

In addition to a decent temperature controller, most experts seem to recommend replacing glass heaters every 12 months.

I've got my temperature controller set to 26 degrees, and I've set the heater's thermostat to about 27 degrees, so I think I'm pretty well protected against a high-side failure. I have a cheap digital thermometer as well as the STC1000 display that I check daily so that I will detect a low-side failure pretty quickly too.

If I had the money, I would love to get a high end titanium heater like the Schego.

 

[holly]

Hey guys, a timely discussion. I have had an STC rigged up for a couple of years. Schego heater, fan on cool. This year I've had a lot of issues.

The fan (cooling cycle) had been on all night on a cold day and, well, I knew something wasn't right.

Look inside and the thermometer says 72c. Weeeell. Put spare cooking temperature thing in there.... 20c.

So, I put in my two spare crappy heaters and check the temp later and I'm back up to 24c but the tank feels really warm. Much warmer than before the STC broke.


So, STC has been great but I am not actually sure how accurate they are. If I had the money I'd buy the legit schego controller.

 

[Sean81]

Well they are real cheap so I actually have two. A spare just in case and to cross check. I'm also lucky I can calibrate them with a precise calibrated temperature gauge at work.

 

[Sam Parker]

Hey guys, a timely discussion. I have had an STC rigged up for a couple of years. Schego heater, fan on cool. This year I've had a lot of issues.

The fan (cooling cycle) had been on all night on a cold day and, well, I knew something wasn't right.

Look inside and the thermometer says 72c. Weeeell. Put spare cooking temperature thing in there.... 20c.

So, I put in my two spare crappy heaters and check the temp later and I'm back up to 24c but the tank feels really warm. Much warmer than before the STC broke.


So, STC has been great but I am not actually sure how accurate they are. If I had the money I'd buy the legit schego controller.

Interesting... I've never heard of an STC failing... Can you check the lead for the temperature probe? Sounds like it is damaged (or perhaps corrosion on the terminals where it connects to the STC)

 

[ezza]

I've got my heater plugged into a STC 1000 temperature controller. I didn't trust myself to wire it up without burning down my house, so I bought one already assembled for $70.

View attachment 54143

http://www.brewmart.com.au/brewmart...94&SZIDX=0&CCODE=18701&QOH=15&CATID=311&CLN=1

Perfect timing, just noticed my temp looks weird. I think the battery in my thermometer is flat. I turned both heaters on last night and dipped my finger in and it feels way too warm now. I might get one of these things.

 

[chimaera]

New heater is working a charm - display temperature has been sitting at 25.8C (first thing in the morning when it's 7 degrees outside) to 26.3C during the day when the heating is on sporadically (like now). Led me to doing some reading on ideal temperature but I think 26C/79F is a fairly accepted mid point.

 

[MagicJ]

If I had the money, I would love to get a high end titanium heater like the Schego.

I may regret it, but I recently purchased 2 of these Titanium Heaters from Fish-Street for about $10 each. I am building my own controller so all I required was the bare heater - they seem to be working OK at the moment.

 

[grimnir]

I may regret it, but I recently purchased 2 of these Titanium Heaters from Fish-Street for about $10 each. I am building my own controller so all I required was the bare heater - they seem to be working OK at the moment.
View attachment 54154

Magic

I ran a pair of those. Which were emitting a low voltage into the water.
Was constantly getting tingles whenever in the water.

ended up replacing them with Schego's.

 

[Sam Parker]

I quite like the titanium units from fish street, I'm sure you will be fine with them

 

[MagicJ]

I ran a pair of those. Which were emitting a low voltage into the water.
Was constantly getting tingles whenever in the water.

Thanks, I will keep an eye on them.

 

[MagicJ]

I quite like the titanium units from fish street, I'm sure you will be fine with them

I assume that there is good (expensive) and bad (cheap) titanium :rolleyes - any evidence of these rusting over time?

 

[Sam Parker]

I assume that there is good (expensive) and bad (cheap) titanium :rolleyes - any evidence of these rusting over time?

I am skeptical on how much titanium is in their blend and have heard of the "seam" on them getting surface rust after a year or two. That is the worsed I have heard (excluding the above) in selling on about 40 of them over the last couple of years

 

[ezza]

Titanium doesn't rust. It naturally oxidizes. The Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao Spain is a beautiful example of the extraordinary beauty of oxidizing titanium.