DIY Temperature Controller

Water heaters are essential pieces of equipment for maintaining the fragile environments that are aquariums. However, only high-end models allow users to adjust the temperature, and most of these require users to stick their hands into the tanks. Luckily, you can create your own water temperature controller with a standard one-heat aquarium heater and a lamp dimmer which can be purchased from virtually any hardware retailer.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquarium heater
  • Lamp dimmer
  • Thermometer (digital preferred)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Stick the aquarium heater to the side of the aquarium's interior. These heaters usually come with suction cups for easy adherence to the glass.

    • 2

      Set up the thermometer. If you have a stick-on thermometer, place it on the exterior glass of the aquarium. Digital thermometers usually stick to the inside or use a probe to measure the water temperature.

    • 3

      Plug the lamp dimmer into an available power outlet.

    • 4

      Plug the aquarium heater's power chord into the electrical outlet on the lamp dimmer. You can now adjust the amount of power going to the aquarium heater and subsequently the amount of heat emanating from it.